Campus News
London marathon 2022 places for UoN staff
October 12th, 2021
Ever wanted to run the most iconic marathon in the world? Now is your chance to do something incredible in 2022!
Karnival — the Students’ Union fundraising organisation — has partnered up with the Meningitis Research Foundation to give you the opportunity to get involved in something phenomenal.
They have been allocated 250 places in the marathon, and those who wish to run it for them will have to raise £2,000 for the charity.
Tune into their information webinar at 1pm OR 6pm on Thursday 14 October to hear from the Meningitis Research Foundation about how to get involved in this life-changing challenge.
- Run the London Marathon
- Transferable skills for your CV
- Raise money for an incredible cause
- Tick something huge off your bucket list
All colleagues are encouraged to spread the message among both staff and students, as widely as possible.
Last year, a team of 29 students from Karnival took on an Everest Base Camp charity trek, raising around £45,000 for the Meningitis Research Foundation!
For more information, please visit the Meningitis Research Foundation webpages.
If you have any questions you can get in touch with the team.
Tags: charity, London Marathon, marathon, meningitis, Meningitis Research, Meningitis Research Foundation, running
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Performance and ambition workshops – have your say
October 12th, 2021
In 2018/19, colleagues from across the institution contributed to the development of the University Strategy – attending workshops, commenting on papers and providing feedback to develop and shape our vision and goals.
We are now asking staff to comment on the next stage of the planning and implementation, helping us to shape and develop the university’s performance ambitions.
We have conducted interviews and developed data dashboards to explore the university’s current performance across a range of themes including education, people, research and sustainability.
We invite you to join us in a series of virtual actions-focused workshops during October and November, where we will share the findings with you and get your thoughts and feedback on what we can do next – from sharing good practice to identifying issues and addressing them with clear actions.
A series of clear actions that we should take will be developed as an output from the workshops. These will be developed into an action plan which will be presented to UEB for approval later in the calendar year. The ambition is for the outcomes of this work to influence university planning and strategy implementation.
Each two-hour event is sponsored by a senior manager and facilitated by an external team from ThenSomehow [Then Somehow] and SUMS Consulting [Higher Education Consultancy | Sums Consulting].
Workshops are open to all staff, across all of our Academic, Professional Service and Technical roles. All colleagues are encouraged to attend at least one session, which can be booked through EventBrite. There will be a cap on each workshop of 80 people.
Sessions will also be recorded so colleagues can catch up and contribute at a later time if unable to attend.
Please sign up at the links below:
Workshops
- People
Thursday 21 October 2021, from 10am – 12noon
Sign up here - Education
Thursday 21 October 2021, from 1am – 3pm
Sign up here - Research
Monday 1 November 2021, from 10am – 12noon
Sign up here - Sustainability
Monday 1 November 2021, from 1pm – 3pm
Sign up here - Culture & Behaviours
Thursday 4 November 2021, from 10am – 12noon
Sign up here - Leadership
Monday 8 November 2021, from 10am – 12noon
Sign up here
We appreciate some colleagues may not be able to attend their preferred sessions but may still wish to contribute to the discussion.
You can email any comments or reflections to the workshop facilitators: Amy Bray and Steve Stark. Please advise if you wish your comments to remain anonymous.
Links to session recordings will be communicated once all events are complete, with an opportunity to feedback.
Tags: performance and ambition, Staff training, staff workshop, workshops
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Staff travel update: October 2021
October 11th, 2021
Now that travel is becoming more commonplace, staff are reminded that information around travelling on university business can be found on the Travel and Expenses workspace page.
New university travel guidance documents have been produced to outline the steps that staff need to undertake when embarking on Domestic and Overseas travel. The Overseas guidance takes into account the new government international travel rulings, which were introduced on Monday 4 October 2021.
All travel should be booked through the university’s travel management partner, Key Travel. If you believe you are unable to book your trip through Key Travel, approval for alternative arrangements must be requested from the Travel Team.
It is important that the Covid-19 Off Site Travel Policy is followed and that Travel Risk Assessments are completed for all travel, whether it is Domestic or Overseas. Information about how to complete these are contained on the Health and Safety Workspace site.
