Campus News
Changes to University Executive Board membership
May 2nd, 2023
Some changes will be made to the membership of the University Executive Board over the coming months when members take up new roles on the conclusion of their current appointments.
Professor Sarah Metcalfe has been appointed as the new Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Knowledge Exchange, taking up the role in January 2024 once her interim appointment as Provost for the University of Nottingham in Malaysia concludes. A global recruitment competition will be launched shortly to appoint the next Provost for the University of Nottingham in Malaysia prior to Sarah’s departure.
Following a period of eight years as a member of UEB, Professor Todd Landman will complete his role as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Social Sciences on 30 June 2023. He will continue as a Professor of Political Science in the School of Politics and International Relations.
Professor Jeremy Gregory has agreed to act as interim FPVC to lead the Faculty of Social Sciences from 1 July 2023 alongside his current role as FPVC for Arts which will ensure a rapid transition and maintain momentum across two successful faculties.
Professor Shearer West paid tribute to Sarah and Todd for their contributions to the University Executive Board and their leadership of the university:
“I am extremely grateful to Sarah and Todd for their work as members of the University Executive Board. Whether in Malaysia or the UK their insights and contributions to the leadership of our global institution has proved invaluable over a period of many years. I am pleased that the university will retain their talent in new roles and I look forward to continuing to work with them.”
Tags: Professor Sarah Metcalfe, Professor Todd Landman, UEB, University Executive Board
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Changes to academic promotions at the university
May 2nd, 2023
The university is refreshing its academic promotions paperwork in the next month to make the webpages and process more accessible and inclusive, reducing workload for applicants, Heads of Schools and Promotion Panels.
If you are considering applying for promotion in the 23/24 round please wait until the beginning of June 2023 to start completing the application process. At this point, the website will be updated, and the new paperwork will be shared.
At this point the following improvements to the process will have been made:
- Combining the pro-forma and CV into one application form
- Improved guidance for completing the application form
- Separate procedure documents for applicants, Heads of School, and Promotion Panel members
- Combining the criteria frameworks into one for all levels and contract types
- Streamlined Head of School statements
- New promotion webpages including videos and useful process maps
Tags: academic promotions, promotions, staff promotions
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King Charles III Coronation
May 2nd, 2023
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Professor Shearer West, has offered her congratulations on behalf of the university to King Charles III, together with a unique gift to celebrate his Coronation.
Professor Shearer West said: “The university community extends our congratulations and best wishes to His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty The Queen Consort on the occasion of their Coronation. We look forward to celebrating this historic event and wish them both every success in their reign.”
The Coronation
The Coronation is centred on a religious ceremony and has remained largely unchanged for more than a thousand years. For the last 900 years, the ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey in London and is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Coronation of a new sovereign takes place in the months after their accession, following a period of mourning. In a similar but simpler ceremony, the Queen Consort will also be crowned alongside His Majesty The King as part of the service on Saturday 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey.
The Coronation is a time for celebration and a weekend of national events has been planned:
- Saturday 6 May the Coronation Ceremony takes place at Westminster Abbey, London.
- 6-8 May Coronation Big Lunches up and down the country and across the Commonwealth.
- Sunday May 7 a Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle with locations across the UK lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
- Monday 8 May a special Bank Holiday in honour of the Coronation, giving everyone the opportunity to join in with their communities and good causes through Big Help Out activities.
A Coronation gift
The University of Nottingham’s Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre and Precision Manufacturing Centre have made a special gift for the King to celebrate his Coronation.
The Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre team have etched the names of all the Windsor monarchs, from George V to King Charles III, with the dates of their Coronations onto an uncirculated Charles III 50p coin.
The microscale etching has features that are only 3 microns wide which is 25 times smaller than the width of a human hair. It was created using a Focussed Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope.
A floating coin holder engraved with the University of Nottingham logo was also manufactured by the team to display the coin. It will be sent to the King and a copy will be displayed at the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre from 6 May.
The team previously etched birthday wishes for Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday on a corgi hair. The message was preserved in a tiny glass corgi made by Clive Dixon, the University of Nottingham glassblower, and sent to the Palace.
