Campus News
Important changes to the car parking scheme – permit year change
February 19th, 2018
The following updates are being made to the University car parking scheme:
- Changes to the permit year
- Five per cent price increase on parking charges from September
Permit year changes
In April 2017, the Government made changes to the salary sacrifice scheme which has now ended with regard to car parking. Following the end of this scheme, the University is changing the permit year for staff, associates and contractors back to its original annual cycle – 1 September to 31 August.
All current staff permits will expire on Saturday 31 March 2018.
Staff who renewed their permit in April 2017 to take advantage of the final year of salary sacrifice will cease to receive salary sacrifice benefits from April 2018. Those who renewed in September 2017 onwards have not received salary sacrifice benefits since the previous permit year ended.
Staff can extend their existing permit to the end of this permit year at current rates, should they wish to, taking the expiry date to Friday 31 August 2018. They will be able to apply for the permit extension from early March; instructions on how to do this will be shared in the coming weeks.
Associates and contractors will need to apply for a new five-month permit from early March. Students are unaffected by these changes, as their permit year already runs 1 September to 31 August.
Price increase from September
There has been a two-year price freeze on car parking charges at the University. The new permit year, which begins Saturday 1 September 2018, will see a price increase of five per cent on car parking charges.
Car parking fees on the University’s campuses cover the charges made to the University by Nottingham City Council through the Workplace Parking Levy scheme. We apologise for the increase in the cost of University parking charges. This is the first time that the price has been raised in the past two years and reflects the rise in the WPL charge.
The University continues to support those with caring responsibilities through the provision of late-start reserved parking areas, where drivers can access parking after 9.15am. Three new spaces have been added under the Ningbo Friendship Bridge on Science Road, close to the science and engineering buildings on University Park. Continued support for electric vehicles will see the roll out of further electric charge points in 2018.
Pay and display car parking charges are also set to increase, with the new charges in place from Saturday 1 September 2018. More detail on the new charges, and all new developments, is available on the Estates website.
Tags: car, car park, car parking, commute, parking
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Spend half term with the Vikings
February 16th, 2018
Take your children on a voyage of discovery this half term to learn about the Vikings at Nottingham Lakeside Arts.
From Saturday 17 February-Sunday 25 February 2018 there will be a series of Viking-inspired activities and events for children.
From designing and making your own Viking artefacts, to joining a living history encampment with our own Viking woman – this is a real opportunity for children to see how the Vikings really lived.
There will also be an opportunity to get in a long ship and join children’s author Robin Price for a fun voyage through all things Viking. Plus, children will also be able to write their own Viking saga and share it in an interactive story writing workshop.
The programme of events over half-term will also include:
- Decorating a Viking cup
- Viking-inspired drumming and percussion workshop
- Zine workshop with dizzy ink
- Making dragon masks and bookmarks
- Making a Viking shield
- Viking storytelling
The events are running as part of two major Viking exhibitions currently showing at Nottingham Lakeside Arts.
The first exhibition – Viking: Rediscover the Legend – is a major touring exhibition from the British Museum and York Museums Trust, which brings together significant Anglo-Saxon and Viking artefacts including some of the most well-known hoards ever discovered in the country. The exhibition closes on Sunday 4 March, so half-term week is nearly the final opportunity to see it.
The second exhibition – Danelaw Saga: Bringing Vikings Back to the East Midlands – runs until Sunday 8 April and tells the story of how the Vikings shaped the East Midlands and is based on research from the University of Nottingham’s Centre for the Study of the Viking Age.
The exhibitions and events taking place build on the University of Nottingham’s world-renowned expertise in Vikings, including one of the world’s leading experts on the Vikings, Professor Judith Jesch; the University’s Centre for the Study of the Viking Age, and the University of Nottingham’s Museum.
Clare Pickersgill, Keeper of University of Nottingham Museum says: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming families to Lakeside during February half-term. I’m particularly looking forward to the Viking Activity Day on Saturday 17 February, where visitors will be able to handle genuine and replica Viking artefacts and take part in workshops as well as seeing the exhibitions.”
