Campus News
University of Nottingham Online presentations
November 9th, 2021
Sarah O’Hara, University of Nottingham Online CEO, and Nick Mount, Academic Director, would like to thank colleagues for taking part in the recent presentations that introduced University of Nottingham Online (UoNO).
This is a new initiative that will enable the university to offer a range of flexible courses that are completely delivered and assessed online.
If you were unable to take part in the presentations, you can view a presentation recording here.
We will share further updates with you soon as a pilot is currently underway in the School of Health Sciences.
This will see the school offering a small number of online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) study blocks from January 2022.
If you have any questions about University of Nottingham Online please email UoN-Online@nottingham.ac.uk.
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USS pension – response to UCU industrial action ballot
November 8th, 2021
Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West has today written on behalf of UEB to the University’s branch of the University and College Union (UCU).
The letter follows the results of the recent national ballot on industrial action over proposed reforms to the USS pension and the national pay award. You can read a full copy here.
UCU members at Nottingham alongside 37 other universities voted for a mandate for possible industrial action, however the union did not secure a mandate in 31 of the 68 universities that were balloted on USS pension reforms. UCU’s HE Committee will consider this Friday whether to re-ballot institutions who did not reach the threshold and the form that any action might take.
For further information, please visit the USS 2020 Valuation webpages.
In the letter, Professor West writes:
“While I am sure that every UCU member will have thought very hard about whether to vote and how to cast their vote, I and my UEB colleagues can only express our deep disappointment at the prospect of further industrial action.
“Strikes this year would only penalise students, who are re-engaging with life on campus which is so important for their education and wellbeing after the turbulence and disruption to their school and university experience over the past 18 months.
“Nationally, as the union considers this week whether to re-ballot institutions who did not make the threshold for industrial action and consults members on the form it might take, we would request that union members consider the interests of students in their responses.
“The proposals currently under consultation with pension scheme members – backed up by £1.3 billion support from employers – form the only viable plan that keeps contributions affordable for members and retains defined benefits which are rarely seen in other schemes.
“However, I believe we share similar concerns to the union on the pension scheme’s design, its governance and the ability of early career staff to enter the current scheme. Central to the current reform proposals are formal commitments from employers to: explore alternative scheme designs, including conditional indexation; accelerate a major review of USS governance with independent expertise; and work with stakeholders, including UCU, to develop a flexible, low-cost pension option. I would invite UCU to join the conversation on these areas and help to negotiate the future rather than disrupt the present.
“Looking ahead to the near future, it is clear that all of our colleagues, including those who voted for industrial action, have had to take very difficult decisions, and we await further decisions from UCU’s Higher Education Committee this coming Friday. The prevailing concern for all of us on UEB will be to mitigate the impact of any industrial action on the education, experience and wellbeing of our students who have all experienced significant disruption to their education over the last 18 months.
“Whether or how industrial action proceeds in the coming weeks and months, I trust that the debate can be conducted in the civil and constructive manner that is a hallmark of discussion at our University.”
Tags: Industrial Action, UCU, UCU Industrial Action, USS, USS pension scheme, USS Pensions
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Web domain clean-up and renewal deadline
November 8th, 2021
The External Relations Digital (Web) team are seeking assistance in identifying the business owners of web domain names purchased between 2001-2021.
Where an appropriate owner cannot be identified for individual domains by Friday 31 December 2021, these will no longer continue to be renewed by the External Relation’s team.
In total there are 175 of domains and no records relating to who requested their purchases or their purpose. A full list of these can be viewed here.
From initial analysis:
- 9 redirect successfully to nottingham.ac.uk
- 164 have no obvious purpose, present an error, or direct to a page that gives an error
To give you an idea of what this means:
- The latest invoice for the renewal of just 6 of these domains came to a total of £471.68.
- Single domains with non-standard (i.e. not .com or .co.uk) can cost up to £500 to renew each year.
