Campus News
Staff festive parties allowance
October 21st, 2019
To celebrate the festive season with colleagues this year, the University has increased the staff party allowance from £10.00 to £15.00 per person if you ‘keep it on campus.’
Our internal conference department, Nottingham Conferences, and De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre and Orchard Hotel, have developed some exciting festive options so that staff can enjoy the season with colleagues at a number of our campus venues in December.
Your £15.00pp staff party allowance will cover:
- A two course festive buffet, arrival drink and entertainment at the ‘Winter Market’ party nights where up to 400 colleagues join the celebrations at the De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre, 9 – 11 December
- ‘Festive Feasts’ at selected halls of residence, on dates across December
- Festive buffet and evening meal menus at Spokes Cafe, Jubilee Campus
Alternatively, you can enjoy £15pp off the festive lunch menu at the De Vere Orchard Hotel or the Trent Building.
A staff party allowance at the standard rate of £10.00 per person is also available for colleagues who wish to celebrate at venues off-campus.
We know it might feel a little early to plan for the festive season, but early booking is encouraged as we expect places to go quickly.
For further information and bookings, please contact:
- De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre ChristmasEMCC@devere.com | 0115 876 0900 (option 2)
- Halls of Residence and Trent Building conferences@nottingham.ac.uk I Internal 86100 I 0115 748 6100
- De Vere Orchard Hotel bramleys@devere.com | 0115 876 0881
- Spokes Cafe, Jubilee Campus spokes@devere.com | 0115 938 0080
How to claim the allowance:
If you are keeping your festive celebration on campus, please book via the contacts above for Nottingham Conferences, De Vere East Midlands Conference Centre and Orchard Hotel, stating a University budget project code from which to pay the allowance.
If you wish to go off-campus, please contact your local Finance support, who will be able to provide further information and may be able to arrange direct payment to the venue as a deposit to secure the booking.
If you have already booked your celebration and wish to claim the allowance, you can make a personal expenses claim through Concur under the heading of Staff Entertainment, providing a receipt.
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Nottingham Impact Accelerator: Hermes Call 18 now open
October 18th, 2019
The latest call for expressions of interest under the Nottingham Impact Accelerator for Hermes Fellowships are now being welcomed.
This is the 18th round of Hermes awards which is to continue with the themes of innovation, business engagement and outreach. Expression of Interest forms can be downloaded from the Hermes section of the Nottingham Impact Accelerator workspace, and completed forms should be submitted to nia@nottingham.ac.uk by 12 noon on Monday 4 November.
It is strongly recommended for applications within the Innovation stream that applicants liaise with their appropriate IP Commercialisation Manager in advance of submission.
Please note that applications will only be accepted by submission directly to nia@nottingham.ac.uk, and NOT through the Research Information System.
For further details, contact David Southall at david.southall@nottingham.ac.uk or on extension 67246.
Tags: Hermes Fellowships, Nottingham Impact Accelerator
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£1.7m investment committed to sustainability
October 17th, 2019
The University has committed a £1.7m investment in the high voltage network on the University Park and Sutton Bonington Campuses. This investment contributes to sustainability commitments and assists in doing more around renewable energy.
The City of Nottingham has set some challenging carbon reduction targets and the University recognises it has a role to play in helping to deliver those.
By reinforcing the infrastructure that distributes electricity across our campuses it will improve resilience and provide capacity for investment in further on-site renewable energy schemes such as solar panels, lower carbon energy systems and more electric charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The University’s global research programme has a well-deserved reputation for supporting a more sustainable planet in developing renewable sources of energy, green propulsion systems, climate-resistant crops and a sustainable food supply. Beyond research and investments, the University is also dedicated to ensuring daily campus activity supports sustainability and the current Carbon Management Plan aims to secure a 40% absolute reduction in carbon emissions from a 2009/10 baseline.
The investment in the University’s high voltage infrastructure and networks on both University Park and Sutton Bonington are an important element of delivering the campus master plan in coming years. This will be increasingly important as the University commits to even more challenging carbon reduction targets.
Tags: carbon, Electicity, green, sustainability
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Brighten Up – be safe when cycling
October 17th, 2019
This October the University of Nottingham 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 clocks go back one hour on Sunday 27 October 2019, so evenings will start getting darker earlier. To help you in the lead up to this, the University of Nottingham Sustainability Team, along with the Cycling Club, are hosting a series of bike safety drop in sessions from 12-2pm each day.
