Campus News
Free Indonesian language classes
March 8th, 2019
The University of Nottingham Language Centre will be offering a new series of Indonesian language and culture classes to staff and students for free.
The following 10-week courses will begin on the week commencing Monday 11 March:
- Indonesian Culture and Language – Beginners
- Indonesian Culture and Language – Post Beginners
The beginners’ course is designed for students who have no previous knowledge of the Indonesian language and culture, whereas the post beginners’ course assumes prior completion of the beginners’ course.
Please note that there will be no classes from the week commencing Monday 15 April until the week commencing Monday 13 May due to the University Easter break.
These classes are also available for members of the public at the cost of £50.
Tags: foreign language, free classes, indonesian, language centre, language classes
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Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter network launches at UoN
March 8th, 2019
The University of Nottingham’s Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter (WiAAC) network, launched today (Friday 8 March 2019) supports aims for improved levels of gender equality in the aviation and aerospace sectors.
The national WiAAC exists to help organisations make a commitment toward gender equality in the aviation and aerospace sectors. Organisations that sign up to the Charter are committing to be the very best at driving diversity and inclusion within their sector and providing fair opportunities for women to succeed at the highest levels.
The University of Nottingham is a founding WiAAC signatory. Our new network aims to support University efforts to achieve greater levels of diversity and inclusion across teaching programmes (both students and staff), post-graduate cohorts and early career researchers. This can be related to gender balance on courses and post-graduate programmes and support for early stage researchers and academics.
Dr Elizabeth Argyle (Research Fellow, Human Factors Research Group/Faculty of Engineering) and interim co-chair of the Network, said: “The University of Nottingham’s WiAAC Network seeks to support the University’s ongoing commitments to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion by creating a community of practice with a focus on these areas in the aviation and aerospace domains. I am thrilled to be a part of this community and to be able to support the Charter’s objectives for enhancing diversity and inclusion within the University and the broader aerospace/aviation industry.”
Mahnaz Sharafkhani, Marie Sklodowska-Curie INNOVATIVE programme doctoral fellow and interim co-chair of the Network, said: “I really welcome the launch of this new network, which will help to support the University’s Charter efforts to achieve greater equality, diversity and inclusion. The network will also strengthen efforts to help our graduates and researchers to succeed at the highest levels within the aviation and aerospace sectors and beyond.”
The network will provide a platform for raising good practice, engaging with staff and students, sharing information and promoting opportunities offered by our industry partners and fellow Charter organisations. This activity will be coordinated and promoted by the University’s Institute for Aerospace Technology (IAT) through the new network.
Interested students and staff are warmly invited to join the network and get involved. To learn more about the University’s WiAAC network, visit https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/aerospace/projects/index.aspx.
The launch of the UoN WiACC network at the University of Nottingham coincides with this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations. To find out more about how the University of Nottingham has celebrated International Women’s Day 2019, visit the People and Culture blog.
Tags: aerospace, aviation, engineering, IWD2019, WiAAC, Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter
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Celebrate Nottingham’s women by naming new building
March 8th, 2019
Staff and students are invited to help name a new state-of-the-art building on University Park.
As the world marks International Women’s Day today the University has announced that the Teaching and Learning building, situated behind Hallward Library, will bear the name of a woman who has made a significant contribution to teaching, learning or research in either Nottingham or British history.
Professor Sarah Sharples Pro-Vice-Chancellor Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Professor Sarah O’Hara, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience, said: “From the likes of Ada Lovelace to Marie Stopes history has given us women who have been pivotal in championing and transforming education and research. It is fitting that we use International Women’s Day to recognise this contribution in our newest building on campus. I hope that the name, once chosen, will inspire students and teaching staff in the years to come.”
A longlist of names will be drawn up for staff and students to consider and vote on before a formal recommendation to University Executive Board.
More details will be announced in coming weeks.
Tags: edi, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, International Women's Day 2019, IWD2019, Sarah Sharples, women
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Delivery Plan
March 8th, 2019
The deadline to contribute your views to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategic delivery plan is approaching: submissions should be made by Friday 15 March 2019.
Professor Sarah Sharples, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) recently published a new blog in which she invited University staff and students to contribute their views to the draft EDI strategic delivery plan.
