Campus News
September 12th, 2017
Students will again be using the Online Module Form to make their optional module choices in September. The form has been enhanced to ensure modules with limited capacity do not become oversubscribed.
Students will be able to access the form as below:
- New students (undergraduate, including incoming mobility students and postgraduate taught) will be able to make choices during the period from 12 noon on Monday 18 September until 10am on Monday 25 September.
- All students (to include new students and all returning students) will be able to access the form for the normal “change of mind” period from 12 noon on Wednesday 27 September to 10am on Wednesday 11 October.
The forms will be pre-populated with all core modules and (for returning students) any choices students made in May.
Module enrolments will be uploaded daily into individual student timetables and Moodle (they will appear in Moodle the day after your student record has been updated).
Student Services will be contacting students with course specific information to assist with their choices (when relevant) and guidance for the use of the form. The form does not carry out any validation against programme specifications. Manual checks will be necessary as in previous years and this will be carried out by Student Services staff in conjunction with academic colleagues.
Choices are provisional until formally checked by staff. Students are not able to amend the form once submitted and any further requests should be via the Student Services enquiry form.
Any sessions taking place in Schools/Departments to support module choices should be titled module advisory sessions rather than module sign up sessions.
Tags: module, module choices, module enrolment, moodle, new students, online module form, returning students, student services, timetables
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September 11th, 2017
As we move closer towards the start of a new academic session, Information Services would ask our UoN community to be particularly vigilant regarding cyber security and phishing attacks, as we will very likely see an increase in activity at this time of year, especially targeting new students.
This week the BBC reported that British universities are now being hit by hundreds of cyber-attacks every year with 1,152 intrusions into UK university networks recorded during 2016-17. Attacks are both targeted at new students attempting to surface financial information but also at university staff seeking to steal research data and documents to sell on.
We would advise all university staff and students to be extremely vigilant regarding potential ‘phishing’ emails or suspicious attachments. Our ‘Avoid Phishing emails’ website outlines tips on how to spot scam emails and phishing attempts. Visit our Cyber Safety web pages to learn other ways to stay safe online.
If you think you have given your personal information out through an email scam, contact the IT Service Desk for help.
Tags: Information Services, IS, phishing, phishing email, spam
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September 8th, 2017
HeadSmart — the highly successful campaign pioneered by the University of Nottingam’s Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre to speed up diagnosis of childhood brain tumours — has been voted the UK’s favourite health project funded by the National Lottery.
HeadSmart is based on research into the most commonly-presented symptoms of childhood brain tumours, carried out by the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre and is a partnership between the Centre, the Brain Tumour Charity and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Since the campaign’s launch in 2011, the average diagnosis time for brain tumours in children has been cut from 14 weeks to under six weeks, saving lives and helping to minimise brain damage from treatment.
HeadSmart beat off competition from 1,300 entries nationally to win a £5,000 cash prize and will have its impactful work showcased in a special report on the BBC One Show on Wednesday 27 September 2017.
Professor David Walker from the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre said: “This award, voted for by the public, is testament to the huge impact that our work on the HeadSmart campaign has achieved nationally and internationally.
“We are eternally grateful to the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) and in particular the clinical champions who have tirelessly collected national data on times to diagnosis enabling us to measure the impact of HeadSmart.
“Parents and medical professionals are now much more aware of the signs and symptoms of brain tumours in children and young people and earlier treatment is making a real difference to outcomes of this the largest cancer killer of people under the age of 40.”
Hayley Epps, from The Brain Tumour Charity added: “This National Lottery award means so much to us as a charity, and the money will help us continue to drive down diagnosis time and save lives.”
The winners of the National Lottery Awards are decided by the public — 7345 people voted for HeadSmart to win Best Health project.
Tags: Brain Tum, childhood brain tumours, Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre, Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group, HeadSmart, health, National Lottery Awards, our Charity, Professor David Walker, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, wellbeing
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September 7th, 2017
A University of Nottingham Professor and a course that brings Nottingham’s teaching programme to pharmacy students in China have been shortlisted in a national competition to highlight the best of higher education.
The University is up for awards in two categories in the Times Higher Education Awards 2017. Each year the THE Awards attract hundreds of entries that exemplify the talent, dedication and innovation of individuals and teams across all aspects of university life.