These sessions will be held at:
- Monday 21 October – Clinical Sciences building, City Hospital
- Tuesday 22 October – The Exchange, Jubilee campus
- Wednesday 23 October – The Barn, Sutton Bonington
- Thursday 24 October – Royal Derby Hospital Centre
- Friday 25 October – Engineering & Science Learning Centre, University Park
It is important to remember that bike lights must be used on campus, public roads and cycle paths between the hours of sunset and sunrise. If you are seen to be without bike lights, then you will risk a fine of up to £150. See what lights are required by law.
If you need lights for your bike, you can pick up a set of front and back lights from the SU shop for just £5.50 or take part in the Sustainability team’s Instagram competition to be in with the chance of winning some.
Not only this but Nottingham Bikeworks will be selling fully serviced, second-hand bikes at George Green quad from 10am-2pm on Friday 25 October. Through this, bikes will be available for purchase on the day from as little as £65, with a range of frames available – including road, hybrid and mountain bikes. Each bike comes with a minimum 30-day guarantee against any mechanical faults.
Take a look at the University’s Brighten Up page or watch this Cycling UK video on the legal requirements for bike lights for further advice on staying safe and visible.
Tags: Autumn, cycling, sustainability, Winter
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Cascade: up to £10,000 for student projects
October 17th, 2019
The Cascade funding programme offers up to £10,000 in funding for projects that benefit the student experience.
The programme uses donations from alumni and friends of the University, and has gifted over £1 million to more than 120 projects since 2007. Previous funding has supported student-led initiatives such as Community First Responders, Liter of Light, Vets in the Community and Foodprint (scroll down for more information).
Staff are also able to apply for funding, provided that the primary beneficiaries of the project are students.
Of special interest to the programme are projects that:
- Connect campuses and communities
- Encourage creativity and innovation
- Enhance teaching and learning experiences
- Promote environmental sustainability
- Advocate for global citizenship
- Promote healthy bodies and healthy minds
If you’re interested in applying for funding or would like more information, complete the Expression of Interest form or email cascade@nottingham.ac.uk
The deadline for applications is Friday 15 November.
Below are some examples of previous projects that have successful secured Cascade grants.
Foodprint
This project set up Nottingham’s first social supermarket and a surplus food redistribution network, to reduce food waste and to redirect food that is fit for consumption, but would otherwise go to waste.
Community First Responders
Set up in 2014, Community First Responders are a group of trained student volunteers who act as an additional resource to the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Tags: Cascade, Cascade fund, Cascade Grants Programme, funding, grants, student projects
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ILM Leadership and Management Level 5 – places available
October 16th, 2019
There are a number of places still available on the Level 5 Leadership and Management Programme which will be starting on Wednesday 13 November.
This programme is ideal for those in middle management leadership roles and provides the opportunity to improve leadership skills and gain a recognised qualification in leadership and management.
The programme will focus on developing you as an effective leader within the context of issues currently being faced by you and your team. Learning will be built around a ‘live’ project of your choice ensuring that all your learning has practical application and is of direct and real benefit to you and your team. Undertaking this course gives you the opportunity to try out recognised leadership tools and techniques, enhance the delivery of real life project and gain a level 5 qualification at the same time.
The course will involve 4 days of training, one per month from November to February, and 3 assignments involving practical elements to be applicable to real work situations.
To sign up to the course, please visit Central Short Courses.
For more details please contact Programme Leader, Jenny Wilkinson, at jmw@gwa.co.uk.
Tags: Central Short Courses, development, ILM Project Management, management, training
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Trent Building to go red for anti-racism campaign
October 16th, 2019
The University of Nottingham’s Trent Building will be lit up in red floodlights on the evening of Friday 18 October, to mark Wear Red Day.
The University Boulevard side of the historic building will be illuminated from 6pm, Friday 18 October to about 4am, Saturday 19 October – with the light visible to travellers on University Boulevard and passengers on the tram line.
The display coincides with Wear Red Day – an anti-racism campaign that takes place on Friday 18 October in England and Wales, and is organised by education charity Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC).
Organising charity SRtRC delivers anti-racism workshops to more than 50,000 young people every year in schools throughout England, Scotland and Wales, as well as providing training to teachers. The charity’s educational work is crucial in challenging racist attitudes in society and breaking down barriers within communities. It aims to combat racism through enabling role models, who are predominately but not exclusively footballers, to present an anti-racist message.