EDI is vital for everyone in our staff and student community and the University seeks to create an environment whereby students and staff are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, socio-economic background, disability, religious or political beliefs, trade union membership, family circumstance, sexual orientation or other irrelevant distinction.
The EDI plan will underpin the developing University Strategy and ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion considerations are fully embedded across the institution for our staff and student communities.
From our teaching and lectures, to our research and management teams, to our student attainment, services and accommodation, the plan will ensure that our staff and students feel supported and included in all that we do.
Good practice in equality, diversity and inclusion creates stronger communities, happier and more effective workforces, and greater ideas and opportunities for our staff and our students – today and for the generations to come.
All views will be considered, and the final plan will be published alongside the new University Strategy towards the end of the year.
Please study the draft and let us know your views by answering the questions in this web form. The deadline for responses is Friday 15 March.
Tags: diversity, edi, equality, inclusion, strategy
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Nottingham Veterinary School to double student numbers in innovative dual-intake move
March 6th, 2019
The School of Veterinary Medicine and Science has unveiled ambitious plans to increase its student numbers by moving to a two-intake system in the new academic year.
The expansion will see 150 undergraduate students starting at the school in September this year, followed by a further 150 beginning their courses in April 2020.
The move to increase the number of high-quality vet graduates comes at a crucial time for the industry in the UK which is experiencing a shortage of qualified vets, with the situation expected to worsen post-Brexit.
Foundation Dean, Professor Gary England said: “As a UK leader in veterinary education, we’re extremely proud of the quality of the innovative programme which we offer to our students and the calibre of graduates it produces.
“Our team of dedicated and entrepreneurial staff is delighted that a move to a dual intake will open up this fantastic opportunity to many more students without increasing group sizes and while maintaining the excellent student experience which is synonymous with Nottingham.”
The school – which has been consistently ranked top for student experience in the National Student Survey (NSS) since its first graduating cohort in 2011 – will deliver its cutting-edge RCVS-accredited degree courses to a double intake by introducing an innovative approach to the teaching timetable, which will make best use of the school’s services and facilities across the whole of the year, rather than sticking to the traditional academic terms.
Based at the university’s Sutton Bonington campus, the school will be increasing its staff, with plans for a number of new clinical roles. This will enable the School to deliver small class sizes and protect the school’s inspirational student-centred experience.
Students’ final year already runs across the full calendar year and they will continue to access hands-on, real-world clinical skills through intra-mural rotations at the school and with its network of partnerships with privatevet practices, veterinary hospitals and organisations including amongst others the Scarsdale Veterinary Group, Oakham Veterinary Hospital, Defence Animal Centre, the RSPCA and PDSA.
The move will almost double the number of Nottingham veterinary graduates coming on to the jobs market every year at a time when the veterinary industry is facing unprecedented challenges.
Figures from the RCVS show that almost one-third of non-UK EU vets are already considering moving back home and that 18 per cent are actively seeking work outside the UK because of concerns about the possible effects of Brexit.
At the BCVA Congress in November last year, UK Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss confirmed to delegates that the UK is experiencing an 11 per cent shortfall in existing vet numbers with an estimated 200 per cent increase in the need for certification for food exports in the run-up to Brexit.
Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Professor John Atherton said: “The UK needs more vets and I am delighted that we will train more here in Nottingham.
“The Nottingham veterinary course is the most popular in the country and the vets we train are the most sought-after in the workplace. Our expanded course is designed to make the experience of becoming a vet in Nottingham – already one of the best vet training experiences in the UK – even better.”
The benefits for students who join Nottingham will include:
- The chance to experience its inspirational student-centred approach, ranked top by the National Student Survey (NSS)
- High staff-to-student ratios, with each cohort only being 150 students in total. This means students will benefit from smaller sized teaching groups, increased hands-on practical learning and staff knowing them better as an individual
- Opportunities to develop the skills, qualities, and knowledge to prepare students for a high-value career as a veterinary surgeon, and be the first choice for prospective employers
- Development of practical and clinical skills and knowledge through the addition of cross-module teaching weeks
- Options to track within the course to ensure students are excellently prepared for future employment
- Less competition for EMS places – four weeks of EMS per year will now be delivered within the curriculum for both cohorts, which will improve work-life balance, and give better opportunities for students to gain employment or rest between terms. The April cohort, will undertake vacation EMS while other students are in term-time
- A mini ‘gap-year’ between school and starting university for students starting in the April cohort
Tags: Brexit, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham Vet School
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Celebrating our European colleagues — join us
March 6th, 2019
On Tuesday 19 March 2019, we will be holding an event to celebrate the enormous contribution made by our European colleagues to the University, to Nottingham and to the UK.