Nottingham’s two shortlisted categories are ‘Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year’ and ‘International Collaboration of the Year’.
The ‘Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year Award’ is given to the individual who has created the most supportive, stimulating and inspirational research environment for doctoral students. Judges will be looking for nominees with a variety of qualities including a pioneering approach to supervision, demonstrable enthusiasm for the role, the ability to challenge students intellectually, and offering constructive employment and career advice post-graduation.
Professor Gerardo Adesso of the School of Mathematical Sciences was nominated by Head of School Professor Ian Dryden for his “outstanding relationship” with his PhD students. A graduate of the University of Salerno, Italy, he joined Nottingham in 2009 as a lecturer and was promoted to Professor in 2016. His world-class research and reputation around quantum correlations, and his charismatic leadership, means he receives dozens of PhD applications every year.
Professor Dryden, said: “There are a number of factors that distinguish Gerardo among other successful PhD supervisors. He nurtures the talent of potential students even before they start a PhD, through inspiring teaching, coordination of the summer research bursary programme and organisation of an undergraduate showcase for all the bursary awardees.”
He added: “Gerardo is a never ending source of guidance and stimulus for his students. He simply cares for his students as for a big family, and is outstandingly skilled and talented in bringing the best out of all of them and proudly accompanying them in their scientific and personal growth.”
Professor Adesso, said: “I am humbled and honoured to receive this nomination, which comes as a surprise! Huge thanks go to my current and former PhD students, who are a constant source of excitement, support, challenge, and reward. Having the privilege to guide them helps me mature every day as a scientist as well as a human being.
“I am also very happy that our research environment in the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Nottingham gets recognised as a thrilling venue for nurturing talent.”
The ‘International Collaboration of the Year Award’ recognises exceptional projects carried out jointly between a UK institution and one or more international partners. This category focuses on the collaboration rather than the research itself and judges will be looking for evidence of creative collaborations and imaginative communication of research results.
The School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham has a long-standing global reputation for the quality of its pharmacy education. Ranked 6th in the 2017 QS World Rankings (Pharmacy and Pharmacology), it has led, in partnership with the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TUTCM), the first joint UK-China pharmacy undergraduate degree programme.
The innovative and ground-breaking programme is the first collaborative programme of its type with any international university, with students spending years 3 and 4 of their studies at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham staff contributing significantly to teaching in China. The programme exemplifies vision and provides a new collaborative educational model that could be extended within China, and beyond.
Professor Stephanie Allen, Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Pharmacy, said: “Innovation in education and research is central to the School of Pharmacy’s mission and we are excited to be working with TUTCM on the delivery of this new course in International Pharmacy; it presents us with a valuable new opportunity to learn about pharmacy and its related practices in China.
“We are absolutely delighted that the innovation and hard work involved in establishing, launching and now delivering the course has been recognised by a shortlisting for this THE Award.”
The esteemed Times Higher Education Awards judging panel will toil over the treasure trove of excellence, culminating in the awards evening — where well over 1,000 people will gather for dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, on Thursday 30 November — to celebrate and reflect on the extraordinary breadth and depth of the higher education sector.
Tags: international collaboration, Professor Gerardo Adesso, Research Supervisor, School of Mathematical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, the awards, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Times Higher Education Awards, TUTCM
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September 7th, 2017
Congratulations to two University of Nottingham postgraduate students from the Department of Architecture and Built Environment (DABE), who have been named joint winners in the prestigious UK Passivhaus Student Competition.
Passivhaus buildings provide a high level of comfort for occupants while using very little energy for heating and cooling. Andres Guamani Rodriguez and Nuansa Atika Kusumastuti were awarded the accolades for their projects which were designed not only to achieve the Passivhaus Standard, but to also deliver on other sustainability targets.
Andres’ winning design, the Carbon Neutral Residential Development, comprised of carbon neutral homes which integrate Passivhaus principles. The development is surrounded by public space and green areas which integrate energy and food generation.
Nuansa’s winning entry, named Heart Valley, is a development of Passivhaus homes based in Bestwood, Nottingham. These homes are designed to maximise the occupants’ comfort and minimise energy usage within a connected, inclusive, healthy and self-sufficient community.