The lighting takes place in the midst of Black History Month, which is being celebrated throughout October. A programme of events is taking place, open to both staff and students, and ranging from networking opportunities, to film screenings, to drumming workshops. View the events listing for Black History Month 2019.
Professor Sarah Sharples, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Nottingham, said: “We are proud to get involved in this important campaign. Equality, diversity and inclusion is a crucial and central pillar in all we do at the University of Nottingham and we are very pleased to be able to highlight our support for Wear Red Day.”
Want to get involved in Wear Red Day? You can tweet using the hashtag #WRD19 or show your support by donning a red outfit on Friday 18 October. Don’t forget to look out of pictures of the illuminated tower on Twitter this Friday evening!
Tags: Black History Month, Show Racism the Red Card, Trent Building, Wear Red Day
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Our Civic University
October 16th, 2019
The Civic and Regional Committee was set up last year as a UEB sub-committee and has been chaired by Professor Kevin Shakesheff as it sets about helping the University in this important and expanding area.
Interactions across the University demonstrate that many staff and students are engaged in outstanding civic collaborations with a diverse range of local groups. There are many ‘bottom-up’ projects where the University community has initiated projects that impact on the lives of citizens in the City of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands region.
The committee is now looking to learn about as many projects as possible that impact on any aspect of lives of local people and has already heard about activities that supports the arts, local business groups, health care, education and many more. If you would like to share your own work, then please contact the Global and Political Affairs Unit with a short summary and they will be back in touch to learn more – and potentially include as a case study as part of the Universities for Nottingham campaign.
The committee is working with the Institute for Policy and Engagement to try to develop a network of academics whose research or research-impact is particularly focused on the local or regional. If you would be interested in being part of this network, then please email rachael.pearson@nottingham.ac.uk.
Some highlights of the University’s civic engagement from the past academic year have included:
Universities for Nottingham
Universities for Nottingham is a sector-leading initiative being developed by the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University to transform the way both institutions work together to deliver civic good. Together, both universities aim to develop a portfolio of joint economic, social and cultural activity that makes the most of their ability to deliver transformative change for the people and place of Nottingham. The initiative began earlier this year with a joint economic, impact and social impact study, a major stakeholder engagement and communications programme, as well as a complementary-mapping exercise that looked at where both universities have the potential to align activity and improve what we do civically. The intention is to ‘launch’ Universities for Nottingham on Monday 20 January 2020 – promoting civic impact, announcing a range of new joint civic initiatives and using this as the basis of a major consultation exercise with local partners to develop a formal Civic University Agreement by July 2020.
Ingenuity 19
This year, for the first time, Ingenuity was able to extend its world class programme of entrepreneurial development opportunities across the city and the region. The 500+ innovators came from across a broad range of industry, public and community groups adding value and creating dynamic collaborations between students and researchers at UoN as well as six other universities. £150,000 of prize funds were awarded to local charities as well as projects that will create sustainable opportunity for Nottingham, such as enterprises building stronger families or helping the homeless. Culminating in an awards dinner at St Mary’s Church in April, Ingenuity 19 showcased how in partnership the capacity and resources of UoN can create impact for the city through enterprise.
Wonder
The University held Wonder 2019 on Saturday 15 June, which attracted over 5,000 visitors, with just over 26% of the visitors’ postcodes classed as Widening Participation areas. The event included 100 exhibits supported by approximately 500 members of academic/departmental staff and students and cost £20,945.91 (2017’s Wonder cost £122,066). Audience response was positive with respondents to surveys stating they had enjoyed the event. When asked whether they would recommend attending Wonder in the future, nearly all were very likely (64%) or likely (34%) to do so. One in three (32%) agreed their visit to the event had changed their view of the University. Staff response was positive too with consistently open lines of communication between organisers and activity leads.
Festival of Science and Curiosity
University of Nottingham staff and students have made a huge contribution to the festival since it began five years ago with an aim of taking STEM out of the lab and into the everyday lives of Nottingham’s citizens, and especially into parts of the city where people don’t regularly engage with science. As well as being involved in the planning of the festival itself, University staff delivered interactive activities about mathematics, psychology, microbes and chemistry at highly attended events across the city centre and community libraries, worked on projects in primary schools about plant pathology, neuroscience and physics, and organised talks in informal settings for adults about driverless vehicles and archaeal genetics.