Royal history
In November 2017, we welcomed His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus as part of his first visit to the country.
He launched the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Summit and met with staff and students to learn about the university’s work on sustainability and environmental education. He also met with representatives of student societies aiming to making a difference in the local community.
The visit focused on research into ‘forgotten foods’ and an official launch of a new platform for sharing information on foods, recipes and traditions that are in danger of being lost.
The University of Nottingham royal links go right back to 1928, when King George V officially opened the Trent Building on University Park.
It was Queen Elizabeth II’s reign that has had the biggest impact on our university’s history. The Queen officially opened the new Queen’s Medical Centre on 28 July 1977, which was the biggest purpose-built hospital in Europe at the time, with 27 miles of corridors.
In 1981, the Queen unveiled a plaque on campus to commemorate the centenary of the foundation of University College, and in 1999 the Queen returned to open the initial phase of the university’s Jubilee campus.
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Vice-Chancellor’s University of Adelaide visit strengthens global partnership
May 2nd, 2023
The inaugural symposium of the Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance is taking place this week, with Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Shearer West leading a delegation to South Australia to further develop the strategic global partnership between the University of Nottingham and the University of Adelaide.
The Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance has emerged from many years of friendship and collaboration in research and education between our universities.
The symposium, taking place at the University of Adelaide’s North Terrace Campus on Thursday 4 May, will explore how the capabilities of each university and areas of our shared expertise can address the challenges shared by Australia and the UK and our partners across the world.
Professor West and Associate Director for Global Engagement David Ouchterlonie will meet their counterparts and hear from academics from both institutions. Adelaide and Nottingham each have world-leading strengths in food, health and sustainability research, areas which provide strategic focus as we deepen and broaden collaboration between our universities.
Nottingham’s Ian Fisk, Professor of Flavour Chemistry and Theme Lead for Global Food Systems, and his Adelaide counterpart will discuss how multi-disciplinary research in agriculture, plant science, crop science, environmental science, food science, advanced technologies, data science, humanities and social science will contribute to the grand challenge of providing healthy food in a constantly changing environment.
Dr Sally Eldeghaidy, Assistant Professor in Nutritional Neuroimaging, and Nottingham’s Theme Lead for Intelligent Health, will discuss how innovative technologies and intelligent, data-driven social strategies will shape the future of health, with a multi-disciplinary, intelligence-informed approach making health systems more agile.
Dr Eleanor Binner, Associate Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Nottingham’s Theme Lead for Sustainable Futures, will explore the delivery of sustainable solutions to help societies in Australia, the UK and beyond to adapt and flourish in the face of complex environmental, social and economic challenges.
The Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance also focuses on training the research leaders of tomorrow.
The University of Nottingham’s delegation includes Joint PhD students Robert Rintoul, Laura Beckett and Alexandra Thomas. There will be PhD networking opportunities and 3-minute thesis presentations by students about their research.
Since 2015, we have delivered an International Doctoral Training Partnership (Joint PhD award programme), enabling PhD students to undertake a research degree at both universities at the same time.
The researchers spend at least a year in each location, benefitting from the expertise of world-leading supervisors and access to specialist research facilities at both Nottingham and Adelaide.
This flagship programme initially bridged Nottingham’s School of Biosciences and Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine. Today it spans all disciplines with students enrolled in areas including Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Medicine, Sociology, Education and Mathematics.
The symposium will announce projects that have been successfully applied to the Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance Research Seed Fund, set up to encourage research collaborations between the two institutions.
Professor West and the Nottingham delegation will visit research facilities such as the Extraterrestrial Environmental Simulation (EXTERRES) laboratory and hear from researchers who are exploring the future of renewable foods, with applications such as astronaut nutrition.
The visit will see Professor West and Professor Peter Høj, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide, renew the memorandum of understanding between the two universities. Professor Høj is set to visit Nottingham in November 2023 to further progress this global partnership.
Professor West said: “Professor Høj and I are delighted to join together with research leaders and talented early career researchers from our institutions. We will hear about their exciting discoveries and help our people spark innovative new partnerships, while our Global Engagement teams will work to advance support for our researchers and identify further opportunities for international collaboration.