For more information on the half term programme of events, or on the exhibitions themselves, visit the Lakeside Arts website.
Tags: Clare Pickersgill, Danelaw Saga: Bringing Vikings Back to the East Midlands, Lakeside Arts, Viking: Rediscover the Legend, vikings
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Park and Ride bus services free for 2017/18 academic year
February 14th, 2018
University staff and students are now able to travel for free on Nottingham’s park and ride bus services.
This is a trial arrangement for the remainder of the 2017/18 academic year, following discussions with Nottingham City Council.
The park and ride bus services — Centrelink and Ecolink — run to Nottingham city centre from Queen’s Drive and Colwick Racecourse respectively. Passengers will be required to show their University ID card to the bus driver in order to quality for free travel on the services.
This news follows a previous announcement that staff and students are able to travel for free on Medilink and the Localink L12 bus service during 2017/18.
All bus timetables are available from travel provider CT4N.
Tags: Bus services, Centrelink, commute, Ecolink, park and ride, travel
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Media guidelines updated
February 14th, 2018
The Press Office in External Relations has updated its guidelines on how to work with the media.
The guidelines can be located here.
For advice and support in this area please contact the Press Office.
Tags: interviews, media, media relations, press, Press Office, publicity
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Nottingham-Birmingham funding streams open for application
February 12th, 2018
Two funds supporting collaborative projects between the universities of Nottingham and Birmingham have opened for application:
- The Education Partnership Fund.
This fund is designed to support collaborative education projects. Its focus this year is on addressing the challenges we face in delivering inclusive education and closing undergraduate attainment gaps.
We are seeking to fund projects that address one or both of the following questions:- What should ‘inclusive education’ in a contemporary research-intensive university look like and what are the implications?
- How can we explain and address UG attainment gaps?
- The Strategic Collaboration Fund.
This fund supports research and professional services projects undertaken in collaboration between the two universities.
Want to read some case studies on projects previously funded by the scheme? Visit the partnership website.
For more information and to apply for 2018 funding, please visit www.birmingham-nottingham.ac.uk/funding-opportunites/funding-opportunities.aspx.
The deadline for applications for both funding streams is Friday 6 April 2018.
Tags: collaborative education, Education Partnership Fund, funding, Nottingham-Birmingham, professional projects, research, Strategic Collaboration Fund
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Hallward Library opening hours — return to 24/7 service
February 9th, 2018
The Hallward Library has fully reopened and will return to its regular opening hours from Saturday 10 February, following the completion of work on a new fire alarm system.
The system has been tested and is fully operational. Floors three and four of the library, which had been closed to students during the period of the works, are now open.
Hallward will close at 9.45pm on Friday 9 February, reopening at 9am on Saturday morning to return to its regular 24-hour opening hours.
George Green Library will return to its regular opening hours from Saturday — more information is on the library website.
Thanks to our staff and students for their patience and support during this period of works.
Tags: george greeen, hallward, hallward library, Libraries, library, opening times
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Nottingham patients to benefit from £30 million investment
February 8th, 2018
Nottingham is to receive a share of £30 million to transform healthcare using the science of data.
As one of six sites in the UK awarded funding from Health Data Research UK the Midlands partnership, made up of the Universities of Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Warwick, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, aims to make pioneering improvements in people’s health.
Through analysis of large sets of medical data, to reveal patterns and trends, the groups can drive breakthroughs in how we prevent, detect and diagnose diseases.
Each of the sites have world-class expertise and a track record in using health data for scientific discovery. They are also working closely with NHS bodies and the general public to translate these research findings into benefits for patients.
Doctor Philip Quinlan, Senior Analysist at the University of Nottingham, said: “I am thrilled that the University of Nottingham is part of such a strong regional team to ensure patients in the Midlands can benefit from the developments in data driven health care research.
“The Advanced Data Analysis Centre at the University has been pioneering national data integration projects for several years, such as the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre, and to be leading the University of Nottingham’s involvement in this project is extremely exciting and supports the foresight of the University several years ago to invest in a dedicated data analytics team to support such important research.”