Tags: Civic, festival of science and curiosity, Ingenuity 19, Universities for Nottingham, Wonder
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Changes to global activity services and support
October 15th, 2019
The University is committed to embedding strategy, services and guidance supporting global activity – from teaching partnership to supporting international staff and students.
The move towards a more sophisticated, integrated approach to global engagement is key to sustaining the University’s position as a leading international university.
As part of this work, functions and services that were previously based in the Office of Global Engagement will be moved into our front-line professional services teams. This will ensure that staff and students retain easy access to high-quality advice and support, while better aligning with the University’s global strategy.
- The Teaching Partnerships team has joined the International Student Recruitment team
- The Director, Inter Campus Collaboration will join the new Governance and Assurance directorate
- The Student Mobility team will join the wider mobility team in Student Services (development)
These changes will take place over the coming weeks although business as usual will continue for the operations managed by these teams.
A new global engagement strategy support unit will be created in the new year as part of External Relations, reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in the first instance. This new team will support the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement and the Global Engagement Committee to develop a strategic approach over the coming months in response to the new University Strategy.
For more information on the changes please contact Laura Repton.
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Trent Building to go red for anti-racism campaigns
October 15th, 2019
The University of Nottingham’s Trent Building will be lit up in red floodlights on the evening of Friday 18 October, to mark Wear Red Day and in support of National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2019.
The University Boulevard side of the historic building will be illuminated from 6pm, Friday 18 October until approximately 4am, Saturday 19 October – with the light visible to travellers on University Boulevard and passengers on the tram line.
Professor Sarah Sharples, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Nottingham, said: “Events at the Euro 2020 qualifiers in Bulgaria demonstrate the importance of acting to tackle the scourge of racism not just in football, but wider society. We are proud to get involved in these important campaigns. Equality, diversity and inclusion is a crucial and central pillar in all we do at the University of Nottingham and we are very pleased to be able to highlight our support for Wear Red Day and National Hate Crime Awareness Week.”
Wear Red Day 2019
The display coincides with Wear Red Day – an anti-racism campaign that takes place on Friday 18 October in England and is organised by education charity Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC).
SRtRC delivers anti-racism workshops to more than 50,000 young people every year in schools throughout England, Scotland and Wales, as well as providing training to teachers. The charity’s educational work is crucial in challenging racist attitudes in society and breaking down barriers within communities. It aims to combat racism through enabling role models, who are predominately but not exclusively footballers, to present an anti-racist message.
Want to get involved in Wear Red Day? You can attend an event, tweet using the hashtag #WRD19 or show your support by donning a red outfit on Friday 18 October.
National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2019
National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2019 takes place from Saturday 12 to Saturday 19 October. Staff are invited to hear from national and regional officers of UNISON involved with combating hate crime and supporting those affected at events on University Park and Jubilee campuses.
- 2-3pm, Wednesday 16 October, A03 Teaching and Learning Building, University Park. Find out more.
- 2-3pm, Wednesday 30 October, LT3 Exchange Building, Jubilee Campus. Find out more.
What is the University doing?
The University of Nottingham has introduced decisive measures to promote and support diversity across our staff and student community including: recruitment diversity guidelines and trialling use of anonymised applications; training to address unconscious bias in the classroom; inclusive teaching practices; reverse-mentoring schemes; and work to decolonise the curriculum. We are investigating assessment practices to ensure there is no unconscious bias on students and piloting initiatives to reduce the attainment gap in STEM subjects.
Professor Sarah Sharples, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Equality Diversity & Inclusion holds UEB-level responsibility to support staff and students of all protected characteristics and recently published a new EDI Strategic Delivery Plan to ensure diversity is at the heart of all our activity and operations. More broadly, the University has upgraded its systems and support to report and investigate harassment, developed specific campaigns to stress the inclusive values of the University of Nottingham as a community, and increased numbers of specialist Dignity Advisers to advise and support staff.
The University is determined to work with our partners across the higher education sector and has pledged support for the UUK/NUS ‘closing the gap’ action plan on tackling attainment gaps. We are also challenging ourselves as an institution to continue our progress over the long-term by applying for Race Equality Charter (Bronze) status by 2020/21 that commits universities to improving the representation, progression and success of BME staff and students.
Tags: National Hate Crime Awareness Week, Wear Red Day, WRD19
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