Campus News
Government announcement: restrictions to be lifted as part of Step 4
July 6th, 2021
The Prime Minister has expressed confidence that the majority of Covid restrictions will be lifted on July 19 as the country moves to Step 4 in the roadmap. This will be confirmed on Monday July 12.
The university will continue to follow Government guidelines and we await the detailed advice for Higher Education settings, now expected next week, which we will use to inform any lifting of the Health and Safety measures we currently have in place.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Long will then write to all staff and students with details of how this guidance applies to them and what it will mean for working practices now and in the new academic year.
Until Monday 19 July, staff and students are reminded to continue to follow the current rules, including wearing face coverings, maintaining handwashing and social distancing. Those coming on to campus should ensure they take an asymptomatic Covid test at least once a week. Those who experience any Covid symptoms should isolate, notify the university and book an NHS confirmatory swab test.
The university also continues to support the roll out of the vaccine and is encouraging all those who can to take up the offer of the vaccine. Two doses are needed to ensure the vaccine is most effective but they don’t have to be taken in the same location.
You can find out more about booking a vaccine and other FAQs here.
Tags: covid restrictions, COVID-19, COVID-19 update, recovery, Restrictions, return to campus, roadmap
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Foundational IT Services refresh
July 5th, 2021
The university will improve IT services to better support teaching, research and operations with the appointment of an external digital partner that will work hand-in-hand with Digital and Technology Services.
Over the past three years the Digital and Technology Services department has reviewed the way in which it delivers IT services to the university. The resulting proposals were outlined in the Digital Strategic Delivery Plan that was launched earlier this month.
One of the key priorities is for the department to work with a digital partner to support the refresh of our foundational IT services. This will allow the university to reduce its operational and security risk through replacing ageing, on-premises, legacy technology infrastructure with modern, secure, scalable and extendable platforms. In addition, there is a need to modernise and simplify our complex application portfolio, retiring unused applications and consolidating or replacing the remainder with lower maintenance alternatives.
The partner will also support Digital and Technology Services in updating the IT operating model to enable it to enhance teaching, learning and research and improve student experience.
David Hill, Chief Digital Officer, highlights: “The refresh will focus on developing a digital infrastructure fit for the future and harnessing sector-leading technologies and digital skills. We will work with a digital partner to improve IT services for the university community, reduce our operational and security risk, and reduce the complexity that currently exists.
“ We have started the procurement process for the partner, and Digital and Technology Services colleagues are actively encouraged to help shape our future way of working.
“A key criterion for selecting an external digital partner would be not only to assure expert knowledge and delivery, but also to ensure they fully align to the university’s values, culture and ways of working.”
The digital partner is expected to be appointed towards the end of the year and joint planning work will commence in early 2022 to support a smooth, phased transition to the new way foundational IT services will be delivered.
Further updates will follow as the procurement process continues. If you have any questions regarding the Foundational IT Services Refresh project, please email the DTS communications team.
Tags: Chief Digital Officer, digital, Digital and Technology Services, digital technologies, Foundational IT Services Refresh, IT Services, IT Services Refresh project
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USS Pension Scheme: updated statement of principles
July 5th, 2021
The Russell Group of leading research-intensive universities has today published an updated statement of principles for the USS pension scheme agreed by all members of the Group.
The statement sets out the Group’s support for the UUK alternative proposals to maintain USS as a hybrid Defined Benefit /Defined Contributions scheme with no increases in contributions to the scheme by members, backed up by employers offering further, stronger covenant support measures.
The principles set out in the statement are as follows:
- The decision by USS to offer a revised package that is broadly in line with current contribution rates is a positive and welcome step and means USS members and employers are not saddled with unrealistically high payments.
- Now, we must work together rapidly to find a long-term solution that provides better value for money and does not place an unfair burden on future generations.
- Exploration of alternative scheme designs, along with an independent governance review of USS, must begin immediately to identify a range of options that could be implemented ahead of the next scheduled valuation as well as improvements to how the scheme is run.
- As part of efforts to find a sustainable solution and affordable benefits for staff, we agree to an enhanced covenant support measure where the metric trigger for pari-passu security would move to 10% of assets on secured future borrowing.
