Campus News
Unavailability of Campus Solutions – 19 to 21 December 2020
December 14th, 2020
Please note that Campus Solutions (MyNottingham) will be unavailable during the following days due to essential maintenance work:
- UK time: 3.00am Saturday 19 December to 5.30pm Monday 21 December 2020
- China/Malaysia time: 11.00am Saturday 19 December to 1.30am Tuesday 22 December 2020
You will not be able to log into Campus Solutions during this time. Also, systems that obtain data from Campus Solutions will not receive data for this duration. Data feeds will be reinstated after this maintenance work is completed.
Campus Solutions will be moved to a new, more reliable cloud platform. This will help to ensure we can manage high-usage periods and will reduce the number of performance issues we currently experience.
We appreciate that many staff were planning to work during this time. Your understanding and support will be greatly appreciated as this essential work is completed so we can offer students and staff a better service.
Please make sure you save your work in Campus Solutions, or you obtain any information you will need, before the end of the day on Friday 18 December. If you have bookmarks saved in your web browser for Campus Solutions, please clear your web browser cache after the time specified above so they continue to work.
Should you experience any issues after this work is completed, please contact the IT Service Desk. Thank you for your support.
Tags: campus solutions, Information Services, MyNottingham
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Unavailability of Campus Solutions – 19 to 21 December 2020
Update on staff testing [UPDATED 04 January 21]
December 14th, 2020
Staff testing continues to the end of term with nearly 2,500 staff having been tested so far. The number of active cases of Covid-19 continues its downward trend and has reduced by 99% since October to 13 active cases. There are no active cases amongst staff, with 13 active cases among students, from a population of 35,000
All staff including postgraduate researchers with a University email can access the testing service at one of our dedicated testing stations outlined below.
Staff can access an asymptomatic test (saliva) test until 17 December at the times and locations below, and from 4 January at the times and locations below.
There are no limits on the number of asymptomatic tests you take. Staff who are on campus regularly should consider taking a test twice a week.
Staff working from home off campus can also access the testing service, but we ask you not to take any unnecessary risks in travelling to our testing stations.
Testing is, of course, voluntary but we hope that the testing service for staff will offer reassurance at this time and keep our community safe.
You can find out more about our winter break plans for our students here and about the different types of tests on offer.
Testing should never be seen as a substitute for any of the Covid-19 security measures in place across campus or the wider local public health rules. We are offering access to regular asymptomatic testing to provide staff with additional reassurance and peace of mind.
Please do be aware that the testing service is, by definition, for staff who do not exhibit Covid-19 symptoms. If you have symptoms, you must isolate and book an NHS test as soon as possible.
Where to access to staff testing
You do not need an appointment to obtain and submit your test. Please ensure you haven’t eaten for two hours prior to submitting your saliva sample. You’ll need to visit one of the following testing locations:
January testing service locations and times – from Monday 4 January
University Park Campus
- Portland Building, the Welcome Zone on C floor
Monday to Thursday, 10am–4pm (last session 3:30-4pm)
- Coates Building, room A01
Monday to Thursday, 10am–4pm – (last session 3:30-4pm)
Jubilee Campus
- West Atrium (previously Jubilee Conference Centre)
Monday to Thursdays, 10am–4pm (last session 3:30-4pm)
Sutton Bonington
- Main Building, room A32, Bonington Student Village
Monday to Wednesday, 10am-3pm (last session 2:30-3pm)
How to take an asymptomatic test
Please visit the testing service website to find out more, look at the instructions on how to submit your saliva sample and log your sample online at the testing service website. Please return your saliva sample to one of the locations, (confirmed on the testing website by the end of this week) within two days of taking the test.
What happens next?
The University Testing Service aims to process tests by the next working day, subject to demand and capacity.
If you receive a positive test result, you will be contacted via phone or text to the number you provide and sent an email providing information and advice on what to do next.