For any information on Travel Insurance, please visit the Travel Insurance SharePoint page.
The university also provides a number of useful tools for travellers. When booking through Key Travel you will receive travel updates for the countries you will be visiting through Amadeus Mobile Messenger. You are also able to download the Amadeus mobile app to use during your travel.
Another way to receive travel updates and local country information is by signing up to the Chubb/Crisis24 Travel Security Services.
Details on how to do this are located on the Travel Insurance SharePoint page. Again, an associated app is available to download.
Tags: Key Travel, staff travel, travel, Travel and expenses, Travel management
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Selecting an implementation partner for Digital Core
October 11th, 2021
The university is in the final stages of a detailed procurement process to select a new HR, Finance and Procurement system(s) and a suitable partner to support the implementation of it.
The way in which we all engage with HR, Finance and Procurement services such as booking annual leave, booking training courses, claiming expenses, making purchases, undertaking recruitment, payroll and reporting capability are all being reviewed in the Digital Core project. A best practice way of working is expected to be introduced to enable improvements to the way in which we engage with these services, through a new underlying HR, Finance and Procurement IT system(s).
In the last project update, we highlighted the detailed procurement process undertaken to select a new HR, Finance and Procurement system(s) and a suitable implementation partner for it. 24 organisations responded to our public Contract Notice and this was shortlisted down to four potential partners during the course of 2021. The project team have been working collaboratively, and many staff from across the university shared their expertise and have taken part in the process so far.
Continuing with the collaborative approach, during September 137 colleagues from various departments and faculties attended system product demonstrations given by the four potential partners. The demonstrations provided colleagues with an insight into how the proposed systems work and how they could potentially be put into practice at the university.
Ginny Whittle, Faculty of Engineering Business Operations Manager, took part in and evaluated the product demonstrations: “The evaluation process was well communicated and easy to follow. I thought that the system demonstrations were run fairly as all companies had equal time to present and the project team ensured that the demonstrations did not overrun.
“We reviewed the demonstration for each potential partner and asked any questions that we had. The feedback form we completed asked all the right questions, including what we liked, what we didn’t like, the words we would use to summarise the products and to identify any opportunities, challenges and showstoppers that we saw. I enjoyed taking part in the demonstrations.”
The four potential partners have submitted their final tenders and a team of 70 colleagues are currently reviewing these. The partners will be scored and moderated, and a resulting evaluation report will soon be submitted to the university Council for review.
We look forward to announcing details of the resulting implementation partner and new system(s) when the procurement process is completed and we have approval to proceed to the implementation phase. This is likely to be towards the end of 2021.
For further information view the Digital Core SharePoint site or please email digitalcore@nottingham.ac.uk if you have any questions or would like to get involved with this project.
Tags: Digital Core, Digital Core Project, Finance and Procurement, HR, procurement
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Winter graduation 2021: graduating, but not graduation
October 11th, 2021
The University of Nottingham will be celebrating winter graduation 2021 on Wednesday 8 December.
As announced in March, we will not be holding physical graduation ceremonies this winter. Students will be invited to a special in-person graduation ceremony in 2022 where they can share their success with family and friends and have the experience they deserve.
In the meantime, students will graduate in absentia and certificates will be sent to them in the post. There will be no option for students to defer graduation.
Students will be asked to save the date of Wednesday 8 December for virtual graduation and a day of celebration across social media. The Graduation Team will shortly be reaching out to schools and departments to coordinate efforts to bring students together virtually.
Tags: class of 2021, graduation, graduation 2021, winter graduation
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Staff sports update – October 2021
October 11th, 2021
After a hugely successful Welcome Week which included our Welcome Fair at David Ross Sports Village, we are now delighted to see sport beginning to return across our campuses in earnest.
With students becoming familiarised with our programmes such as Intramural Sport and Just Play, as well as competitive BUCS fixtures taking place, our sports centres are becoming ever busier and it is brilliant to see!