- We hope this agreement and recent significant improvements in the economy will allow the 0.5% increase in contributions proposed by USS to be reduced or eliminated as we work to seek a resolution to the 2020 valuation.
- Our determination to support our staff so they can enjoy their retirement is unchanged, as is our commitment to a hybrid scheme. We are not seeking to reduce what employers pay into pensions and we want more staff to be in the USS scheme so they can benefit from employer contributions. That is why the trustee must urgently prioritise the development of an additional low-cost alternative to give staff more options to stay in the scheme.
- We recognise this is a challenging situation for our staff. We are working hard to find a solution that will provide a decent pension without contributions that are constantly increasing.
- Our view remains that a pension scheme backed by a contribution rate of 30.7 per cent shared between employers and employees should be sufficient to provide a stable, comfortable income in retirement.
- If, on the other hand, contribution rates continue to rise, more individuals will probably choose to leave the scheme and lose out on valuable employer contributions to their future retirement.
Tags: pension, pension scheme, USS, USS pension scheme, USS Pensions
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Energy Institute relaunches to focus on key energy challenges
July 5th, 2021
The University of Nottingham Energy Institute has been relaunched, with a new strategic focus and a fresh new look to match.
Energy activities now focus on the three key societal challenges of ‘Transport and Mobility’, ‘Energy Generation and Management’ and ‘Communities and the Built Environment’.
The Transport and Mobility challenge explores the sustainable future of how people, goods and services move, improving the sustainability of systems and how energy is used within them.
The Energy Generation and Management challenge finds new ways to harness clean energy and efficiently convert it to electricity and fuels, while developing new business models and influencing policy.
The Communities and Built Environment challenge addresses rapid urbanisation, increasing populations, climate change and resource scarcity through pioneering research and wide scale collaboration.
The new institute builds on over 25 years of energy expertise and brings together the Faculties of Social Sciences, Science and Engineering alongside external partners for a truly multidisciplinary approach.
Several major multimillion-pound projects are already underway that include communities, industrial partners, local authorities, and organisations with similar aims. Examples include:
- Investigation of biochar as a means of removing greenhouse gas at large scale.
- Development of dual-use energy storage technology to deliver hydrogen to a fuel cell and generate direct cooling for refrigeration.
- Development of a novel, low-carbon energy storage system, in partnership with Nottingham City Council and using the University’s Creative Energy Homes site as a test bed.
- Creation of a Hydrogen Innovation Zone in the East Midlands to connect with regional initiatives around green growth plans and freeport developments.
Professor David Grant, Director of the new Energy Institute, commented “If we are to transition to a future energy system that enhances clean growth and human well-being, we must develop real-world solutions to complex socio-technical challenges. By working together, we create the required collaborative research environment to meet this challenge.”
Professor David Grant
The Energy Institute welcomes opportunities to collaborate. Enquiries from organisations working in the energy field are welcome.
Email uon.energyinstitute@nottingham.ac.uk, connect at twitter.com/UoNEnergy or visit the Energy Institute website to find out more.
Tags: clean energy, energy, Energy Institute, environment, research, University of Nottingham Energy Institute
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Nottingham buildings turn blue this weekend as NHS turns 73
July 1st, 2021
Some of our most iconic Nottingham buildings will turn blue this Saturday, July 3, to mark a weekend of reflection, thanks and celebration ahead of the NHS’ 73rd ‘birthday’ on Monday, July 5 .
The NHS will mark its’ 73rd ‘birthday’ after a year like no other. It has been an extremely challenging year for the NHS and the country as a whole, but also a year of hope.
Among the buildings to be lit up blue this Saturday are Wollaton Hall, Green’s Windmill, Nottingham Castle, the Council House in Market Square, the Queen’s Medical Centre and buildings on the City Hospital site, King’s Mill Hospital and the university’s Trent Building.
While marking all that the NHS has achieved, the lighting of buildings will also serve as a symbol of remembrance and respect for those who have lost their lives to Covid.
The run up to the NHS’ ‘birthday’ on Monday continues over the weekend with people being encouraged to take part in a national ‘Thank You Day’ on Sunday, July 4, organised by the Together Coalition.
The NHS birthday weekend is about thanking everyone, from truck drivers and cleaners to doctors and shelf stackers, all of the key workers who have kept us going in challenging times.