If you receive a negative test result, you will be sent an email confirming this.
Full details of the support available to students and staff is available on the University’s coronavirus pages
Thank you for your support in helping us tackle the spread of Covid-19. Contact testingservice@nottingham.ac.uk with any questions.
Tags: Asymptomatic testing, coronavirus, COVID-19, staff testing, testing, University Testing Service
Posted in Announcements, News | 8 Comments »
Professor Kevin Shakesheff to join the Open University
December 14th, 2020
Professor Kevin Shakesheff will be leaving the University in April to become Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research, Enterprise and Scholarship at the Open University.
Professor Shakesheff’s new role will see him delivering strategic leadership for the Open University’s research, enterprise and scholarship, including its approach to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), knowledge exchange and entrepreneurial activities.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West paid tribute to Professor Shakesheff:
“Over his 23-year career at Nottingham, Kevin has made an immense contribution as a leader in research, as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Science and as a valued member of the University Executive Board. Most recently, he has also led the University’s work to enhance the role we play across the city through his leadership of the Universities for Nottingham initiative. I would like to thank Kevin for his outstanding work at Nottingham and wish him every success in his new endeavour.”
Professor Shakesheff said:
“After a career of more than 23 years at Nottingham, I shall miss the many colleagues, students and alumni that have become friends and reflect on the many achievements we have secured together for the University and the city. As an alum I look forward to staying involved with this fantastic University and I will always be grateful for the opportunities that I’ve been given in the local community, across the UK and in our campuses in Malaysia and China. The mission, vision and values of the Open University are inspiring and I hope my experiences in research, enterprise and scholarship at Nottingham will make a valuable contribution.”
During his time at Nottingham, Professor Shakesheff has grown collaborative research in regenerative medicine resulting in new technologies for spinal surgery and tissue repair. This work led to the creation of the University spin-off company, Locate Bio Ltd which employs scientists at the Medicity site in Beeston. He has taught many generations of pharmacy students and as Head of School led an ambitious redesign of our very successful Masters of Pharmacy Programme.
More recently, he has been PVC for the Faculty of Science for the past 5 years and led activities on civic engagement. In the civic role he is the Chair of One Nottingham, the city’s partnership board and has been a board member of Biocity for the past 4 years. In 2020, he became Chair of the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction (NC3Rs).
Kevin will be taking up role at the Open University on 12 April, and arrangements to secure his successor as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Science will be confirmed in due course.
Tags: Faculty of Science, Professor Kevin Shakesheff
Posted in Announcements, News | 1 Comment »
Building closures over the winter break
December 14th, 2020
The majority of University buildings will be closed to staff and students from Friday 18 December and will re-open on Monday 4 January 2021.
The Estates team has been working with Faculties to put together a comprehensive programme for managing buildings over the Winter break.
This is particularly important due to measures that have to be in place to keep our campuses Covid-secure. The programme will enable essential work to continue while allowing all job families who have been supporting the University throughout the pandemic to take a well-earned break.
Whilst closed, maintenance and essential processes will continue but the buildings are closed to general staff and students. Cleaning will not take place so anything other than essential access risks invalidating current risk assessments.
The PDF here lists the status of all buildings. They have been grouped into four categories;
- Closed between Friday 18 December and Monday 4 January (majority of buildings)
- Closed for a longer period (affects a number of teaching and professional services buildings)
- Buildings open for longer. (includes a number of cafes, sports facilities and some libraries). Please check exact opening dates for each facility with Libraries and UoN Sport
- Buildings which remain operational throughout but with restricted access to approved staff only
If you are concerned about accessing a building during the break please speak to your Faculty Operations Director or line manager.
Tags: buildings, Christmas break, closures, Estates, opening times
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Building closures over the winter break
Research Information System (RIS) implementation update: December 2020
December 11th, 2020
Since my last report as Programme Sponsor in July, I’d like to update the University community on recent changes as well as the planned roll out of awards management though RIS from January 2021 onwards – which is the final major element of the UK implementation programme.