Staff Sport and Fitness Membership
As a university staff member, did you know that you can purchase a Staff Sport & Fitness Membership allowing you use of our state-of-the-art gyms and sporting facilities?
Our Staff Sport and Fitness memberships offer excellent value for money here at the University of Nottingham as well as the convenience of being based on the same campus as your workplace.
As well as the £40million David Ross Sports Village, staff membership also includes access to our sports centres on Jubilee and Sutton Bonington campuses and fitness suite on Kings Meadow campus, as well as access to staff sport sessions.
If you wish to purchase a Staff Sport and Fitness Membership for the 2021/22 academic year, then you can do so by clicking here. For £275, the membership offers excellent value for money with benefits of the membership including access to four fully-equipped fitness suites along with our swimming pool and racket sport courts.
If you are a new permanent employee at the university, you are entitled to a free 30-day membership trial. For more details please contact our Membership Officer via email or on 0115 748 6213.
Please note, all free trials must be activated within 30 days of your employment start date. Please also note that free trials do not currently include access to Kings Meadow Campus.
London Marathon Massage Offer
Did you run in the London Marathon? If so our Sports Injury Clinic are offering £25 Sports Massages for all runners. Once you have booked through this link, simply bring your medal with you when you attend the session to redeem this offer!
Staff Sport
The Staff Sport programme will be returning this academic year with sessions open to all, regardless of skill or ability. You can attend as many sessions as you wish, with no weekly commitment to attend and no requirement to purchase a UoN Sport and Fitness Membership.
If you are interested in taking part in Staff Sport with us, then please keep an eye on this webpage where all updates on the programme will be published with all the details you need to know.
Brian Moore inducted into our Sport Hall of Fame
Last month, we were very proud to induct the former England, British & Irish Lions & University of Nottingham Rugby player Brian Moore into our Hall of Fame. Brian graduated from the university in 1984 with a law degree, and went on to represent his nation 64 times including leading his country to the World Cup Final in 1991.
Brain Moore University of Nottingham Hall of Fame. Photography by Alex Wilkinson Media
That year, he was also voted Whitbread Rugby World Player of the Year as he won the first of his three grand slam titles with England. His performances in the front row for his clubs and country also led to Brian’s inclusion on two British & Irish Lions tours, where he won five test caps.
For these achievements, Brian was voted the university’s Greatest Sportsman by fellow alumni as part of the university’s Greatest Sporting Heroes campaign. You can read all about Brian’s induction here, as well as view his induction video here.
BUCS is Back!
BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) has returned and our teams in #GreenandGold have returned to action after what has been a very long time away. Within BUCS, the #GreenandGold of the University of Nottingham will be taking on over 140 different Higher Education institutions across a wide array of sports.
When Coronavirus halted play for the 2019/20 season, the university sat atop the BUCS rankings and we look forward to our attempt to match our previous success!
Keep an eye on our social media @uonsport to keep across the key fixtures and results each and every Wednesday – or even better, why not head down to our fixtures in person and cheer on our athletes?! All information on BUCS Sport and fixtures can be found here.
Tags: sports, Sports and fitness, sports and fitness membership, staff sports, Staff sports update
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USS pension reforms – staff information resources
October 8th, 2021
A series of resources have been published to help USS pension scheme members understand the changes that have been approved by the USS Trustee to avoid significant increases in contribution rates for members and employers:
- a new contributions calculator developed by Universities UK shows how much more USS pension scheme members would pay each month if reforms were blocked;
- a series of examples published by USS which show the impact of the proposed benefit changes for members on various salary levels;
- a series of examples published by UUK showing the impact on benefits if the reforms are implemented, and the impact on members’ pay if they are not;
- personal information sessions for staff provided by leading independent pensions management company Isio on 14 and 15 October, bookable at ussqueries2021@nottingham.ac.uk
- a series of short videos published by the Russell Group to explain the affordability of the scheme, the commitments made by universities to underpin the scheme, and moves to reform the governance of the scheme.
A series of changes to the scheme have been approved by the USS Trustee to avoid significant increases in contribution rates for members and employers, whilst maintaining the scheme’s Defined Benefit /Defined Contribution hybrid model to provide members’ retirement incomes.
