Campus News
New members appointed to University’s Council
April 1st, 2019
The University of Nottingham today welcomed leading figures in business, technology and healthcare as new members of Council.
Sherry Madera
Sherry Madera is currently Global Head of Industry and Government Affairs at financial data business Refinitiv. She has also held roles as Economic Ambassador to Asia, and Minister-Counsellor and Director at the British Embassy in Beijing where she was responsible for promoting trade and investment between the UK and China. Her current role sees her engaging across government, policy initiatives and industry trends.
Sonya Leydecker
Sonya Leydecker is a consultant, business coach and mentor. From 2014 to 2017, Sonya was joint CEO of international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills and previously led its global dispute resolution practice. Her coaching work supports people undertaking new career roles and she has a particular interest in developments in legal services provision. She also acts as a Prince’s Trust ambassador for the Women Supporting Women group, a mentor on its Business Enterprise Scheme, and is also a trustee of RESTART, a homelessness charity.
Vicky Bailey
Vicky Bailey is a non-executive director at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust with previous executive leadership roles in Nottingham including Accountable Officer for both NHS Nottingham West and Rushcliffe Clinical Commissioning Groups. She has served on national bodies advising Ministers, and has a clinical background as a nurse and midwife. She is a fellow of the of the Queen’s Nursing Institute. For the last year Vicky has been a co-opted member of the audit and risk committee at Nottingham University.
Richard Newsome
Richard Newsome is currently Director of Digital & Technology at Sainsbury’s plc, with a long career leading digital strategy, delivery and teams in major UK organisations, including Rolls Royce, Cadburys, and Boots. An alumnus of the University, Richard currently contributes his expertise to its Digital Advisory Board.
Council members are responsible for advising and influencing key University decisions and strategy, and acting as ambassadors for the University, representing it at local, national and international level.
Council Chair John Mills welcomed the new appointments, saying that they would complement the experience and skills of the current group: “Our new members bring a wealth of expertise across a range of business, industry and healthcare themes, and I am sure that their appointments will further enhance and support the work of the Council as the University progresses into the next decade.”
University Council is a key component of the University’s governance structure, critiquing, debating and ratifying decisions which shape the future of the University. Council plays a critical role in influencing strategy, scrutinising decisions and supporting the work of the University’s Executive Board.
Members of Council are drawn from a diverse range of backgrounds. Members include senior managers and academics from the University, external members including University alumni, leading local, national and international business figures and representatives from the University’s vibrant student body.
Tags: Council
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Coffee collaboration has the elements for a perfect blend
April 1st, 2019
Chemistry and the art of coffee making have been blended by the University of Nottingham to create an exclusive new roast, ‘Poliakoffee’ that is launched across campus today (Monday 1 April 2019).
‘Poliakoffee’ has been specially percolated to celebrate the Year of the Periodic Table and is a tribute to the university’s own periodic hero, Sir Martyn Poliakoff, who helped to create this special blend.
Sir Martyn Poliakoff worked with the University of Nottingham’s catering department and artisan coffee roasters 200 Degrees Coffee to bring his chemistry expertise to the process and brew up this unique new roast that has all the elements to be a hit with latte lovers and espresso enthusiasts.
Chemistry in a cup
Martyn said: “This was an exciting project to work on – I know how much my colleagues and students love coffee so I was keen to work with colleagues across the university create something truly unique. I was also pleased that our labs could be used to promote this project. As I’ve always said, chemistry really is everywhere and now it’s being sold in cups on campus!”
To celebrate the launch of Poliakoffee free samples will be available in the Portland building until lunchtime on launch day. You can even share your coffee break with the creator as life-size cut-outs of Sir Martyn Poliakoff will also be in Portland and the chemistry foyer for a coffee break selfie — #Poliakoffee!
Matt Douglas from 200 Degrees said; “We pride ourselves on creating the perfect cup of coffee and this new blend really does deliver something different to anything we’ve done before. The added ingredient of input from Sir Martyn has been the key element to what makes this blend so unique and we hope our customers enjoy it!”
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the creation of the periodic table and events and celebrations are running throughout the year.
Update: Only joking – April Fool!
But it really is the International Year of the Periodic Table and you can find out more about it here: https://www.iypt2019.org.
Tags: Chemistry, coffee, Periodic table, Poliakoffee, Sir Martyn Poliakoff
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Celebrating 15 years of transforming lives
April 1st, 2019
In 2004, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) was the first Sino-foreign university to open its doors in China.