Has someone supported you during lockdown or at any time over the past 18 months? This could be a colleague, friend, family member, neighbour or a key worker. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is encouraging people to share their messages of thanks on social media this Sunday using the #ThankYouDay hashtag.
Professor John Atherton, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the university said: “We are pleased to be lighting up the Trent Building to mark the 73rd birthday of the NHS. We are proud to be such a close partner to the NHS in their clinical service and also in their education and research in the health sector. The last year has shown us, more than ever, how lucky we are to have such an important and effective health service, and we want to show our gratitude and pay our respects to the staff who have played such a vital role in getting the country through the pandemic.”
The weekend of remembrance, thanks and celebration will culminate with the NHS’ 73rd ‘birthday’ on Monday 5 July.
To aid the celebrations, the NHS is encouraging people to host an NHS ‘Big Tea’. You can sign up to host an NHS ‘Big Tea’ party through the Nottingham University Hospitals Charity website.
Visit www.nottinghamhospitalscharity.org.uk and search ‘Big Tea’ to receive details of how you can raise funds. Every penny raised will be used by the Charity to support our local NHS.
Tags: NHS, NHS light up, Trent Building
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Applications open for Leadership and Management Academy 21/22 core leadership programmes
July 1st, 2021
The past months have had a profound impact on every aspect of our lives and the university continues to navigate through uncertainty and complex change.
This means that leadership and management skills have never been more important, and many leaders and managers have faced personal and professional demands that they have never experienced before.
Our Leadership and Management Academy (LMA) programmes have been developed to help leaders, managers, and those interested in developing their leadership practice, build the confidence and capability to lead and manage teams through these difficult times and beyond.
They are open to all members of UoN staff, and we would particularly welcome applications from staff with protected characteristics. By joining one of our programmes, we will help you to be more comfortable not knowing all the answers, help you to understand the wider context in which you lead, and help you to build the personal and professional resources to be able to pass on energy, confidence, trust and a shared purpose to the people you lead.
Our core programmes can provide you with the space, time and support to focus on your own leadership practice and develop a great network of like-minded colleagues.
Following great feedback last year, we are continuing to run our programmes online via Microsoft Teams, with options for some face-to-face interaction as and when appropriate. As part of these programmes you’ll take part in workshops, coaching, 360 feedback and support to bring your learning back to your workplace.
The core programmes provide focussed development for leaders and managers, at all levels. The Executive Leadership, Senior Leadership, Operational Leadership, Stepping into Leadership and Aspiring Leadership programmes are available and open for application now. You have until Friday 17 September 2021 to make an application.
You can find out more and apply here: LMA Development Programmes
We are also continuing our webinars and bite-sized learning events designed to support leaders and managers through current times. These have been created in response to specific university, faculty, school and departmental needs. You can access the bite-sized learning offer here and join colleagues from across the university as we tackle topics such as having effective wellbeing conversations, returning to campus and much more.
The LMA also continues to offer coaching and mentoring opportunities for all staff, along with guidance on job shadowing for those who wish to develop their skills and/or career.
You can find a wide range of online resources on the LMA Hub that give you the opportunity to develop at a time and pace that suits you. These include specially selected articles, books, videos, diagnostics and interactive tools that can help you with your development.
However you choose to develop your leadership practice, the Leadership and Management team are here to support you.
Tags: leadership, leadership and management, Leadership and Management Academy, LMA, LMA Development Programme, lma hub
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PVC EDI Blog: Reflecting on my time as PVC for EDI
June 30th, 2021
In her valedictory blog, Professor Sarah Sharples looks back at her time as Pro-Vice Chancellor for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and People, and highlights progression the university has made in furthering the EDI agenda.
As well as celebrating the progress made, Professor Sharples insists there is still work to be done – and emphasises partnership working as a way to increase inclusivity at the university.
Tags: diversity, Diversity and Inclusion, edi, equality, inclusion, Professor Sarah Sharples, PVC EDI Blog, Sarah Sharples
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How job adverts need to change to boost inclusivity
June 30th, 2021
Linguistics experts are calling for a complete overhaul of the way language is used in job adverts and recruitment campaigns to properly improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
The team from the University of Nottingham has published a new report which proposes comprehensive ways to eradicate the widespread language of exclusion commonly used in employment processes.