- With the renewal of each domain, there is also a finance administrative process which can take up to 10 minutes per domain.
- Occasionally, external parties to UoN contact us to stake a claim to individual domain names, which requires lengthy investigation by the team.
Staff are asked to take a moment to review the full list of domains and let the team know if you are the business owner or know who the business owners of any of these domains are by completing this form.
In the first instance the team will work with identified business owners to establish the best way to proceed with any further renewals.
If you have any questions or queries, please contact the Web Team.
Tags: domain names, university web domains, web, web domain
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Choosing your pension investment to tackle climate change
November 8th, 2021
COP26 is underway. The gathering of global leaders and citizens in Glasgow is highlighting the fact that climate change requires determined and coordinated action on many fronts.
A massive £2.6trillion is invested in UK pension funds. What these funds are invested in can have a positive or negative impact in terms of tackling climate change.
If you have defined contribution benefits as part of the USS or CRSP pension schemes, or have Additional Voluntary Contributions as part of your pension, you have choices over which funds your money is invested in.
Some of these options have clearly marked environmental credentials. Through ethical investing, more people are choosing to put their money into businesses that make a positive impact on the environment.
The university’s pension scheme providers are committed to helping the companies they invest in to support efforts to limit carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.
What can I do?
If you are in the Investment Builder of USS or in the CRSP pension scheme, you can contact your pension provider and discuss the investment options available to you. This also extends to those who have Additional Voluntary Contributions as part of their pension.
This means you can decide whether your money is being invested in line with your view on tackling climate change – making a positive difference in the long-term.
Who to contact
You can take more control over where your pension is invested. Below are links to help you find the right contacts to explore sustainable and ethical pension investment options.
- For staff in the USS Investment Builder
- For staff in the CRSP pension scheme
- Additional Voluntary Contributions:
For staff in the NHSPS
For staff in CPAS
To find more information about options for responsible investment, please visit USS’ Responsible Investments webpages and CRSP’s Climate Impact Pledge.
Tags: COP26, CPAS, CRSP, ethical pensions, NHSPS, pension scheme, pensions, sustainability, Sustainable pensions, USS
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Sphere Programme Board – call for EDI pilot projects 21-22
November 5th, 2021
The opportunity to apply for Sphere funding for 2021-22 is now available. The funding supports a small number of strategic projects which contribute to delivering change in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the university.
These projects are activities or initiatives that deliver new actions, over and above the work that should be ‘business as usual’ to support EDI.
Details of previously funded projects are in the Report on Sphere Funded Projects in 2020-21.
Projects will generally be in the range of £100-500 and should contribute towards one or more of the EDI Priorities for 2021-22:
- Support for staff with caring responsibilities (both parenting and carer)
- Socio Economic
- Faith and Religion
- Neurodiversity
In addition, projects may also contribute towards actions in the Race Equality Charter (REC) Action Plan.
As part of the funding agreement, all projects will need to complete a project evaluation.
To apply for funding, please complete the Microsoft Form using the link below:
Projects will be reviewed by the Sphere Programme Board which will produce a ranked list of fundable projects. The ranked lists will be submitted by the Sphere Programme Board to the interim PVC for EDI for final approval.
Selection Criteria
Proposals will be scored according to the following criteria:
- Overall project innovation and case for support (score out of 5)
- Match with EDI Priorities/REC Action Plan (score out of 5)
- Impact measurement (score out of 5)
- Value for money (score out of 2)
- Sustainability (score out of 3)
- Suitable for funding under scheme/not suitable for funding
Deadline
The deadline for applications is midday on Friday 10 December 2021, with decisions to be communicated to successful applicants by mid-January. All funds must be spent by 1 July 2022.
Ineligible costs
The fund should be used for developing new ideas and initiatives and should not be used to fund anything which could be considered ‘business as usual’ or something which is required in order for us to fulfil our legal or regulatory obligations. Funding cannot be used for academic staff time buyout but may be used for supporting project activities, as long as the value of the award does not exceed £500 but matched funding may be considered if included as part of the application.