Yogini Patel, Design and Research Associate with the Passivhaus Trust, and a member of the judging panel, explained why the students’ projects were deemed to be outstanding:
“Nuansa’s scheme showcased a simple form factor, which would help meet Passivhaus performance criteria and good consideration to shading, whilst judges were impressed with Andres’ clear comparisons of design iterations and development.”
Both projects were designed in response to a brief outlined by tutor and module convenor, Dr Lucelia Rodrigues, an Associate Professor in DABE, with the support of social housing providers Nottingham City Homes.
Dr Rodrigues said, “I believe it is essential for students to engage with real life challenges, so I always use live sites such as the one in Bestwood in my studio teaching and encourage them to take part in national and international competitions. It is fantastic to be able to take part in the Passivhaus competition and even better to see the success of our Masters in Architecture and Environmental Design students.”
Andres is on a scholarship offered by the Ecuadorian government. He said, “I decided to come to Nottingham because of the University’s prestigious reputation and the Masters in Architecture is a much sought-after course. I studied the Passivhaus module in my second semester and I’m delighted to have won the competition. My winning project enabled me to secure a scholarship to do a summer term at the University of Natural Resources and Life Science in Vienna on green building solutions, sustainable urbanism and building engineering physics. Once this is completed, I intend to do an internship in Nottingham and then return to work in Ecuador and apply all the knowledge I’ve acquired here.”
Nuansa said, “I chose to study at Nottingham because I want to further my studies in environmental design. This particular approach isn’t widely applied in developments in Indonesia, which is where I’m from. I’m so happy to have won the competition and I hope it will lead to a great job back home. I’m on a scholarship offered by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education and I plan to work as an architect designing affordable residential buildings that use minimum energy. I would also like to join the Green Building Council in Indonesia so that I can encourage the stakeholders of the infrastructure developments to build environmentally responsible buildings.”
The competition had over 100 entries from five universities with an impressive number of high-quality designs.
Both of the schemes achieved equally high scores, impressing the judges with their concepts that embraced Passivhaus principles.
The winners will receive their awards at a ceremony on Tuesday 24 October at the UK Passivhaus Conference in London.
Tags: architecture, DABE, Dr Lucelia Rodrigues, emissions, Passivhaus, School of Architecture and Built Environment, sustainability
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September 7th, 2017
The University of Nottingham has partnered with Coventry-based R&D facility The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to co-fund three PhD programmes, as part of a drive to secure future technologies for the UK’s manufacturing industry.
Overall, the MTC is investing more than £700,000 to co-fund a total nine PhD programmes with its founding academic partners — the University of Nottingham, the University of Birmingham and Loughborough University.
The MTC will contribute £80,000 per student undertaking the three-and-a-half year research programmes, with three students at each university. The programmes will start this autumn.
This will be repeated next year as the MTC looks to create a constant stream of innovation ideas from academia, which it can develop and transfer into industry.
Ken Young, Technology Director of the MTC, said:
“It is about enhancing our relationships and making sure that the work done on the research comes through to the MTC, so we can mature it and get it into industry.
“We want to be at the forefront of getting the ideas and innovations from academia and then advancing them into UK industry. For us, it is also about getting the right standards and the right sort of supervision inside and outside of university, so the students will get access to the MTC’s facilities and experts.
“This will help make sure the PhD is appropriate to industry’s needs. This is a very positive move as it is ensures that the research landscape joins up.”
The PhDs will focus on a number of key areas including next generation robotics, additive manufacturing, simulation and modelling and artificial intelligence.
He added: “As we are jointly funding these PhDs with the universities, it means we can make sure the research areas are relevant to us and our industrial members. As new developments are made, this enables us to bring them into the MTC environment and for us to see what is capable for commercial exploitation.
“The universities focus on the low technology readiness levels, where they can solve problems that are currently too far into the future to transfer into industry. Supporting this, and the individuals, will also help to deliver the future thought leaders for industry. Helping to develop these people is also very much part of our corporate responsibility.”
For details of the PhD opportunities search ‘PhD’ on the careers section at www.the-mtc.org.