In September all academic staff’s profiles in the online RIS repository were linked to their staff profile page on the University website, so that their existing publications lists are now being supplemented with the latest output information in RIS.
Work is currently underway to add additional data into the REF module in preparation for our submission to Research England by the end of March. To facilitate this user permissions have been extended to a wide range of colleagues involved in inputting outstanding information and validating the submission data held in RIS to ensure that our final REF return is as robust as possible.
Phase 1 of the development work to link the RIS and Finance systems has been completed. This will enable academic staff to check progress and to track spend on their projects in RIS.
This new interface will be rolled out on a phased basis in 2021. In mid-January it will be switched on for the majority of new awards that are made LIVE in RIS, resulting in finance codes being automatically assigned to these projects as well as budget information and expenditure being transferred between the RIS and Finance systems. Subsequent changes to these projects, for example start date changes, will also be managed in this way.
When this initial pilot phase has been completed the next stage of the roll out will begin, resulting in the transfer of all historic and new expenditure to other LIVE projects in RIS that currently have finance codes on them. When this process has been concluded the final part of the roll out will also enable key changes to LIVE projects being managed through the integration to ensure that project and financial data in the two systems remain in sync.
I sincerely hope that you all have a good break over the festive period. In the meantime if you have any questions or would like any further information about any of these developments then please email:RIS-Enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk.
Professor Kevin Shakesheff
PVC Faculty of Science
Tags: Professor Kevin Shakesheff, Research Information System, RIS, RIS UK
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Research Information System (RIS) implementation update: December 2020
Plant Sale – Tuesday 15 December 2020
December 10th, 2020
The Estates Grounds Greenhouse (on Keighton Hill) will be holding a plant sale to sell some of the seasonal plants that are normally purchased as part of our winter graduation planting schemes along with other stock items.
There will be the usual seasonal plants along with other house plants and those that are purely grown for their foliage. All plants will be £2.00 each, regardless of shape size and form. Plants cannot be prepaid for and no stock will be held. Plants will be sold on a first-come, first-service basis.
No money will change hands and the correct money must be used as no change will be given. Money can be dropped in the ‘Honesty Box’ located with the self-service bagging area.
As there will be restrictions in place, queuing may be likely and consideration for the weather must be taken into account, so please dress accordingly and to suit the weather condition on the day as there will be no cover provided. To aid with the current situation all doors will be open and extraction fans from each greenhouse will be run to aid airflow/ventilation.
- The plant sale will be held on Tuesday 15 December 2020 (one day only) and will run from 9:30am until 2pm.
- Signage will be erected and must be followed as per government/University guidelines and if queuing occurs, all customers must adhere to social distancing of at least 2 meters. The entrance to the greenhouse will be via the rear of the Life Sciences carpark and up the slope leading to the rear doors of the Life Sciences Building
- On entering the greenhouse, it will be expected that everyone sanitises their hands using the dispenser provided and that face mask/coverings are worn at all times
- There will be a one way system in operation within the greenhouse and the surrounding paths, therefore please do not use rear doors at the back of the Estates Office for the duration of the plant sale, as queues may be expected through the one way system in place
- Only be two people will be permitted within the greenhouse corridor at any one time and one within the greenhouse that breaks off the corridor
- There will be 6-7 greenhouses open with plants for sale, those that are open will be marked/identified as such
- Customers will have the opportunity to select what they want, trays will be provided if more than one plant is purchased.
- All plants will be £2, Polyanthus (various varieties) will be 10 for a £1. All subject to availability of course.
- There will be no reservation or holding of stock, and plants would need to be sold on a first come first service basis as always (as mentioned above)
- Bags will be provided, and the majority of plants should be sleeved to aid transit. It will be the responsibility of the customer to bag their own plants
- The exit will be clearly marked and again a hand sanitiser dispenser will be in place within the bagging area. Any used trays will be collected at the exit, wiped down and returned to the entrance (by greenhouse staff) ready for the next customer.