Measurement of impact and success
Applicants should consider:
- How will the success of the activity be measured? This should not be onerous but be sufficient to demonstrate the activity’s impact. Popular and successful activities may be recommended for expansion.
- Participation rates, students and staff where applicable, should be recorded.
- If the funding is for a series of events, such as student societies, have participation rates been consistent or increasing?
- Expressions of interest for further similar events may be recorded.
- All applicants will be required to complete an evaluation impact form at the conclusion of the project and may be asked to participate in further communications activities to ensure that best practice is widely communicated.
For queries relating to funding under this scheme, please contact the Chair of the Sphere Programme Board, Professor Raheela Khan.
For more specific enquiries about your project or advice on submitting, please contact your EDI Co‑ordinator:
- Faculty of Arts – susiwala@nottingham.ac.uk
- Faculty of Engineering – hadfield-hudson@nottingham.ac.uk
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences – todorova@nottingham.ac.uk
- Professional Services – marshall@nottingham.ac.uk
- Faculty of Science – abe@nottingham.ac.uk
- Faculty of Social Sciences – creswick@nottingham.ac.uk
Tags: edi, EDI funding, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Sphere, SPHERE funding, SPHERE programme
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Call for Nominations: the Institute of Policy and Engagement Awards
November 5th, 2021
The annual Nottingham Engaged conference is taking place on Wednesday 2 February 2022, from 1pm-5pm under the theme New Horizons; Making a positive impact through policy and public engagement in the future.
You can register your place here.
At the conference, the Institute will be recognising and awarding outstanding efforts in engaging policy and public audiences with research.
Do you know someone who’s doing great work on policy impact or public engagement? Have you been doing work yourself that you think deserves recognition? If yes, this is an opportunity to nominate yourself or a colleague.
There are five award categories:
- Best Policy Impact Initiative
- Best Public Engagement Initiative
- Rising Star Award – Policy Impact – for early career researchers
- Rising Star Award – Public Engagement – for early career researchers
- The Institute Director’s Award – for non-academic staff who have played a key role in the success of policy impact or public engagement work
Nominations are now open. Please use the Institute Awards Nomination Form to nominate as many colleagues in as many categories as you choose – using a separate form for each nomination.
For guidance on the award categories and criteria, please visit the Guidance on Institute Awards Categories and Criteria.
For any further questions, please email the Institute.
The winners will be announced at Nottingham Engaged.
The Nottingham Engaged conference promises to be a rewarding session, where you can hear from our panel of experts on how they’ve dealt with recent changes in the policy making and public engagement landscape and what they’ll be taking forward into the future.
Issues such as digitalisation, funding, engaging internationally, finding your audience, quick wins and evaluation techniques with your peers will also be discussed and you can find out more about the practical support the Institute of Policy and Engagement can offer to get your research out to policy makers and public audiences.
Tags: Nottingham Engaged
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Tram network strikes this Saturday (6 November)
November 5th, 2021
There will likely be no tram service across Nottingham on Saturday 6 November due to strike action.
The strike is planned to be in effect throughout Saturday – but services will also be affected on Friday night as trams are returned to the depot before midnight.
The measures will be in place from 9.30pm on Friday as it will take some time for services to be wound down ahead of the start of industrial action at midnight. Customers are urged to plan ahead and aim to complete their tram journey by 10pm.
In the absence of a tram service, Trent Barton and NCT Buses, as well as East Midlands Rail, will be accepting tram tickets on their services throughout the duration of the strike.
Trent Barton’s Rainbow One, Threes and Indigo buses will all be accepting tram tickets. However, there is likely to be significant inconvenience and disruption to network customers.
Services will resume as normal from 6am on Sunday morning.
The planned strike comes following a dispute over pay after trade union GMB rejected a recent pay rise offer from Nottingham Express Transit (NET).