Without the changes, the USS Trustee would increase contribution rates for members by 12% in April 2022, followed by a further 17% in October 2022. This would mean a member earning £40,000 would pay an additional £860 in pension contributions in 2022 for the same benefits, with contributions set to rise further every six months until 2025.
To support the changes, university employers are making commitments to underpin the scheme’s covenant worth some £1.3 billion. Other reforms include commitments to explore alternative scheme designs, including conditional indexation; a major review of how the USS pension is governed; and the development of a flexible, low-cost option for lower paid members of staff.
Contrary to reports of cuts in member benefits of the order of 35%, figures published by the USS Trustee show that the changes would reduce the amount of pension members receive at retirement by around 10 – 18%, (or 7 – 15% when state pension is included). All benefits earned from contributions to date are safe and will not be affected.
The changes would still provide a good pension for staff at close to current contribution levels, with employers paying in more than two and half times the average contribution rate for FTSE 100 companies.
Tags: pension, pension resources, pension scheme, pension support, USS, USS pension scheme, USS Pensions, UUK
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USS Pension – Russell Group videos
October 6th, 2021
The Russell Group is publishing a series of short videos to help members of the USS pension scheme understand the series of changes to the scheme that have been approved by the USS Trustee.
The changes are being made to avoid significant increases in contribution rates for members and employers, whilst maintaining the scheme’s Defined Benefit /Defined Contribution hybrid model to provide members’ retirement incomes.
To support these changes, university employers are making commitments to underpin the scheme’s covenant worth some £1.3 billion. Other reforms include commitments to explore alternative scheme designs, including conditional indexation; a major review of how the USS pension is governed; and the development of a flexible, low-cost option for lower paid members of staff.
The first video examines the affordability of the scheme for members and employers, and can be viewed below:
The second video outlines the significant covenant commitments made by universities to underpin the scheme and can be viewed below:
A final video will be released shortly which explains moves to reform the governance of the scheme to ensure its long term sustainability.
Tags: USS, USS pension, USS Pension s
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Free online Mandarin lessons
October 5th, 2021
Nottingham Confucius Institute is offering online lessons free of charge between October and December 2021.
Sessions include Business Mandarin for Beginners and Conversational Mandarin Intermediate.
Each course runs for six weeks with a one-hour lesson each week. All are welcome to attend, however if availability becomes limited priority will be given to students and staff from the Nottingham Confucius Institute and the University of Nottingham.
The registration deadline is Wednesday 20 October.
For more information, and to book your place, please visit the website.
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Take extra care on roads at Sutton Bonington
October 5th, 2021
Students, staff and visitors to Sutton Bonington are being asked to take extra care on the roads around the campus after a small number of traffic accidents.
While no one has been seriously injured the university is working with the local highways teams, who have responsibility for the roads, to see if any additional safety measures can be implemented.
With more people around the campus for the start of the semester and with autumnal weather conditions and darker nights, the risks of accidents increases.
The main areas which require extra caution are the crossroads at College Road and Melton Lane and the crossing from the main Sutton Bonington Campus to the Sports Centre.
For those on foot: please be aware that there have been accidents around this area. Take extra care and be aware of cars on the road.
For those driving, especially if unfamiliar with the area: caution is advised when approaching the give way signs at the crossroads from either direction. As there are traffic blind spots due to the fall of the road you are advised to look and look again before moving off.
If you are on the road linking campus to Kingston on Soar slow down as you approach the crossroads as vehicles have been known to cross without stopping and other drivers stop suddenly causing a crash with those behind them.
For cyclists: please take additional caution on the crossroads mindful of the above and number of recent incidents.
This October the university is running its annual ‘Brighten Up’ campaign, reminding staff and students to be safe and be seen when cycling in the autumn and winter months.
The Sustainability Team, along with the Cycling Club, will be offering safety advice for all road users – look out for more details coming soon and guidance available now on the ‘Brighten Up’ pages.
Tags: campus safety, driver safety, pedestrian safety, Sutton Bonington
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