Tags: plant sale, plant sale 2020
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Plant Sale – Tuesday 15 December 2020
UoN secure four top University sport awards
December 9th, 2020
The university scooped four prestigious national Higher Education Sport awards last night (Tues 8 Dec) including Sportswoman and Team of the Year.
The 2020 British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) awards delivered virtually for 2020, celebrated the achievements of student athletes who excelled in their sporting endeavours, as well as volunteers and administrators who have gone above and beyond to progress the sports provision at their institution.
The University of Nottingham winners included hockey star Esme Burge who was awarded Sportswoman of the Year as she prepares for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Nottingham were awarded ‘Team of the Year’ for their success in Track Cycling earlier in the season, where the team won a staggering ten medals and achieved two team pursuit medals at the BUCS Track Championships.
Peter Boyes was awarded Student Volunteer of the year for his dedication to the rowing club. Peter has enabled the club to double in size from 50 members to 124 at the end of 2020, alongside representing at BUCS Rowing events.
Finally, Nottingham were also recognised for their innovative online campaign promoting the Empower programme taking home the Digital Engagement Award for their integrated project and partnership with leading fit-tech brand Shreddy.
The university were also shortlisted for four further awards; University of Nottingham Tennis for Sports Club of the Year, Stefano Lucchetti for Sportsman of the Year, our LGBT+ inclusions work for the Diversity in Sport award and Disability Sport Officer Hannah Webber for the Unsung Hero accolade.
University of Nottingham Students’ Union Sports Officer, Josie Jessop, told us how delighted she was with the awards. She said: “It was incredible to see our sport clubs, student volunteers, elite athletes and the rest of the University of Nottingham Sport team be recognised for all of their hard work at the awards last night.
They truly put student experience at the heart of everything they do and it’s great to see this being recognised. It makes me really proud to represent everyone at University of Nottingham Sport – staff and students alike.”
Director of Sport at the University of Nottingham, Dan Tilley, added:
“To have been shortlisted in eight categories was an amazing feat, but to then come away with four awards is a remarkable achievement for the University of Nottingham Sport family.
I am absolutely delighted for the winners Pete, Esme and the Cycling Team, along with our team who put together the Empower digital engagement offer.
It has been a really tough and testing year, so it is great to have this recognition to remind us of the staff and students who work tirelessly to deliver the best possible offer for our University community.”
As the winter holidays approach, the department continues to deliver a varied offer to the student and wider community, with a huge range of virtual content on the Health and Wellbeing Home Page complimenting the sports facilities available for students staying in Nottingham over Christmas.
Tags: (BUCS), BUCS Big Wednesday, sports, UoN Sport
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on UoN secure four top University sport awards
Discover the School of Geography Map Collection on NUsearch
December 8th, 2020
Maps in the School of Geography’s extensive collection are now searchable via the University’s library discovery tool, NUsearch.
The School of Geography map collection is the main cartographic holding within the University and one of the largest in the East Midlands, comprising over 85,000 paper maps housed in 550 drawers.
Available to access via appointment to University staff, students and the public, the collection features noteworthy maps covering a wide range of locations and cartographic styles.
The collection includes 40,000 UK Ordnance Survey maps providing extensive coverage of Nottingham and the East Midlands, illustrating how the geography of the city, the region, and the University has changed over time.
Other maps in the collection include the UK in various historical series, geological maps, thematic maps and holdings covering Europe with notable coverage of the mid-twentieth century and the rest of the world. Highlights include WWI trench maps, various German WWI and WWII, other military maps and a Napoleonic map of central Europe.
Searching and accessing the collection
Thanks to work undertaken by colleagues in the School of Geography and University of Nottingham Libraries, it is now easier than ever to search the collection and request an appointment.
