Campus News

Celebrate Black History Month 2021

September 28th, 2021

Black History Month has been celebrated in the UK for more than 30 years. It acknowledges signature moments in the history of the UK and is a celebration of the magnificence of cultural diversity and the enriching value in peaceful co-existence.

A number of events are taking place at the University of Nottingham this month in celebration of Black History Month, acknowledging history is being made not just during October but every minute, every hour, every day, every week and month.

At Nottingham we are committed to supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for our staff and students and we’d like to encourage everyone to get involved, join our celebrations and share details of the programme within their respective areas.

Highlights of the month include:

White Riot Film Screening

With a conversation with Roger Huddle, Co-founder of Rock Against Racism

Thursday, 14 October, from 6pm – 8.30pm at Lakeside Arts
Free to attend. Book for the film screening

Presented by UoN BAME Staff Network, in association with MIMM, “Rubika Shah’s documentary about the British organization Rock Against Racism is a compelling depiction of political organizing in the 1970s.”  (New York Times)

Join us for a film screening of ‘White Riot’, A documentary film which tells a powerful story of allyship through music. The film will be introduced by Vincent Wilson and followed by a live Q&A with Roger Huddle, Co-founder of Rock Against Racism

Content notes: Contains strong language and scenes depicting racism and racial slurs. 

On August 5 1976 at a concert in Birmingham the musician Eric Clapton began a short set with a racist monologue directed at non-white residents in the UK (foreigners), including Black, Arab and Jamaican communities.  Within a week Roger Huddle, Red Saunders, Jo Wreford and Peter Bruno registered their disgust at Eric Clapton’s words, and the growing influence of the National Front on the streets of the UK, by writing a letter to the New Musical Express (NME) and launching the Rock Against Racism movement.  Rubika Shah’s film ‘White Riot’ makes extensive use of archive footage to document the coming together of Black, White and Asian youth, under the musical umbrella of Punk Rock and Reggae, to counter growing racism and fascism in 1970s Britain. A key event in the Rock Against Racism movement, that provides a focus for the film, was a free concert in Victoria Park, London that attracted over 80,000 people. A major legacy of the concert and the Rock Against Racism movement is the path of empowerment for young people to work together and oppose racism in all its forms.

Black History Month Mini Symposium in Agriculture Science.

Thursday, October 14, 2021 from 4pm – 5:30pm
Register for this event

Dr Molly Muleya, Dr Bipin Pandey & Dr Diriba Kumssa will each speak for 20 minutes on their own research (nutrients, water use and fruits respectively) and personal experiences in Modern Agricultural Science, with time for follow-on questions.

This will be a hybrid face-to-face / Teams meeting in the Plant Sciences Lecture room (https://w3w.co/lucky.troll.worker), Sutton Bonington, University of Nottingham. (Join Teams Meeting )

If Black History Month Were Every Month

Monday 18 October, from 1pm – 2.30pm, Microsoft Teams Live
Book for the panel discussion

Join us for a panel conversation hosted by the Centre for Black Studies in collaboration with the UoN Black History Month Programme Board, and with speakers from different university backgrounds to talk about the value of Black History Month, and the imperative to go beyond “representation months” in order to change the environment and conditions for staff and students of the future.

This event will bring an interdisciplinary conversation to the role of Black History Month at the University of Nottingham and within the British university system. It will talk about race, gender, class, geographic representation amongst other intersectional concerns.  We will give space to interrogate the role of Black History Month and allow Black academics to reflect and imagine inclusive educational settings.

Excel in Science welcomes Miranda Lowe from the Natural History Museum

Monday 18 October, from 1pm – 2pm
Register for the session

Excel in Science welcomes guest speaker Miranda Lowe in Black History Month. Miranda Lowe is a principal curator and scientist at the Natural History Museum, London, looking after their oceanographic collections of corals, crabs and jellyfish. She presents lectures and publishes on both curatorial and scientific uses of Museum historical collections in current climate change research as well as decolonial approaches to this work. Her media work with creative industries allows her to link art, science, and nature to aid the public understanding of natural world. She is a founding member of Museum Detox, network for people of colour who work in arts and the heritage sector, championing fair representation, inclusion, and deconstruction of systems of inequality. She is chair of arts charity Culture&, trustee at York Museums Trust and Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Miranda recently won the Soc. Hist. Nat. Hist. President’s Award 2021 and listed in the BBC Women’s Hour Power List 2020: Our Planet.