Tags: advanced manufacturing, future technologies, manufacturing, manufacturing technology centre, MTC, PhD, phd funding, technology
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September 7th, 2017
Applications are invited for a two-year Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship that will be hosted by the University of Nottingham. The fellowship is intended for individuals returning to research in any STEM subject within the following Faculties:
* For the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, please note Fellowships are only offered in non-clinical areas of research.
The University of Nottingham will host and half sponsor the fellowship. The remaining funding will be secured by the Daphne Jackson Trust from an additional sponsor.
The University is committed to the advancement and promotion of the careers of women in STEM, holding an Athena Swan Silver Award for the whole of the University. Our aim is to embed equal opportunity across all disciplines at the University and adhere to the principles set out in the Athena Swan Charter.
Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowships
The Daphne Jackson Trust is dedicated to returning scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians to their careers following a break taken for family, caring or health reasons.
Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowships are unique — they offer STEM professionals wishing to return to a research career after a break of two or more years, the opportunity to balance an individually tailored retraining programme with a challenging research project in a suitably supportive environment.
The Fellowships consist of a challenging research project and at least 100 hours retraining per year.
The unparalleled support offered by the Trust’s Fellowship Advisors and administrative staff, coupled with mentoring and retraining provided during the Fellowship, give returners the confidence and skills they need to successfully return to research.
For further details about the Trust and fellowship scheme, please visit www.daphnejackson.org. For further information before submitting an application please contact the Daphne Jackson Trust office on 01483 689166 or via email at djmft@surrey.ac.uk.
For further information specifically about this sponsored fellowship opportunity at the University of Nottingham, please contact Kate Miller, Research Strategy Officer on 0115 84 66418 or by email at fellowships@nottingham.ac.uk.
How to apply
To be considered for this opportunity, please complete the CV and personal details information forms that can be found on the Daphne Jackson Trust website.
Please outline your area of research interest and, if you have identified a department within which you would like to work, include the name and contact details of a potential supervisor in that department.
Please email your submission to the Daphne Jackson Trust office at djmft@surrey.ac.uk, clearly stating “University of Nottingham Sponsored Fellowship Application”.
The closing date for applications is Tuesday 31 October 2017.
Following shortlisting by the Daphne Jackson Trust the University of Nottingham will undertake an internal selection process to identify the preferred candidates.
Tags: Daphne Jackson, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, fellowship, STEM
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September 6th, 2017
Childcare Services would like to say a big thank you to all of the parents, carers, children and staff who raised an impressive £981.52 for its chosen charity for 2016/17, Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
Both the Day Nursery and Playcentre held a number of fundraising events throughout the year, from cake sales to scavenger hunts, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.
Rainbows Hospice were truly grateful for the support.
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September 6th, 2017
On 30 September 2017, Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Greenaway retires having served the University for 30 years.
During the next few weeks we’ll be welcoming your memories of working or studying with Sir David.
There’ll be a number of ways you can get involved and share your thoughts. Firstly, you can visit the new online memory book, which is now available on the University’s website.
Hard copy memory books can also be found around the University, allowing colleagues to add their comments.
These books will be found in the following locations:
University Park
- David Ouchterlonie – Campaign Alumni Relations Office, Pope Building, Ground Floor
- Trent Reception, Trent Building
- Pauline Stapleton, B89 in Medical School, Medical School Faculty Office
Jubilee Campus
- Reception of the University of Nottingham Business School
Sutton Bonington
- Veterinary School Reception
- School of Biosciences, PA to Head of School Office, Main Building, Room A4
Kings Meadow Campus
There will not be any hard copy books at Derby and City Hospital sites however all colleagues from this site are invited to add thoughts to the online version if they cannot access a hard copy book.
Tags: David Greenaway, memory book, Professor Sir David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor
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September 6th, 2017
On Thursday 17 August — A level results day — around 80 colleagues helped out with this year’s Home/EU Clearing activity, to help students find the last available places on our courses.
This is in addition to the work which had been taking place within the International Student Recruitment team for a number of weeks to recruit international students through Clearing.
This is a huge team endeavour and the help of colleagues from across the University was invaluable in ensuring that this busy process ran smoothly. Many thanks to all Student Recruitment staff and colleagues from across the University for their time and support!
Tags: a level, clearing, confirmation, results day, student recruitment
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