To find a map from the collection, search for a place name or location on NUsearch and filter the search to ‘School of Geography maps’. Visit the Libraries website for full instructions.
Alternatively, you can browse all items in the collection.
From NUsearch, users can see key details of each map including the year of creation and access a full map collection inventory.
Catalogued information for the map collection is in text format only and does not include any images of the maps.
Map of University Park from 1967
Access to the collection is via appointment only and users can follow a link from the NUsearch record to request an appointment.
Elaine Watts, curator of the collection and manager of the School of Geography’s Cartographic Unit said “We are thrilled to have been able to work with colleagues in Libraries to make our collection available for discovery via NUsearch. We encourage all map users from within the University and beyond to use this unique and valuable resource.”
To find out more, or to access the collection, email elaine.watts@nottingham.ac.uk
Tags: cartography, NUSearch, School of Geography, University of Nottingham Libraries
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Discover the School of Geography Map Collection on NUsearch
University is third in the world for sustainability
December 8th, 2020
The University of Nottingham has been ranked 3rd in the world in a list of the most sustainable universities.
The UI Green Metric, produced by the Universitas Indonesia, is the only university ranking in the world that measures each participating university’s commitment in developing an ‘environmentally friendly’ infrastructure. The rankings look at six indicators: setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transportation and education.
Since first taking part in 2010, Nottingham has consistently been placed in the top four. Over 900 universities from 84 coutries took part in the 2020 rankings.
In the past year, Nottingham published a University strategy putting sustainability at the heart of the institution’s core goals and committing to joining the city of Nottingham in its ambitions to become carbon-neutral by 2028. In March 2020 the University joined other institutions in declaring a climate emergency.
John Atherton, Pro Vice Chancellor and Chair of the University Sustainability Committee said: “The University of Nottingham is delighted to once again be recognised for the hard work it is doing to embed environmental sustainability across the institution and make it an integral part of our education and research. Our global research programme includes a focus on sustainable food production and future food security, green chemicals to tackle greenhouse gases, and sustainable propulsion.”
“Year-on-year we have reduced our carbon dioxide emissions on campus, achieving a total reduction of 40% since 2009 and exceeding the target set in 2010 by almost 2,000 tonnes. New ambitious carbon reduction targets are being developed using a science-based approach to ensure the University achieves its ‘fair share’ in reducing global emissions below 1.5 degrees.”
Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands, took the top spot, followed by the University of Oxford in second place. Nottingham Trent University took fourth place, giving Nottingham a remarkable double classification in the top four world rankings.
More information on University of Nottingham Sustainability can be found here.
Tags: carbon neutrality, environmental sustainability, sustainability, UI Green Metric
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on University is third in the world for sustainability
Supporting students on campus during the winter break
December 8th, 2020
As always during the winter break, a number of students will remain in the city or in campus accommodation, for example international students or those who live or work in the region.
To support these students over the break, we are opening a Covid-secure hub in the East Midlands Conference Centre and Jubilee Hall to be a welcoming space that students can use to study, purchase a snack, eat or relax outside of their accommodation.
For students who live on campus many will already have pre-paid for a meal plan which includes a seasonal meal on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, dining times have already been provided to you at 5pm.
For those students who have not pre-purchased you can book a meal at a cost of £12.00.
The student hub will be managed and operated by paid staff who will give our students every support and assistance over the break. However, we are also very happy for any colleagues across the University who would like to come in and spend a little time with students at the hub.
There is no formal role or expectations on time, it’s just about dropping in for a cuppa and a chat and being a friendly face for students during the festive season.
Refreshments will be provided along with a simple guide so that if a student asks about a particular service or support, colleagues will know where to direct them.
The Hub will be open daily from Saturday 19 December to Sunday 3 January. If you would like to take part, please email hayley.crawford@nottingham.ac.uk with your availability.
Tags: student hub, student support
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Supporting students on campus during the winter break