Excel in Science is a new programme that has launched within the School of Life Sciences and aims to support our students and to tackle the fact that BAME students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are under-represented in funded postgraduate research and hence remain under-represented in academia as a whole.

Steel Drum Band – Hipps Café

Tuesday 19 October from 12pm- 2pm

We will have a Steel Drum Band, be a part of this lively event and listen to fantastic sounds of a steel drum. Staff and students can also purchase Caribbean food from Hipps café. Escape with the sounds of the drums and imagine being sat on the beach somewhere in the Caribbean. This event is very popular so get to Hipps early to get a seat.

Soul Line Dancing – Medical School Foyer 

Wednesday 20 October from 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Be a part of this fun event. Charmaine who teaches soul dancing in the community has kindly agreed to come into the university and teach staff and students some dances . This will include Jerusalema, which has gone global on social media. There will also be an opportunity to be a part of a video.

Black History Month in the School of English

The School of English are hosting a number of events in celebration of this year’s Black History Month. They include a Talk from Dr Holly Maples and Dr Inge Dornan on ‘Breaking the Silence’, Poetry Reading with Theresa Lola and Dr Jessi Grieser discussing her research on the use of African American English (AAE) in constructing place identity for residents of a historically African American neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Book your place here.

Black at Experian

Nottingham University Business School is working with the Black at Experian Network to deliver a series of events that support Financial Education and Inclusion as part of Black History Month. They include ‘How to build generational wealth through property and credit’, ‘How to build a successful business’ and a number of career insight panels.
Browse events and register here.

Black, Asian and Minority Careers in Science Virtual Event

Tuesday 19 October 2021, from 5pm – 6.15pm, Microsoft Teams
Register for the event.

Want to learn more about the careers of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic alumni from the Faculty of Science?

Join us for an online event where our panel of 5 alumni speakers will share their top careers tips for Science students and answer your questions.

This event might be of particular interest to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students in the Faculty of Science, but all students are very welcome to join us.

Is God black or is God white? A multifaith panel discussion on ethnic identities in faith

Wednesday 20 October 2021, from 2pm – 3pm, A03 Monica Partridge Building and online livestreaming via Echo360
Register for this event

A multifaith panel discussion on ethnic identities in faith followed by a Q&A session. As part of Black History Month the Chaplaincy and Faith Support Team will be hosting a multifaith panel discussion on ethnic identities in faith. The discussion will look at questions such as:

  • How has ethnicity been portrayed in faith?
  • How has that had an impact on our perception of faith?
  • What can we learn from ethnic injustice within faith?
  • What actions can we take towards greater inclusivity within faith communities?

Refreshments and goodie bag included for every attendee!

Black History Month Reading Group

Wednesday 20 October, from 4pm – 5pm 

Join University of Nottingham Libraries and Dr Hannah Robbins (Director, Centre for Black Studies) for a reading group discussion of a title from the Black History Month reading list.

Voting has finished and the chosen book is ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge. The book is available for free via NUsearch and the BorrowBox app from local libraries. Find out more.

The reading group will be hosted online and we’ll be discussing the book in more detail as well as our other favourite titles. There’s still time to sign up for the reading group event.

The Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra) will present an overview talk on modern agricultural research.

Thursday 21 October, from 2pm – 3pm
Register for this event

Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research leads an organisation with 101 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities.

Graduated in Agriculture Science from Odisha University of Agricultural Technology, he completed his master’s and doctoral program in Plant Genetics from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.

He underwent post-doctoral training in Rice genomics in the University of Arizona, USA, and Clemson University Genomics Institute, South Carolina, USA.

Dr Mohapatra has served as the Director (and Vice-chancellor) for two prestigious Indian institutes: The Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and The National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha.

