Campus News
Staff Information Fair: two weeks until event
June 11th, 2024
Join the Organisation and People Development Team, who will be hosting a Staff Information Fair in A13 and A14 of the Pope Building, University Park campus on Tuesday 25 June 2024 between 8am and 5pm.
This is a great opportunity for colleagues to network and find out more about the brilliant services, facilities, and opportunities available at the University of Nottingham.
We understand colleagues are busy but even if you join us at the fair for a little while we are confident you will leave feeling informed and inspired.
There will be a wide range of UoN stalls providing information for all members of staff who may want to find out more. Stall holders will include:
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Pay & Reward
- Libraries
- Childcare Services
- Lakeside Arts
- Digital Core
- Staff Networks
- Castle Meadow Campus
- UoN Sport
- Widening Participation and Outreach
- Edible Campus Project
…and many many more.
We are working on a digital information booklet about the stalls, and we will share this next week in our next Staff Information Fair communication.
There will also be the opportunity to watch the Staff Wellbeing Conference for anyone wanting to explore the importance of wellbeing in the workplace.
If you are planning to attend, please complete this quick form to outline what times you or your team expect to pop into the fair. This will help our stall holders plan for the day.
Of course, if your plans change, please still feel free to join us at any other time on the Tuesday 25 June between 8am-5pm that works best for you.
We look forward to welcoming colleagues throughout the day.
Tags: information for staff, Staff Information Fair, staff services
Posted in Announcements, Main News Story, News | Comments Off on Staff Information Fair: two weeks until event
Derby Med School hosts national political leaders
June 11th, 2024
The University of Nottingham School of Medicine in Derby hosted Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Catherine Atkinson, one of the candidates hoping to represent Derby North in Parliament after next month’s General Election.
The pair saw state-of-the-art facilities including the Anatomy Lab, renowned for its advanced technology and educational resources.
The Lab is a crucial component of our curriculum, offering students hands-on experience that prepares them for their future careers.
Wes and Catherine also met members of our vibrant UoN community, including students, researchers and even a research participant.
Medical students and staff took the opportunity to pose tough and insightful questions, grilling the politicians on the future of the NHS, social care and pensions, among other things.
The visit also emphasised the importance of our research in impacting the lives of those around us. After a visit to our world-leading Mass Spectrometry and teaching laboratories, Wes and Catherine were introduced to a patient involved in ground-breaking prehabilitation research, which aims to improve surgical outcomes by optimising patients’ health before surgery.
The visit successfully demonstrated the real-world benefits of UoN research efforts.
Dean and Head of the School of Medicine, Claire Stewart said: “As always, the team at Derby – both staff and students – did a great job highlighting our commitment to excellence in healthcare education and research.
“We take every opportunity to share our work and insights with national leaders in health policy and to make our voice heard on behalf of our community.”
Posted in Announcements, News, People | Comments Off on Derby Med School hosts national political leaders
Telecommunications infrastructure – project update
June 10th, 2024
Since March 2024, Digital and Technology Services have been working to replace the university’s current Telephone Exchange system with a new platform.
DTS would like to provide an update on the project:
- So far, the new telephone system has been built and tested and we have moved Voicemail onto the new system.
- Planning of the telephone migration is in progress, and we expect to commence this work later in June 2024. Migration of numbers are likely to extend over a period of several months into early 2025.
What can you expect over the coming months?
- When the migration work starts, we will communicate further details with Schools and Departments (via the IT Reps network).
- When a phone is migrated, there will be a short outage on the handset. For desk phones with a Polycom logo, this will take around 2-3 minutes while the phone restarts and will only restart when the phone is not in use.
- For phones without a Polycom logo, the outage is likely to be longer at around 5-10 minutes.
- If phone extensions are inactive for a consecutive six-month period, they will be deactivated (excluding numbers for fire, lift and refuge points). If an extension is deactivated but is still required, please contact the IT Service Desk to request it be reinstated.
We are unable to contact individuals regarding specific migration dates and times of extension numbers, however we will communicate to IT Reps which ranges of numbers are being migrated when plans are finalised.
In the meantime:
- If there are extension(s) that you no longer require (and haven’t already told us about), please inform us by filling in this form.
- Any unused Polycom handsets can be posted back to: Physical Environment Team, DTS, King’s Meadow Campus, Room B130.
- If you know of any specialist equipment attached to the phone system, such as Freezer alarms or other monitoring equipment, it is important that this equipment is brought to our attention so that we can manage the migration of these lines appropriately. Please complete this form to report specialist equipment.
Other than the above (if applicable) you do not need to take any action.
Thank you for your patience as we commence this programme of work. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact Digital and Technology Services.
Tags: DTS, telecommunications, Telephone migration
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Telecommunications infrastructure – project update
Ride and share competition – enter for chance to win £100 eVoucher
June 10th, 2024
The university’s employee benefit platform providers (Pluxee) have recently launched a competition to celebrate National Bike Week which gives colleagues the opportunity to win one of five £100 eVouchers for the retailer of their choice by capturing a picture of their favourite cycling moment on camera.