“HDR UK is about technology development and supporting health care research but also about creating career paths in academia for skills that are not traditionally academic. Many of the UK’s top talent in digital technologies end up in the commercial sector and we need to provide attractive career opportunities to ensure this talent can be retained within Universities to drive the future technologies such as artificial intelligence that have the potential to impact medical research. HDR UK brings the opportunity to solve this in coordination with other leading Universities in the UK. All in all a very exciting time for health data research in the UK.”
Professor Simon Ball, Director of Digital Healthcare at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and Site Director for the Midlands, added: “The Midlands HDR UK Substantive Site award is hugely exciting, not just for our academic and NHS partners, but also for our patients. By bringing together excellence in research and healthcare informatics and data science across Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and Warwick, we have a unique opportunity for innovation to improve diagnosis, refine prognosis and personalise treatment for patients regionally and nationally”
The successful Health Data Research UK sites are: Cambridge, London, Midlands, Oxford, Scotland and Wales/Northern Ireland.
Professor Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK, said: “I am delighted to make today’s announcement, which marks the start of a unique opportunity for scientists, researchers and clinicians to use their collective expertise to transform the health of the population.
“I am grateful to our funders who recognise the importance of collaboration at scale, and the pivotal contribution of health data research to the UK’s ambition to be a global leader in life sciences, for health and economic benefit.”
This is the first phase of investment to establish Health Data Research UK. A further £24 million will be invested in upcoming activities, including a Future Talent Programme and work to address targeted data research challenges through additional partnership sites.
Tags: Digital healthcare, health care research, Health Sciences, healthcare, medicine and health sciences
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Help break a world record!
February 8th, 2018
Nottingham Hospitals Charity has set its sights on breaking a Guinness World Record this spring. Want to get involved?
The charity is aiming to break the record for the largest gathering of people dressed as local legend Robin Hood — and it’s calling on the people of Nottinghamshire for their help.
To get involved, all you need to do is register your attendance, put on a Robin Hood costume, and join the event on Monday 7 May!
As well as the very serious attempt of breaking a Guinness World Record, there’ll also be music and games, competitions, markets stalls, plus lots of fundraising opportunities for all ages.
All proceeds raised by the market and activities will go to the Big Appeal for Nottingham Children’s Hospital, to help raise money for sick children. The appeal aims to provide improved parent and family accommodation, state-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging equipment, and vital research into childhood diseases.
The event, which is free to attend, will take place at Wollaton Park from 11am-4pm on Bank Holiday Monday 7 May. It’s open to people of all ages.
Costumes can be bought, borrowed or homemade; the only specifications are that it must include a Robin Hood hat with a feather, a green or brown tunic (or T-shirt), and green, brown or black trousers or tights.
Registration is required for this event. To find out more and sign up, visit www.nottinghamhospitalscharity.org.uk, email charity@nuh.nhs.uk or call 0115 962 7905.
Tags: charity, community, fundraising, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre, Robin Hood, world record
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Vice-Chancellor announces further support for international staff
February 7th, 2018
The Vice-Chancellor has announced further support for international staff though the work of the University’s EU taskforce.
International staff (EU and non-EU) can now access interest-free loans to help with expenses related to immigration and applying for British citizenship, for themselves and their immediate family.
Professor Shearer West said: “Our international staff do not just make an integral contribution to the University of Nottingham, they define our very identity as one of the UK’s most globally-minded institutions. We are determined that this will not change during or after the UK leaves the European Union. As such, I am pleased to announce the University will create a new scheme to give all our international staff access to interest-free loans to cover the cost of current and future migration procedures”.
The ‘Support with Immigration Expenses’ application form can be found here.
‘Brexit Briefing’ workshops are also available to provide guidance and information to EU staff. Led by Mills and Reeve LLP, these workshops will explore immigration-related matters, such as applications for permanent residence and British citizenship, looking at some common issues that affect university staff – such as the impact of regular travel abroad. They will also look at the broader context of Brexit and issues facing colleagues from the EU.
Tags: article 50, Brexit, British citizenship, EU referendum, immigration, International staff, Professor Shearer West, Vice Chancellor
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