This hybrid event takes place on the Sutton Bonington Campus of the University of Nottingham. Face-to-face Location:  https://w3w.co/blueberry.neatly.weeknight (Charnwood Room A32) and on Teams (Join Meeting )

A Conversation on Race and Health Inequalities

Thursday 21 October, from 2pm – 4pm
Register for this event

Join Dr Habib Naqvi, Director of NHS Race and Health Observatory for a conversation on Race and Health inequalities within the United Kingdom.

It has been recognised for several decades that black and minority ethnic peoples in the UK experience profound health inequalities; further highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. A disproportionate number of BME health professionals also experienced greater mortality and morbidity – Why is this? What are the precursors? How can we address these inequalities? What is the role of structural, institutional, and individual racism?

These are some of the issues we hope to address with this conversation. A number of pre-submitted questions will be addressed throughout the talk, and there will also be scope for further questions and answers, depending on time.

UoN Libraries- Share your recommendations for our Black History Month reading list 

Browse staff and student book suggestions with our Black History Month reading list.

Do you have a suggestion for a book that is missing from the list? Let us know.
Submit your suggestion

Panya Banjoko – Building in Justice

Thursday 21 October, from 1pm – 2pm
Register for the session

Join multi-award-winning poet, Panya Banjoko for a fascinating insight into the Black presence within the historic building, architecture, and spaces of Nottingham’s National Justice Museum.

Panya’s research focuses on uncovering international colonial links and historic connections with Black people, whose stories are less researched and whose voice or connection have been missed, silenced, or hidden in previous research into the site.

This presentation is a fantastic opportunity to explore Panya’s ongoing research and some of the lesser-known stories that have been uncovered so far.

Panya Banjoko is patron for Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature and the founder of the Black Writers Network based in Nottingham.

An online conversation with Ken Kamoche, author of ‘Black Ghosts’. 

Friday 22 October at 2pm
Click here to join the meeting

As part of Black History Month, Nottingham University Business School are delighted to welcome you to an online conversation with Ken Kamoche whose novel, Black Ghosts, has just been released in the UK (an earlier edition was published some years ago in Kenya). As Ken also researches the Africa-China business nexus, he will do a reading, discuss this work of fiction and other related aspects of the Africa-China engagement. The event will be hosted by Musa Mangena.  Below is a synopsis from the publisher: 

Dan Chiponda earns a scholarship to study in China and reluctantly leaves Zimbabwe for an uncertain future. While stoically dealing with racial abuse in a country where Africans are known as black ghosts, he is too timid to engage in the money-making schemes available to students. Yet he remains haunted by the weight of his mother’s expectations, encapsulated by the image of the African fish eagle. But the best he can do is a safe job in a bar run by the enigmatic Wang. Things take a dramatic turn when Chinese students pour into the streets in an orgy of violence to drive Africans out of town. Dan’s first impulse is to escape to Zimbabwe but the pressure from his family and the love for his girlfriend Lai Ying force him to stay put. In the aftermath of the riots, tight rules force the foreign students to create innovative ways to see their girlfriends, and in the midst of all this, Lai Ying gets pregnant and secretly procures an abortion. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Let’s Dance Salsa! – Medical School Foyer

Tuesday 26 October from 12pm – 2.00pm

Ever wanted to have a go at Salsa?  This event is a great opportunity to experience this amazing social dance. Learn to dance with one of our fantastic dancers Cleon. So, bring your dancing shoes and a smile on your face as he will get you dancing.  The Afro Caribbean National Artistic Centre will also come along and bring in some tasty food.

Exile, Magic and Power

Wednesday 27 October, from 6pm at Lakeside Arts
Register for this event

Join world-leading storyteller Jan Blake for a tale like no other. Using the powerful story of Exile, Magic and Power – which is told by griots across West Africa but is rarely heard in the UK – about the legendary 13th Century Malian King Sundiata Keita as the bedrock for the piece, Jan and her team will work together to try out different ideas, technologies and ways of interacting with audiences to forge an exciting new path for Digital Storytelling.
Pay what you can.

Black History Month Film Screening: ‘Get Out’

Wednesday 27 October at 5pm.  B63, Law and Social Sciences Building, University Park
Book for the film screening

Rachel Fyson and Cath Williams, are delighted to invite you to watch the film screening followed by a discussion of the issues it raises. Free ‘cinema–style’ refreshments will be provided.
About ‘Get Out’: Chris, an African-American man, decides to visit his Caucasian girlfriend’s parents during a weekend getaway. Although they seem normal at first, he is not prepared to experience the horrors ahead. (Written and directed by Jordan Peele). Film Screening (running time:144 mins).  Watch the trailer.