NET offered a backdated pay increase of 3% for 2020 and a further 3% for 2021, or the level of inflation if it is higher.
Tags: tram, tram strike, tram travel, travel
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Twelve to sixteen-year-olds needed for Covid-19 booster vaccine study
November 4th, 2021
The university’s Health Service, at Cripps Medical Centre on University Park, is recruiting for a study looking at Covid-19 vaccine schedules in young people.
Experts are looking to recruit fifty 12-16-year-olds to find out how well they respond to two different doses of Covid-19 vaccine, and will then compare three different vaccines at different doses.
The aim is to find out if giving two doses of different vaccines produces as good an immune response as giving two doses of the same vaccine, in young people.
The study (Com-COV3) is part of the University of Oxford-led Com-COV (Comparing Covid-19 Vaccine Schedule Combinations) programme, which is funded by the Vaccines Taskforce and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and run across four NIHR-supported sites by the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium.
Participants will either receive two Covid-19 vaccine doses in the study, in which case their first dose will be the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Alternatively, those who have already received their dose of Pfizer through the NHS can be enrolled at the time of their second dose.
All participants will be randomly allocated at the time of the second dose to receive either a full or one-third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a full dose of the Novavax vaccine or a half dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Participants will not know which vaccine they have received until four weeks after the second vaccination.
Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, is Chief Investigator on the trial. He said: ‘This study will provide vital information on the range of options for immunising teenagers against Covid-19 in the UK.
“As well as looking at the standard two full doses of the Pfizer vaccine, we will look at how well volunteers respond when their second dose of Pfizer is one third that of the first dose, or if different vaccines are used altogether, such as the vaccines manufactured by Moderna or Novavax. This will provide the JCVI with information crucial to informing their advice about immunising teenagers in the UK.”
Experts hope to report initial results by December – if the results are promising, regulators MHRA and JCVI would formally assess the safety and efficacy of any new vaccination process before advising whether it is rolled out to patients.
Volunteers will need to be recruited during the first two weeks of November. People interested in taking part can find more information and details on how to sign up here.
Tags: Covid booster, Covid vaccine, vaccine booster
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Leading stroke expert receives international award
November 4th, 2021
A world-leading expert in stroke medicine from the University of Nottingham has received a highly coveted international award from the World Stroke Organization (WSO).
Philip Bath, Professor of Stroke Medicine and Head of Academic Stroke at the University, Emeritus National Institute of Health Research Senior Investigator, and a consultant stroke physician at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, has received the World Stroke Organization President’s Award.
The highly regarded accolade is only awarded once a year to individuals who are international leaders in the field of stroke service and research and who have served the world stroke community.
Professor Bath has had a long and successful career in promoting and delivering high quality stroke research around the world, and was the first Professor of Stroke Medicine in the UK, with support from the Stroke Association and is an Emeritus NIHR Senior Investigator and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He helped set up the WSO in 2006 and since has served twice on its Board of Directors and currently Co-Chairs its Industry Committee.
Professor Philip Bath
Professor Bath’s research interests relate to acute blood pressure management and antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy, treatment of post-stroke dysphagia, and prevention of cognitive decline and vascular dementia.
He coordinates international collaborations on acute stroke blood pressure management; and optimising the design and analysis of trials in acute stroke, stroke prevention, dysphagia and cognition.
He said: “I am most honoured by this award and thank the President and WSO for it. But I am just one individual and WSO is vital to bring together stroke organisations and individuals around the world and so raise awareness of and improve the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and support of stroke. Our vision is a world where people live free from the effects of stroke.”
Marc Fisher, M.D, is President of the WSO, he said: “It is with great pleasure that the World Stroke Organization has bestowed upon Professor Philip Bath the president’s award at the recent World Stroke Congress. Professor Bath received this award for his numerous contributions to the stroke field. He is also an active supporter and contributor to WSO activities.”
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