Fifteen years later, we have more than 8,000 students and staff from 70 countries from across the world, and a reputation for delivering excellence in education and world-leading research, of benefit to Ningbo, to China, and beyond.
Today, marks the launch of the campaign ‘15 years of transforming lives’, the theme to commemorate this significant anniversary, as we celebrate our successes and achievements and continue to deliver on the promise of UNNC as a pioneer in global higher education.
We are coming together as students, staff, alumni and partners to celebrate this important milestone in our history, whilst at the same time looking forward to the next phase of development at our great University with enthusiasm for the future.
If you are based at UNNC, you will see lots of activity to celebrate our anniversary.
Look out for and join in with:
• A series of events including: International Education Week, Alumni Day and Open Day week commencing 8 April, look out for details of the Staff Night on 10 May
• A UNNC 15-year birthday party on 10 April as part of International Education Week
• Increased social media activity across all social media channels in the UK and China,
• New video content
• Enhanced web activity and the 15-year website
• Digital advertising on WeChat and Facebook
Please keep an eye out for these activities over the next few weeks, including new materials across the campus, and support us by using #UNNC15 on twitter.
I look forward to sharing in the celebrations with you all.
Professor Nick Miles
Provost UNNC
Tags: Professor Nick Miles, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, UNNC
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British Science Association Media Fellowship Scheme – apply now
March 29th, 2019
The University of Nottingham is offering a funded placement on the British Science Association’s Media Fellowship Scheme.
This scheme offers scientists, social scientists, clinicians or engineers the opportunity to spend two to six weeks working at the heart of a media organisation such as The Guardian, the BBC, The Times or the Huffington Post, mentored by professional journalists.
Following the placement, the successful applicant will attend the British Science Festival and gain valuable experience working alongside journalists from a range of media organisations in the BSA’s dedicated Press Centre.
As a fully trained Media Fellow it is hoped that you will provide support for in-house media training and actively encourage other researchers across the University of Nottingham to engage with the media. The successful applicant will act as a media ambassador for the University by signing up to the media expertise guide and being available for media interviews, quotes and expert comment.
Applications close on Monday 15 April at 9am. For more information, please visit the News page.
Tags: British Science Association, british science festival, journalism, Media Fellowship Scheme
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University of Nottingham Libraries are changing
March 29th, 2019
University of Nottingham Libraries are undertaking a major project to improve the student experience within libraries. The improvements are being made following calls from students for a more consistent, seamless and personalised experience when using the library.
Library users will start to notice the following improvements from Monday 15 April 2019:
- All library resources will be in one place – NUsearch
- Digital resources will be easier to access off-campus
- Flexible loans will respond immediately to demand
- Reservations will be easier
- Fines will be fairer
- Inter-library loans will be free (from Thursday 1 August 2019)
From Wednesday 27 March there will be some disruption to the normal service while Libraries move from their old system to the new one. More information on this can be found on the Libraries web pages.
Tags: books, borrowing, Libraries, library, NUSearch, UoNLibraries
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Professor Richard Leach awarded the Finkelstein medal
March 29th, 2019
Professor Richard Leach, Professor in Metrology in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, has been awarded the 2019 Finkelstein medal by the Institute of Measurement and Control.
The Finkelstein medal is awarded for notable contributions to measurement internationally — it’s one of less than a dozen awards given each year by the Institute to recognise excellence and achievement in measurement and control.
Richard said that he is delighted to get this award and happy that it is for international collaboration; something that is key to the future of engineering.
The medal will be presented formally at a ceremony in October this year.
Tags: Department of Mechanical Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, engineering, Finkelstein medal, metrology, professor richard leach
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BUCS Big Wednesday sporting successes
March 29th, 2019
On Wednesday 27 March the University of Nottingham hosted one of the biggest sporting events in the university calendar for an unprecedented second year in a row. Our teams came away with a ground-breaking 13 titles.
The event saw 104 teams from up and down the country descend on six Nottingham venues for a day of high octane championship and trophy finals in football, hockey, basketball, squash and more.
After qualifying for 16 finals, our Green and Gold teams won a staggering 13 of their matches, four of them championships. Our teams and spectators celebrated the following successes:
- Women’s Badminton Championship winners
- Women’s Squash Championship winners
- Men’s Table Tennis Championship winners
- Women’s Table Tennis Championship winners
- Men’s Football Trophy winners
- Women’s Netball Trophy winners
- Women’s Squash Trophy winners
- Men’s Squash Trophy winners
- Men’s Table Tennis Trophy winners
- Women’s Table Tennis Trophy winners
- Men’s Tennis Trophy winners
- Men’s Water Polo Trophy winners
- Women’s Water Polo Trophy winners
Highlights from the day included a Championship gold for the Women’s badminton, who won 6-2 against Loughborough. Meanwhile Men’s Football made history by securing the first ever BUCS football medal for the University of Nottingham, and Women’s Squash retained their national title for the fourth year in a row.