To be in with a chance to win this competition, simply:
- Follow Pluxee UK on the platform you’ll post the picture on (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Tik Tok)
- Safely capture your favourite cycling moment and post adding #RideWithPluxee into the caption
- Tag Pluxee UK in your post for a bonus entry
Click here to view and download a copy of the official competition poster.
The competition will close at midnight on Sunday 30 June 2024, after which point five winners will be selected at random within 15 working days of the end of the competition period.
*Please note that terms and conditions apply, please click here to view the terms in detail before entering.
Should you have any questions regarding this competition, you can contact a member of the Pluxee team via 01908 303 531 (lines are open Monday – Friday, 9am – 5:30pm).
Tags: cycle, Employee discounts, Pluxee, RideWithPluxee
Posted in Announcements, News, Opportunities | Comments Off on Ride and share competition – enter for chance to win £100 eVoucher
New Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard policy launched
June 10th, 2024
The university has launched a new policy to ensure our compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS).
The PCI-DSS is a set of global security standards that organisations must follow to protect sensitive payment card information from theft and fraud.
As the University of Nottingham processes and transmits payment card data, we are required to comply with PCI-DSS to protect our students, staff, and customers’ payment card information.
Non-compliance with PCI-DSS can result in significant financial penalties, reputational damage, loss of trust from our stakeholders and the removal of the facility to receive card payments.
The university’s new PCI-DSS Policy outlines the steps we are taking to comply with PCI-DSS requirements and protect payment card information.
By implementing this policy, the university is demonstrating our commitment to data security, risk management, and the protection of our community’s sensitive information.
The policy will be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure ongoing compliance with PCI-DSS standards and best practices in payment card security.
You can find the policy using the university’s Policy Finder tool here.
Tags: Payment, Payment Services, Payment systems, POS terminals
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on New Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard policy launched
Major events on campus: parking and travel guidance
June 10th, 2024
Over the next month, the university will be hosting several major events which will mean University Park campus will be busier than usual and UoN parking permit holders may find it more difficult to find a space.
Upcoming events include:
- Open Days: Friday 28 June and Saturday 29 June 2024
- Summer Graduation: Tuesday 16 July – Wednesday 24 July 2024
During Graduation, campus car parks close to graduation venues will be reserved for graduation parking only.
The maps below show the parking areas around the Trent Building and David Ross Sports Village which will be reserved for graduation parking.
UoN permit holders who would usually use these car parks will need to park in other campus car parks.
If you are a blue badge holder and the parking spaces you normally use are reserved for graduation parking, then on the day please notify security services staff and they will direct you to an appropriate parking area close to your destination.
Graduation Parking around the Trent Building
Graduation Parking around David Ross Sports Village
Graduations and Open Days are key events in the university calendar, and we need your support to help ensure they are a success.
During these busy periods we ask staff to consider the following to reduce parking pressures on campus:
- Can you take advantage of the warmer and lighter days and walk or cycle to work? Find out more about how the university supports cyclists
- Could you catch the bus or tram to work? University Park is well served by bus and tram and don’t forget that the £2 bus fare scheme is still in operation
- Free Hopper buses connect University Park with Jubilee Campus and King’s Meadow Campus so you may find it easier to park at another campus and catch the bus to University Park
- If you are an agile worker, could you plan your working week to reduce the need to travel to University Park on these busy days?
We recognise that for some staff travelling to University Park campus by car is unavoidable, so please factor in additional travel time if your usual car park is not available.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this busy period on campus.
Tags: Events on campus, graduation parking, parking, parking on campus, sustainable travel options, travel, travel around campus, Travel to campus
Posted in Announcements, Estates and Facilities, News | Comments Off on Major events on campus: parking and travel guidance
Introducing Ada, the university’s new, most powerful HPC service
June 6th, 2024
As one of the UK’s leading research universities, we are renowned for the strength, quality and breadth of our research and teaching capabilities, enabling research that truly changes the world.
To further strengthen our unwavering commitment to research excellence, the university it delighted to share that we have implemented a new, state-of-the-art new High-Performance Computing (HPC) system.
Aptly named “Ada”, a nod to Ada Lovelace, the gifted mathematician recognised for creating the first computer programme and foreseeing a digital future, the name is a fitting tribute to the female pioneer, who also had ancestral ties to Nottinghamshire.
Ada replaces our former HPC facility, Augusta, which was in place for fiive years. During this time, Augusta has been a cornerstone for research spanning much of science and engineering, and reaching well beyond those core users.
Professor Jonathan Hirst, Professor of Computational Chemistry at UoN comments “Technology continues to evolve at an extraordinary pace and it is crucial to ensure our HPC infrastructure can meet growing demand accordingly. Ada will be available for experimentation beyond larger, funded projects, leading to more ambitious research and enabling funding, more high-quality outputs and increased inter-disciplinary collaboration.”