Hosted by the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the evening will also serve as a forum for the development of ideas as to how the University should increase and expand its engagement with Europe, beyond Brexit.
The event will take place 5-7pm, Tuesday 19 March in the Senate Chamber, Trent Building, University Park Campus. Please RSVP online. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Please note, we extend a particularly warm welcome to our dual nationality colleagues who have come from an EU country, but have used their UK passport in the job application process with the University and who, as a result, we have been unable to identify and send a personalised invitation to.
The European Staff Celebration Event is a small way of signalling that our University, the city of Nottingham and the UK would not be the thriving places they are without the hard work, creativity, ideas and dedication of our European colleagues. We will also be promoting the stories of our European colleagues across the University’s communications and social media channels during the week of the event, using the hashtag #WeareUoN.
Featuring the inaugural University of Nottingham European Fuddle — bring a pudding.
On a lighter note, we want the evening to provide those attending with an opportunity to showcase the diversity of their cultural influences, while doing something that is quintessentially Nottingham. A fuddle* is the perfect format for these aims and firmly rooted in one of Nottingham’s, and indeed the University’s, finest culinary traditions. The University will be providing European-inspired food and drink for the evening, so participation in the fuddle is entirely optional.
*fuddle [n, used mostly in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire]: either on your own, or where a group of people get together and share sweets and other foods a bit like a picnic.
For more information, contact Amy Williams amy.williams@nottingham.ac.uk.
RSVP your place at the fuddle via Eventbrite.
Tags: Brexit, European staff, Global and Political Affairs, Research and Knowledge Exchange
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Students go digital as new technology transforms teaching
March 6th, 2019
Students in the School of Geography have piloted Microsoft Surface Hubs for group work during Dr Adam Algar’s class on Patterns of Life.
The Teaching and Learning Building has been fitted with 38 Microsoft Surface Hubs to prompt greater collaboration and new ways of working for students. All teaching rooms in the building are equipped with a Surface Hub and a further nine are in student group study rooms, eight are in student breakout sessions and the remaining two will be sent to the Digital Solutions Hub in early March.
The hubs include cutting edge interactive whiteboards that enable connecting, collaborating, curating content, sharing and recording of work. This feeds into the University’s vision for teaching, facilitating new ways of learning while also widening students’ digital skills – preparing them for life after university.
For one lesson students were asked to find, interpret and summarise a scientific article on speciation rates. Traditionally this would have involved groups splitting up the task, working on individual computers, combining the work and presenting it at the end of the lesson. Using the Surface Hubs students were able to collaborate and interact on a single device throughout, sharing ideas, curating content from the internet, challenging and editing each other’s work and recording the process for reflection and submission at the end of the lesson.
Dr Algar said: “It was possibly the most rewarding bit of teaching I’ve done with a class of 50 students. Rather than having students all working on their own screens and then producing a power point presentation this seemed so much more interactive. Students were moving things around on the screens, asking questions, challenging each other. Now I’ve seen how this can work I’m considering how I use this for other lessons and modules.”
Second-year students Kiera Pullen and Jack Richardson said they enjoyed using the Surface Hubs.
Keira said: “The surface hubs are a great way of visually representing everything you’ve learnt during the lecture, and the opportunity to work in small groups gives me the confidence to contribute and challenge ideas adding a depth to my study that I find really engaging and useful.”
Jack added: “Particularly for kinaesthetic and visual learners, working in a hands-on way helps to engage more with the task and learn from each other. Ultimately, the Hubs allow us to take the lead and explore topics in a different way to normal lectures.”
Dr Nick Mount is Digital Learning Director for the Faculty of Social Sciences. He said that digital investment is key to providing opportunities for students to build their knowledge and skills through collaboration. Dr Mount has introduced ‘bacon and tech’ sessions – breakfast training events – to enable his faculty to learn more about the potential of the hubs.