Black History Month Film Night in The Nest, Sutton Bonington Campus.

Thursday 28 October 2021 from 5pm – 8pm
Register for this event

As part of our Black History Month celebrations we will be screening Hairspray (2007) in The Nest@The Barn in partnership with UoNResX. This ‘wonderfully camp’ musical is set in 60s Baltimore and explores themes of body positivity and empowerment over a backdrop of historically inspired racial and gender tensions and stereotypes.

You do not need a ticket to come but the event is only available to those with UoN student/staff ID. Food starts at 5 (African themed – feel free to bring your own contribution) – no charge so come early, once it is gone …it is gone. Film starts at 5:30pm.
Also… Queen Latifa, Zac Efron, John Travolta and Christopher Walken – need we really say more?

The Nest is at https://w3w.co/contacts.sofa.health.

Lakeside Arts Events celebrating Black History Month

Lakeside is proud to host a fantastic range of events throughout October celebrating the talent, stories and contributions of black artists. Engage with powerful stories highlighting significant individuals and movements that influenced change historically and contemporaneously. Our programme includes *Rubika Shah’s documentary about rock against racism White Riot, musical theatre for family audiences about Josephine Baker, innovative storytelling from world-renowned *Jan Blake; and sharply honed comedy from Loyisa Gola.
See what’s on and book tickets now.

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Blood donors needed this autumn

September 28th, 2021

The National Health Service (NHS) needs more blood donors this autumn.

Please read the information below and if you are interested, spend 30 seconds to simply provide your name, email and building HERE. This is completely voluntary and is your choice.

We are working with the NHS blood donation coordinators to see if there is scope for a mobile unit to visit the ‘Science Quarter’ of the university – i.e. BDI, Coates, Boots, Pope, Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Med School etc.

We need to get an idea of the number of people who would be interested in using such a service to determine whether this offering would be a viable venture.

If you’re interested, please provide your name, email and building location HERE.

We could make a real impact on blood supplies this autumn and winter. For more information please visit – www.blood.co.uk.

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New academic lead for key Race Equality Charter work announced

September 28th, 2021

Dr Nagamani Bora, Programme Director in the School of Biosciences, has been appointed to two important new academic roles related to the university’s commitment to the Race Equality Charter – as academic lead for the degree awarding gap, and module convener for a new introductory student module on anti-racism.

Taking up role from 1 October, Dr Bora will be working closely with Professor Mark Bradley, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Curriculum Leadership, and Professor Katherine Linehan the university’s new Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and People.

She will also work alongside Alison Reeves, Head of Education Excellence Support, and the Education Excellence Team to help Schools work towards the Access and Participation Plan by closing the degree awarding gap for BAME students and promoting the values of an inclusive curriculum.

Nagamani will also lead a team of colleagues to prepare a university-wide anti-racism module for new students, which the university plans to pilot for September 2022 with the aim of a fuller roll-out in 2023. In all this work, she will maintain a close working relationship with the Students’ Union to promote effective student engagement with all these initiatives.

Dr Nagamani Bora

Nagamani has been working as a lead from access to employability supporting diverse populations of students for more than five years. She said: “I have witnessed the student ‘lifecycle’ at the university from recruitment, retention, progression to employment – supporting them through their journey.

As a subject-specific curriculum lead my interests have been in unravelling the hidden curriculum to promote equal participation and opportunities for diverse learning communities of students by creating positive learning experiences for all.”

“Belonging to an ethnic minority group myself, I am grateful to the university for taking the initiative to tackle racism at its roots. I am committed to supporting and helping students across the university to overcome these challenges to perform with confidence in their future careers. This is an opportunity to identify, reflect and implement change in the face of the cultural barriers standing in the way of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students’ success.

“I am looking forward to working alongside students and staff from across the university to bring about change by being a part of our ‘One Team’ and ‘One University’ goal. I am confident that we as a ‘Global Inclusive University’ can bring about this change with collective effort that exemplifies the core values we all stand for and equal opportunities we provide.”