“I also look forward to visiting the University of Adelaide’s world-class research facilities, and welcoming our Adelaide friends and colleagues to Nottingham’s own sector-leading facilities later this year.”
Tags: global, global partnership, Professor Peter Hoj, Professor Shearer West, research collaboration, University of Adelaide
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Nottingham Reward Scheme – reward your teams
May 2nd, 2023
The Nottingham Reward Scheme (NRS) is designed to reward exceptional performance for staff whose contribution goes above and beyond the normal expectation of their role.
Since launching the online system in November 2021 we have had a great response, with more than 7,800 nominations so far, which includes:
- 4,500 vouchers awarded
- 530 higher-level awards approved
Local Reward Committees will next be reviewing higher level awards (£500, fixed value and consolidated rewards) in June.
If you are a line manager or you want to make a self-nomination* please ensure you submit your nominations by Wednesday 31st May 2023 for them to be considered for payment in July (August for consolidated awards).
*self-nominations only available for consolidated / fixed value awards. For full details please see the Nottingham Reward Scheme guidance.
Please review the Nottingham Reward Scheme for full details, including the full eligibility criteria.
To make a nomination, log into the Employee Hub and then select the Nottingham Reward Scheme tab across the top. You should then click on the £500 / fixed / consolidated level button on the right hand side to complete your nomination.
Remember that voucher awards for between £25 and £100 can be made throughout the year on the Employee Hub and Microsoft Praise can also be used to say ‘Thank you’ via Teams.
Tags: Nottingham Reward Scheme, NRS, rewards, Staff rewards
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Professor Sam Kingman: my first research update
April 27th, 2023
Welcome to my first research update as Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange.
I will be in post until 1 October 2023, when Professor Tom Rodden takes over as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Exchange.
Alongside my new role, I will continue with the support of my colleagues as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering. In the past five years, thanks to the support of wonderful faculty colleagues and staff across the university, we have worked hard on developing a strong people culture in Engineering and are committed to making engineering, and all STEMM subjects, accessible and inclusive.
I’m determined to support and extend this ethos to all disciplines across our university. My career began at Nottingham and for the past 20-plus years I have seen real progress in the staff development and support offered to researchers. Research and Innovation, and colleagues at school and faculty level, working with former PVC Professor Dame Jessica Corner and latterly my predecessor as Interim PVC-RKE, Professor Neil Crout, have streamlined processes and better targeted support. But there are frustrations and there remains more to do.
Read Professor Kingman’s full update
The focus will remain on how we can better help our researchers deliver excellence. Over the coming months I will share news of internal initiatives, investment, support and opportunities for researchers. I’ll celebrate your successes and recognition of colleagues and teams – please do tell me what is going well or ideas about how we can do better.
And while a key priority will be on research culture and improving the environment for researchers, we will highlight how the university anticipates and responds to strategic opportunities and challenges, and what this means for you.
My thanks and best wishes
Sam
Professor Sam Kingman
Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange
Tags: Professor Sam Kingman, research, research update, Sam Kingman
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Access to Times Higher Education for staff and students
April 27th, 2023
University of Nottingham Libraries is delighted to provide institutional access to the Times Higher Education (THE).
Institutional subscription gives University of Nottingham staff and students unlimited access to Times Higher Education online content.
Our subscription provides access to coverage of global higher education and UK HE policy news, including daily global insights and intelligence.
You’ll also find performance data on universities through World University Rankings, covering the three main areas of university activity: research, impact and teaching.
In addition to the fortnightly digital editions of THE magazine, you can access more than seven years of back issues from the same platform.
If you’re interested in exploring back issues from 1971 – 2015, you can access these via Libraries’ subscription to Education Magazine Archive.
How to register for a personal account
To enjoy your access, you should register for a personal account from the Times Higher Education homepage.
- Click on the User account icon (red person icon, top right) and then click on the Register option.
- Complete the form using your University of Nottingham @nottingham.ac.uk email address (not your personal email address).