Professor Phil Williams, Professor of Biophysics at UoN adds “The new facility will enhance research capabilities across a wide range of disciplines, fuelling innovation and growth in strategic areas of the University, such as quantum technologies, nanoscience, artificial intelligence, imaging, and bioinformatics. It’s a really exciting step forward for the University of Nottingham.”
What is a HPC facility?
The on-site High-Performance Computer (HPC) is available to any research student or member of academic staff, from any School or Faculty, who has the need for compute resource substantially greater than a standard PC.
It allows users to process, analyse and store increasingly large amounts of data and perform complex calculations at high speed to enable high quality and valuable research outputs in key research areas.
The new HPC service will be more widely accessible to support increasingly computationally intensive research performed in areas of the university that are not traditional users of HPC.
Strategic partner OCF was responsible for the design, development, and installation of the cutting-edge HPC facility.
Tags: High Performance Computing, HPC
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Introducing Ada, the university’s new, most powerful HPC service
Borderline award automation project live this week
June 4th, 2024
The Education Administration Continuous Improvement Team (EACIT) recently provided an update on a project to automate undergraduate borderline award outcomes according to university regulations.
The new approach will partially automate borderline award classification uplifts dependent on the student’s final mark, removing the need for exam officers to complete a borderline mark calculation and reducing the need to check regulations.
As of Wednesday 5 June this change will be visible in both the award report and the Power BI report as soon as they are made available.
A dedicated mailbox been set up to support exams officers with this change and triage any reported issues: Borderline-Triage@nottingham.ac.uk.
EACIT would like to take this opportunity to thank all the academic and RAA colleagues, as well as colleagues across UNM and UNNC, who have dedicated their time and support to successfully delivering this solution.
For more information, please visit the EACIT SharePoint. Training resources are available via the Exam Operations SharePoint.
Tags: Borderline award automation, borderline awards, EACIT
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Borderline award automation project live this week
Meet and eat! Help shape the Edible Campus Strategy and grab free vegetarian food
June 4th, 2024
Free vegetarian food will be on the menu at the Edible Campus project’s communal eating event/assembly on University Park on Wednesday June 19 2024.
Run in conjunction with the Student Dining Co-op, the event will take place from 4pm to 6pm, and is open to all staff (as well as students).
There will be the opportunity to feed in your views about food sustainability within the university and beyond, and say how you would like to see our project develop, as well as sharing a free vegetarian meal kindly provided by the Dining Co-op.
Weather permitting, the event will take place outdoors (meet on the picnic tables outside the Monica Partridge Building at 4pm) although we will have an alternative indoor venue nearby in case of bad weather!
The results of the discussions will be used to help shape our Edible Campus Strategy for the future.
To reserve your spot sign up using this link.
The Edible Campus Project aims to connect our community by building relationships with food and nature – working to create more spaces where staff, students, and members of the wider local community can learn about growing fruit, vegetables and herbs and promoting healthy, sustainable food on campus.
Tags: Climate change and Sustainability, Edible campus, Edible Campus project, sustainability
Posted in Announcements, Environment, News, Opportunities | Comments Off on Meet and eat! Help shape the Edible Campus Strategy and grab free vegetarian food
Voting in the 2024 general election
June 4th, 2024
On Thursday 4 July, the country will vote on who should be in charge for the next five years.
If you want to vote in the upcoming general election this July, you need to have registered to vote by Tuesday 18 June 2024.
Voting day
There are a few things you need to know before voting. Make sure you read through the following information carefully to ensure you’ve prepared everything you need.
Voter ID
You must present valid voter ID at your polling station, otherwise you will not be allowed to vote. A passport and driving license are valid forms of ID. Visit the Electoral Commission website for a full list of valid ID.
If you do not have any of these forms of ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (apply by Wednesday 26 June).
When to vote
You can only vote in person on Thursday 4 July. Polling stations will be open from 7am-10pm.
Where to vote
You’ll be allocated a specific polling station that you need to go to in order to vote – you cannot vote at any polling station. Use the tools below to find out where your polling station is if you live in:
What happens at the polling station?
Once you arrive at your designated polling station, you’ll be asked for your name and address, and to show your ID. You’ll then be given a ballot paper and directed to a ballot booth where there will be a pencil for you to cast your vote with.
Remember that you’ll be voting for your local MP, so make sure you do some research in advance and know who you want to vote for.
I can’t get to a polling station on 4 July
If you’re not able to vote in person on Thursday 4 July then you can still vote – either by post or by proxy.
Postal votes
If you want to vote by post, you need to apply to do so by Wednesday 19 June. You must have already registered to vote, so make sure you do that as soon as possible to avoid delays.
Proxy votes
Voting by proxy means choosing someone who you trust to vote on your behalf. Make sure you choose your proxy carefully, as they’ll need to vote in person at your polling station.
Proxy applications must be made by Wednesday 26 June.
Tags: general election, General Election 2024, vote, Your vote matters
Posted in Announcements, News | Comments Off on Voting in the 2024 general election