Nagamani is an experienced lecturer and curriculum lead, who has served as Academic Director for International Teaching Partnerships and Academic Employability Lead, and sits on academic board councils as an advisor at a range of international institutions. She is a Nottingham Recognition Scheme mentor and Senior Fellow of Advance HE, and has received a Lord Dearing Award for excellent student support.

Professor Emmanuel Adegbite, co-chair of the Bronze REC Implementation Group, said “I am absolutely delighted that Nagamani will be taking on these vital roles. Our analysis as part of the REC showed how important it was for us to take strong action in delivering a culture of inclusion in the teaching and student experience activity across the university.

The cross-university module that Nagamani will be leading aims to be sector-leading in embedding consideration of anti-racism in our taught programmes, and Nagamani’s experience and enthusiasm means I am confident that together, we can deliver the impact that the REC analysis showed is needed, on our journey to create a university that works for all.”

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Professor Katherine Linehan appointed as new Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and People

September 28th, 2021

Professor Katherine Linehan will become the university’s new Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and People, joining us from the University of Sheffield to take up the role from 1 January 2022.

As PVC EDI&P, Professor Linehan will hold a University Executive Board position with responsibility for driving equality, diversity and inclusion policy and initiatives across the university. Her role will champion support for staff and students with protected characteristics and continue to tackle the challenges we face, for example, in the gender pay gap for staff and closing the attainment gap for black and minority ethnic students.

Katherine is currently Professor of Anatomical Education at the University of Sheffield, leading the Anatomy team in the School of Biosciences and as Director for EDI for its Faculty of Science. In addition, she is the deputy EDI lead for the institution as a whole, supporting the work of the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gill Valentine.

She chairs the institution’s Gender Equality Committee, securing the Silver Athena SWAN award for it in 2018, and is now working on its bid for Gold status. Katherine also led Sheffield’s response to the UKRI and EPSRC Race Equality Initiative and the diversification of the curriculum across her Faculty.

Katherine’s appointment was announced as the university also confirmed that Dr Nagamani Bora, Programme Director in the School of Biosciences, has been appointed as academic lead on action to tackle the degree awarding gap, as well as convener for a new anti-racism module to be offered to new students as they join the university. Professor Robert Mokaya, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement will lead EDI responsibilities for the University Executive Board until Katherine takes up role in January.

Confirming the appointment, Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West said:

“Equality, diversity and inclusion is of crucial importance to our people, our culture and our success as a university. I am delighted that we have secured Professor Linehan in this role as part of our executive leadership team. Katherine brings extensive academic, people and leadership experience in both her academic field and in her work spearheading equality, diversity and inclusion at Sheffield.

I know she will build on the excellent work of her predecessor, Professor Sarah Sharples, and bring a renewed focus in demonstrating just how powerful and creative diverse groups can be in solving our institutional challenges.”

Professor Katherine Linehan said:

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to take on this vital role in supporting students and staff across the university. My ambition is to create a diverse and inclusive staff and student community in which all are given equal opportunity to thrive and showcase their talents. I want to foster an environment in which everyone feels comfortable and valued bringing their authentic self to the university to work or to study. I am committed to making sure the actions set out in the university’s EDI Strategic Delivery Plan and Race Equality Charter Action Plan are implemented at pace to drive real cultural change across the institution.

Professor Katherine Linehan, new PVC for EDI&P

“I am very passionate about taking my own lived experience as a disabled woman with caring responsibilities in academia and using it to drive effective, positive change for those that come after me in their careers. Having achieved this effectively across large parts of the University of Sheffield by influencing institutional policy, practices and culture I now very much welcome the opportunity to lead a similar transformational change at Nottingham.”

A graduate of the University of Sheffield, Professor Katherine Linehan attained her PhD at the University of Hull and started her career in academia with teaching and research roles at the University of Liverpool. She joined the University of Sheffield in 2003, undertaking senior teaching roles before becoming Professor of Anatomical Education in 2019.

As an educator, Katherine has designed her classes to appeal to all learners, irrespective of their ethnic, social or academic background, and created a new Anatomy curriculum at the University of Sheffield to promote a positive learning environment where the contribution of the individual is valued irrespective of the size of the cohort.