- Create a username and password. Your username will display on the site if you add comments to articles.
- When you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email.
For more help on registering and managing your account, please see these Frequently Asked Questions.
The Libraries Team would love to know what you think. If you have any comments or queries, please contact collections@nottingham.ac.uk.
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Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange
April 26th, 2023
Professor Sam Kingman is the university’s new Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange.
Professor Kingman has responsibility for the university’s research portfolio and implementation of the research strategy until 1 October 2023, when Professor Tom Rodden takes over as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Exchange.
Alongside his new role, Professor Kingman will continue with the support of colleagues as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering. He is a member of the university’s Executive Board and in his new position will also chair the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committees and Nottingham Technology Ventures.
He said: “I am delighted and honoured to succeed Professor Neil Crout as Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange following his retirement. I will work hard to maintain progress in the implementation of our research strategy and support our researchers in being the best they can be.”
“I have worked at the university as a researcher and research leader for some time. We’ve made meaningful progress but I’m here to listen and learn. Not least in thanks to Neil and our previous PVC for Research and Knowledge Exchange, Professor Dame Jessica Corner, working closely with colleagues across the university, our systems for supporting researchers are better. While there is much to do, our renewed research strategy underlines real commitment to improving our research quality and the culture to support this.”
Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West said: “I am delighted to welcome Sam to the role of Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange. His experience and leadership will be a tremendous boon to colleagues across the university who are dedicated to delivering and supporting research excellence.”
Sam Kingman is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honours that an engineer can receive in the UK. A Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, his research focuses on the development of industrial applications of microwave heating, which have enabled increased energy efficiency, improved process performance, reduced waste and costs.
Professor Kingman has authored over 300 journal articles and conference papers and is inventor on almost 200 patents. He has also generated well over £25m of research income, mostly from industry.
As Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engineering since 2018, he has focused on developing a strong people culture, and is committed to delivering a significant and measurable difference to equality, diversity and inclusion in STEMM subjects.
Read Professor Kingman’s first research update.
Tags: Professor Sam Kingman, PVC Research and Knowledge Exchange, Sam Kingman
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Communications Director Tim Watkinson to move to University of Leeds
April 26th, 2023
Following a period of six years as the University’s Director of Communications & Advocacy, Tim Watkinson will be leaving Nottingham at the end of June to take up a new role as Director of Communications & Engagement at the University of Leeds.
Working closely with the Vice-Chancellor Professor Simone Buitendijk and Executive Group, Tim will be leading a department of 90 staff with full responsibility for all aspects of the University of Leeds’ communications, including media relations, staff and student engagement, public affairs, and the University’s brand and digital profile.
Tim spent five years at Leeds as both an undergraduate and Masters student and, although saddened to leave Nottingham, is looking forward to returning to Leeds which in many respects prepared him for the career path he has followed since graduation.
Before joining the University of Nottingham in 2017, Tim was Director of Communications at Sheffield Hallam University. He has spent 10 years leading communications in the higher education sector and is currently chairs the Russell Group Directors of Communication network.
Prior to his career in universities, Tim held senior communications roles in Government between 1994 and 2013, including more than a decade at the Department for Education, where he was latterly Director of Communications.
Tim said: “I have hugely enjoyed my time at Nottingham and feel extremely privileged to have helped to communicate the University’s success in producing research with real-world impact and engaging our global community of staff and students.
“I have really appreciated being part of our very close and supportive University community at Nottingham and would like to thank every colleague for their support to me and the University’s communications operation over many years. I am particularly grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the exceptional Communications & Advocacy team who I know will continue the work to promote the institution’s global reputation for excellence.
“Although saddened to leave Nottingham, I am delighted to be returning to the university where I spent many happy years as both an undergraduate and Masters student. Leeds is a fantastic institution with a distinguished history of producing outstanding research and providing a superb education to its students.”
Tim will be spending his remaining months at Nottingham supporting the Communications & Advocacy team through the transition, and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Helen Pennack will confirm details in due course of how and when his successor will be recruited, alongside any interim arrangements.
Tags: Communications, Director of Communications, Tim Watkinson
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