The University extends its congratulations to all of our students who took part in the games.
Visit the University of Nottingham Sport blog for the full reports.
Tags: (BUCS), British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS), BUCS Big Wednesday, Green and gold, sport, UoN Sport
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Global Challenges Research Fund: launch of £1.5m internal awards
March 29th, 2019
On Tuesday 2 April 2019 the University will launch the second round of internal awards to support the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
£1.5m will be allocated to projects seeking to address sustainable development goals in developing countries.
Interdisciplinary, pilot and networking awards are available.
Dame Jessica said: “I encourage every researcher across all disciplines at the University to consider how we might work with the Global Challenges Research Fund and deliver interdisciplinary research that will strengthen capability for innovation within both the UK and developing countries. Our first round of internal GCRF funding gave the University the opportunity to support some truly inspirational projects, all underlining our commit to working with international partners and helping to build capacity in developing countries to tackle complex issues.”
Discover more about previous projects funded through the GCRF.
More information
A launch event for the 2019 GCRF call takes place at 2-3pm, Tuesday 2 April on University Park. The application process will be outlined and Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, will introduce speakers whose research projects are building networks and capacity thanks to support from the 2018 call. Find out more and register.
Please visit Nottingham Strategy for Development-focused Research to find out more about the University’s vision, the funding available, the list of qualifying partner countries and details of projects funded to date by the Nottingham GCRF scheme. It is anticipated that the submission deadline will be Friday 14 June 2019.
Tags: GCRF, Global Challenges Research Fund, Nottingham Strategy for Development-focused Research, research
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‘Change Maker’ placement scheme for technical staff
March 28th, 2019
Technicians from under-represented and minority groups can apply for funding for placements/link-visits to partner universities or industry, under the new Change Maker scheme.
The Change Maker scheme (part of the STEMM-CHANGE programme) will offer up to 30 placements for technicians who wish to shadow senior colleagues and broaden their skills and experience in a new working environment. Each placement will last 2-4 days in length over a period of months (on a flexible basis).
Representative activities include observing colleagues in leadership positions, learning new skills, (both technical and transferable) and exposure to discussions on careers and opportunities in order to broaden horizons and demonstrate achievable career paths. Technical colleagues may shadow and link with other technical colleagues or those from other career paths in senior leadership positions from our project partners within higher education, industry and beyond.
Pilot phase – how to apply
10 placements will be piloted this year, with visits to take place between April and November 2019.
For the pilot phase of the initiative, applications are welcomed from members of the University of Nottingham Technical Services Job Family (from any level) who are from an underrepresented and/or minority group.
The project aims to create opportunities for all minority groups highlighted in the Equality Act 2010 and see a particular need to create spaces for the following consistently underrepresented groups within technical management and leadership teams:
- Female colleagues
- Disabled colleagues
- Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) colleagues
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT+) colleagues
Placements are available both internally at the University of Nottingham and across the consortium of project partners. More information, including a list of project partners, can be found in the programme brochure. Funding covers travel, subsistence and accommodation to facilitate the placements/visits. Funds to cover additional caring costs incurred by participation in the programme are also available.
Two types of application will be considered:
- From a technical colleague who knows the contact that they want to conduct the link-visits/placement with.
- From a technical colleague or their manager who want their staff member to learn or experience a particular technique/skill but are unsure as to how to identify the placement. In this case, the STEMM-CHANGE team would seek to place the applicant with an appropriate host.
Application forms are available at nottingham.ac.uk/technicians. All applications should be submitted to kelly.vere@nottingham.ac.uk by 5pm, Friday 12 April 2019.
Tags: Change Maker, STEMM Change, Technical staff, technician
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Brexit: Global and Political Affairs Unit briefing — 28 March 2019
March 28th, 2019
The Global and Political Affairs Unit (GPAU) has published its latest briefing on Brexit.
The document, last updated on Thursday 28 March 2019, is intended to address some of the key questions you may have about Brexit and what we know so far about the process of leaving the European Union. Read the briefing.
Tags: Brexit, Brexit briefing, EU referendum
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