She is also passionate about the potential for digital teaching and learning, acting as consultant to leading digital learning provider Primal Pictures and developing award-winning MOOCs. Katherine has been recognised for this work with a National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy.

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Introduction of housekeeping for videos stored on MediaSpace

September 27th, 2021

To ensure the videos for our students remain up-to-date and relevant, and we minimise any unnecessary storage space, from the end of October we will be introducing housekeeping rules for videos stored on MediaSpace (Kaltura MediaSpace).

What will the rules be?

Videos that have been uploaded to MediaSpace or to Moodle using the ‘Media Embed’ button will be permanently deleted if they are older than four years old and have not been played in the past 13 months.

If you have a video that meets these new rules, you will receive an email nearer the time notifying you of this and the actions that you need to take to download or republish the video.

My video is no longer relevant for students, but I need to download a copy for my own reference before it is deleted.

View the instructions for how to download a video. You should save the video to OneDrive to avoid it taking up space on your computer.

I have a video that is still relevant for students – how do I keep it published on MediaSpace?

We understand there may be some videos that you wish to retain. To keep your video published please follow the relevant steps:

  • To keep your video published for up to 13 months, simply play it for at least 30 seconds.  This resets the ‘played in the past 13 months’ trigger on the housekeeping rule.
  • To keep your video published for up to four years, you will need to download the video and re-upload it to MediaSpace as a new video (you should not replace your existing video). This will reset the ‘older than four years’ trigger on the housekeeping rule. The old link for your video will be deleted, so please ensure you use the new link as required.

What will happen with my videos that meet the housekeeping rule in the future?

If you own a video that has become older than four years and it has not been played in the past 13 months, you will receive an email with the details of the affected video. The email will be sent one month in advance of the video being deleted, including a reminder which will be sent two weeks after the first email. These emails will include instructions on how you can download or republish the video.

Who can I contact for support?

If you require any support, please raise an IT self-service request or phone the IT Service Desk.

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Encouraging everyone to continue with regular testing

September 27th, 2021

The health and safety of our community is our highest priority, and as more people are now back on campus, we will all need to play our part in keeping everyone around us safe.

This is a reminder to all staff who are on campus regularly to take a test, at least once a week, even if you have been fully vaccinated.

The university is in full support of staff on campus accessing asymptomatic testing during paid working hours. Visit our testing webpage to familiarise yourself with opening times and locations.

Anyone with any specific needs can get in touch with the testing team.

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A reminder to join the next steps in research strategy consultation

September 24th, 2021

Update from Professor Dame Jessica Corner

I would like to remind ask colleagues from all job families of an invitation from Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West to take part in the next stage of our consultation on the future of research at our university.

The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 8 October

We had a remarkable 1,689 responses in the first stage of our consultation. This informed a white paper, setting out a framework for the delivery of a high-performing, inclusive research ecosystem.

Your input remains invaluable as we ask colleagues from across our UK, China and Malaysia campuses to further engage with our consultation.

Please discuss the white paper and respond to a short survey on its ambitions to deliver a step-change in our research quality and performance over the next five years:

  • Is it sufficiently ambitious to deliver our new research strategy and the challenges ahead?
  • What opportunities does it offer you and how can you contribute?

We are grateful for the engagement of the university community over the past year in debating our research ambitions and how we can achieve them. As Professor West reflected as she launched this next stage of our consultation:

“What has come through most strongly from you, and aligning with my own mission, is that our people are at the core of a renewed research strategy.

“Now we want to ensure we are on the right track and that the white paper’s framework to deliver a step-change in our research quality and performance over the next five years is robust and truly reflective of our whole community.”

We look forward to your responses and consideration of how we can better support each other to strengthen our ambition to deliver research of the highest quality that develops new knowledge and transforms lives.

For further updates, resources and more on how to get involved, please visit and bookmark our research strategy white paper consultation pages.

Thank you

Jessica
Professor Dame Jessica Corner
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange

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Funding call for the celebration of LGBT+ History Month 2022

September 21st, 2021

As part of the university’s ongoing commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), we are inviting applications for the celebration of LGBT+ History Month.