Tags: Dr Adam Algar, Interactive whiteboards, Microsoft Surface Hubs, Teaching and Learning Building
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University of Nottingham brand masterclasses
March 5th, 2019
* UPDATE: The date of the Sutton Bonington campus masterclass has been amended to Tuesday 12 March *
External Relations has organised a series of masterclasses to bring colleagues up to date with the University’s brand.
The brand masterclass will give you general updates on the brand and how to creatively apply it to your online and offline materials. You’ll also learn how to commission design work, access helpful resources such as messaging and templates, and practice writing copy in the University style. After the session you will feel confident in promoting and applying the University brand.
The masterclasses will take place on the following dates:
- Tuesday 12 March: Sutton Bonington Campus
- Thursday 16 May: Jubilee Campus
- Thursday 11 July: University Park
The session will be particularly useful for new members of staff as well as for existing colleagues who are looking to further their brand knowledge.
We encourage you to come equipped with any materials you have worked on or are about to work on.
Further details are available on Workspace, along with dates and details of how to book.
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Emotional intelligence and change
March 4th, 2019
Changing how you do things is relatively easy. Changing how you feel can be much more complex.
In her second blog post in a Leadership and Management Academy (LMA) series looking at change management, Jaspal Kaur, Director of HR, explores the impact of emotional intelligence during change (you can read the previous post here).
“Looking back on a number of key University changes that have happened in the past, one of the key themes that comes up again and again is that change can’t succeed if we don’t take account of the emotional impact that’s felt by people affected by a change.
In the videos that make up part of the managing change online resources Vice-Chancellor Shearer West says, ‘You can’t make people feel differently, but you can understand why they feel the way they do and try to work with them to help them through that.’
I think this speaks to the heart of how we need to manage change at the University. When we are changing the way we work, we need to acknowledge that there will be an emotional reaction to the change, and we need to remember that everyone is different in their reactions. How quickly we accept a change, how strongly we resist it and how we behave during it, will be both individual and personal to us, and influenced by our previous experiences both inside and outside of work.
As leaders and managers, we need to be aware of this as we work on any change project; we will be feeling a personal reaction to the change, and the people we work with will also be reacting too, in potentially very different ways.
This is where the idea of emotional intelligence becomes so important. People with higher emotional intelligence are more able to identify their own emotions, regulate them appropriately for the situation and empathise with others.
For example, we’ve all been in a situation where a change is explained to us and we’re not completely convinced that this is the right thing to do. As leaders, our emotional reactions and how we demonstrate them to the people affected by the change can have a huge impact. A positive, pragmatic response can set the scene for reducing the negative reactions others feel and give space for us to understand their reactions.
It’s when we understand the emotional reactions to change, work with them and identify what’s a normal part of processing a change, helping people through this, that we can start to make the journey of change easier for all involved.
That’s what the change management resources that the Leadership and Management Academy have developed are all about. They aim to helping you understand how people react to change, providing tools to support the smoother transition through change for everyone involved.”
Want to find out more? Take a look at the next post in this mini-series about change management: ‘Changing whilst you change‘.
Tags: Leadership and Management Academy, LMA
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Nominate international colleagues for photographic portraits
March 4th, 2019
For the next stage of the University’s Portrait Diversification project — which began in 2018 with the celebrated Women at Nottingham photographic portrait project in the Council Dining Room — we are asking staff and students to nominate international colleagues who make a real difference to life at the University.
In the current political climate and underlining the Vice-Chancellor’s clear commitment to staff and to diversity, it has never been more important to celebrate the incredible contributions of our international staff working on the UK campuses, whether they are from the EU or more globally.
The first call out in January resulted in a number of fantastic nominations. Thank you to everyone who has already submitted suggestions; it has been inspiring to see how you value your colleagues.
We want to ensure we are being inclusive of all job families and levels, and therefore encourage proposals for individuals or teams of international staff who make the University experience truly exceptional for staff and students.
The resultant selection will be photographed by Lisa Gilligan-Lee and their portraits framed and hung in the Trent Committee Room, alongside the portraits of Professor Sir Colin Campbell and Professor Sir David Greenaway, who initiated, developed and continue to champion our international agenda.
Please complete this form with your nomination and do make sure you include brief details on why you have decided to recommend them.
The deadline is Friday 15 March. The new exhibition will be launched in June 2019.
Tags: International Women's Day 2019, IWD2019, Portrait Diversification project
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