This work aims to help the huge numbers of people from under-represented groups who are put off applying for jobs and career progression because of outdated job specs and cursory references to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
The language used in recruitment has a profound impact on how advertised job roles are discovered, perceived and interpreted by prospective employees. This language also offers a window into the organisational culture of the employer, including their attitudes to equality, diversity and inclusion.
The research team at the university built a 1.4-million-word database of contemporary recruitment advertisements from a wide spectrum of employers. These industries included science, engineering, law, IT, medicine, psychology, finance, higher education and sales and marketing. A total of 1,055 job adverts from these sectors were analysed using a computer-based technique called corpus linguistics.
Overall, there were 10 key trends in these adverts that the researchers believe have a significant impact on how they attract and appeal to jobseekers. These include aspects of box-ticking and tokenism, vague and hyperbolic language, the over-formality of some phrases like ‘role-holder’ or ‘applicant’ and conversely the use of more casual but intimidating identity labels such as, ‘are you a no bullshit type?’ or ‘evangelist’.
Leading the project, Professor Louise Mullany from the School of English at the university said: “This is a much-needed piece of research because private and public sector employers are still failing to attract and hire talented people from a properly diverse range of backgrounds. A good deal of this is down to out-dated or misplaced use of language in job adverts and recruitment campaigns.
“We have used the results of this extensive research to create a communications toolkit for employers and HR professionals, giving them the power to put our suggestions and improvements into practice. We developed a series of interventions showing a range of job adverts before we had analysed them and after we had rewritten them using our key improvements to engage a much broader range of prospective employees in the text. Our industry partners believe that our clearer, more neutral and engaging use of language will make a big difference to the range of applicants in future recruitment drives.”
The research team is keen to engage with more employers who are interested in an analysis of their recruitment text and bespoke advice on how it could be improved to attract a wider audience of potential employees.
A downloadable copy of the full report is available here.
‘Transforming the Language of Exclusion and Bias in Recruitment’ is part of STEMM Change, a collaborative project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.
For more information, please contact Professor Louise Mullany at the School of English.
Tags: language, linguistics, Louise Mullany, Professor Louise Mullany, recruitment, research, School of English, STEMM Change
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Project Management Community consultation for upcoming relaunch
June 29th, 2021
If you are involved in project management or leadership, the university wants to hear from you about making the Project Management Community of Practice work better for you.
We’re looking to revitalise and relaunch the university’s Project Management Community of Practice (PM CoP) for the upcoming academic year.
The community offers an invaluable opportunity to develop project management expertise, grow your network in our profession, provide and seek support in the university in project management.
As part of this, we want to listen to you. So we’re asking existing and potential members what they want from us in order to gain a better understanding of the needs and composition of our members.
You could be a colleague just beginning your project management journey as a project officer, or a veteran managing several project managers or sponsoring a project.
The survey will remain open until midday Monday 12 July 2021.
Click here to get involved and access the survey.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact doug.little@nottingham.ac.uk.
Tags: leadership, leadership and management, management, PM CoP, project management, Project Management Community of Practice
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Occupational Health and Wellbeing services contractor chosen
June 29th, 2021
The University of Nottingham has contracted with TP Health Ltd for the provision of Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services to staff and students.
The contract goes live with TP Health on Thursday 1 July 2021.
As part of the service, we will be introducing a new online portal for making absence management referrals and receiving reports. The portal will allow managers to make referrals in a secure manner.
You can build a portfolio of absence management referrals and track their progress in the portal.
TP Health are running two live training sessions on the new Occupational Health portal, MyOH. Please click on the link to join the meeting.
The Q&A section will be open to ask any questions you may have. We would recommend you join one of the sessions below if you make regular referrals.
You can contact TP Health from the 22nd June to request access to their online portal and TP Health will send you your activation link via email within 1 working day.
As soon as you receive your activation link you an make a referral but please note TP Health will not be able to process your referral and book an appointment until the contract start date of the 1st July.
Please contact TP Health on 01327 810777 or email cs-e@tphealth.co.uk to request access. TP Health will require your full name, telephone number and email address to set you up.
Tags: health and wellbeing, occupational health, Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services, OH, TP Health
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