This funding initiative is designed to support multiple locally-planned LGBT+ History Month activities throughout February 2022.

Funding will be awarded to host local events or activities aimed at staff or students to a maximum of £200, with applications to be assessed by the LGBT+ History Month Programme Board.

Applicants are encouraged to seek match funding from another source (this could be the associated School/Department/Group or an external source).

For applications, please complete this form by 12pm Thursday 11 November 2021. 

Applications should indicate how the local event or activity is connected to the EDI Strategic Delivery Plan.  Applicants are also encouraged to consider intersectionality of their events with our four inclusion focus areas for 2021/22:

  • Faith and Religion
  • Neurodiversity
  • Socio-economic equality
  • Parenting and caring responsibilities.

For any queries, please contact the EDI Coordinators at BR-EDICoordinators@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk.

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LGBT+ History Month: call for programme board members and your ideas for celebrations

September 21st, 2021

The university is preparing for LGBT+ History Month celebrations in February 2022.

Staff and students are invited to join the programme board for the university’s LGBT+ History Month celebrations.

There is an opportunity for up to 6 members to join the programme board and contribute to how the University of Nottingham recognises and celebrates LGBT+ History Month.  This opportunity is open to all job roles and staff at any level.

If you are interested in joining the programme board and shaping the university’s delivery of LGBT+ History Month events, please fill out this form by 12pm on Thursday 7 October.  The first meeting of the planning board will take place in early November and will be on a weekly basis thereafter.

What will it involve?

The role of programme board is to:

  • Contribute to discussions to decide on a theme for the recognition month.
  • Actively support the planning and delivery of two university wide events around the theme. This may include hosting the events, liaising with external speakers if necessary, and promoting the events.
  • Review and decide on funding applications for local events.
  • Attend weekly programme board meetings.

Share your ideas for LGBT+ History Month

As part of the planning process, we welcome ideas for themes or events. Please share these using this short form.

All contributions, input, and feedback are highly valued. Please get in touch soon so that your views can be considered in the organisation of this celebration.

Chair of the Sphere Programme Board, Raheela Khan said:

“During the pandemic it was felt that there had been a lack of safe LGBT+ spaces, so last year’s activities helped in some way to provide this, but in an online format.

Last year we benefitted from a vibrant programme board who brought energy and enthusiasm to the planning of the events. This resulted in a full and varied programme of virtual events with something for everyone.

Programme Board members reflected on how much they enjoyed the experience and gained something both personally and professionally.

We are looking forward to building on last year’s success and continuing to celebrate, connect and engage across the university community.”

For any queries, please contact the EDI Coordinators at BR-EDICoordinators@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk.

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Secure your 365 account with multi-factor authentication

September 21st, 2021

Have you protected your university account? As part of an ongoing security project, we are reminding all staff to secure their Microsoft 365 account with MFA.

As you may be aware, from previous communications, Digital and Technology Services, in partnership with the Chief Information Security Officer, are working to improve our digital security and securing Microsoft 365 services is the next step. 

This is a necessary step to not only reduce the risk of cyber and phishing attacks but to help protect and safeguard the university network as well as your own data and identity. 

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is already in use for services such as VPN and Windows Virtual Desktop and will soon be required to approve access to Microsoft 365 services. We have updated our policy to improve the user experience for staff (and students) who use a university managed Windows 10 device.  

  • If you use a compliant (up-to-date with security policies) university Windows 10 device on or off campus, you shouldn’t be prompted for MFA. 
  • However, if you use a different device on or off campus you will be prompted for authentication every 90 days. 

We encourage you to adopt this extra level of security before it becomes compulsory for everyone in the coming weeks.  

Set up MFA and secure your account early by following these steps: 

  1. Set up MFA if you haven’t already, visit the DTS website for instructions 
  2. Submit the secure M365 form to enable MFA for Microsoft 365 

After you sign up to use MFA with Microsoft services, you may need to approve authentication a few times for each app and device that you use. If you use an email app that is not Outlook, you may need to remove your university account and re-add it to approve the authentication. 

Visit the Securing 365 SharePoint site for further guidance and FAQs. 

We are currently working to improve our guidance pages and there will be further communications in October.  

Thank you for your support. 

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