Campus News
Academics awarded Fellowships by the Academy of Social Sciences
April 5th, 2023
Two academics from the University of Nottingham have been conferred Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Carl Macrae, of Nottingham University Business School and Professor Giovanni Facchini, of the School of Economics, are among the 56 leading social scientists to have been recognised for excellence in their fields and their wider contributions to the social sciences for public benefit.
The Academy’s Fellowship is made up of distinguished individuals from academic, public, private and third sectors, across the full spectrum of the social sciences. Through leadership, scholarship, applied research, policymaking, and practice, they have helped to deepen the understanding of, and address, some of the toughest challenges facing our society and the world.
All Academy Fellows are conferred following independent and robust peer review by the Academy’s Nominations Committee.
Carl Macrae, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Psychology in the Nottingham University Business School, focuses on the challenges of regulating risk and managing safety in complex, safety-critical sectors like healthcare and transport. His work is particularly concerned with how organisations investigate and learn from disruptive events and how regulation can enable resilience and improvement.
In 2021, Professor Macrae was appointed as the National Professional Advisor for Patient Safety at the Care Quality Commission, England’s regulator of health and care, advising on new approaches to improving safety, culture and learning. Previously, his research prompted a Parliamentary Select Committee inquiry which resulted in the establishment in 2017 of England’s first national safety investigation agency for healthcare, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB).
He has acted as Specialist Advisor and been called as an expert witness to Parliamentary inquiries on these issues and associated legislation, and he advised and intensively supported HSIB during its initial design and establishment.
Giovanni Facchini is a Professor of Economics, the Director of the Nottingham Centre for Globalization and Economic Policy, and a Research Fellow of Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), CES-Ifo Institute, and IZA Institute of Labor Economics. His research has focused on three main themes: the economics and politics of international migration; international trade policy and more recently the economics of race and gender.
Professor Facchini’s scholarly work has been published in the leading outlets in economics, and has been supported – among others – by grants by the ESRC, the European Commission, the NORFACE consortium, the Volkswagen Stiftung and the World Bank. He has served as consultant to the IMF, the OECD and the World Bank.
From left to right – Professor Giovanni Facchini and Professor Carl Macrae
Professor Todd Landman, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Social Sciences said: “I am delighted that the University of Nottingham has two new fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences, with both coming from the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Their success points to the strength and value of the research being undertaken in the faculty, and is well-deserved recognition of both Professor Macrae and Professor Facchini’s contributions to wider society.”
Will Hutton FAcSS, President of the Academy of Social Sciences said: “The Academy of Social Sciences is delighted to welcome an excellent range of highly distinguished social scientists from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England, and beyond.
As the work of social science becomes ever more important, we look forward to engaging with them in 2023.”
View the full list of new AcSS Fellows alphabetically by institution.
Tags: Academy's Fellowship, Carl Macrae, CEPR, Giovanni Facchini, HSIB, research fellows, Research Fellowships, social sciences, Todd Landman
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Academic misconduct and AI software
April 4th, 2023
The University has communicated with students ahead of assessment deadlines to remind them of the dangers of academic misconduct, particularly in light of the current debate around the use of AI software such as ChatGPT.
The presentation of work or assessments other than that of the student(s) sitting the assignment constitutes false authorship under our academic misconduct policy. This includes plagiarism and the use of essay banks or the misuse of AI software such as ChatGPT.
The University has a raft of measures to detect and deter this behaviour and academic markers are offered guidance in spotting changes in their students’ writing styles. A range of resources and tutorials are also offered to students to enhance study skills and emphasise the penalties for cheating.
Our policy on academic misconduct is regularly communicated to students and recent communications have highlighted updates to the policy in light of the evolution of AI technology. The policy sets down the activities which may provide that student – or another student – an unpermitted academic advantage in a summative assessment, which includes students submitting work that is not their own (including AI generated content). Once detected, the policy allows appropriate sanctions to be applied. Penalties for academic misconduct can include the full loss of marks on an assignment or exclusion from the University, impacting on the qualifications a student might be hoping to achieve.
Whilst our policies and action to counter plagiarism are technology-neutral and cover all forms of academic misconduct, including the misuse of AI platforms such as ChatGPT, we keep our approach under continual review to account for new developments in technologies.
As a pioneering institution we encourage our staff and students to embrace new technologies. AI has the potential to be a powerful educational tool and, as such, there may be some learning applications and assessments in which it can be used constructively. These are indicated by our staff on a case-by-case basis.
Colleagues may be aware that Turnitin has published a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing detection capability. However, there has been widespread concern that the new tool was untested, and universities did not have sufficient policy, process, support or training in place to use it with any level of confidence at this time.
In line with nearly all Russell Group institutions, and the majority of other universities, the University of Nottingham has temporarily opted-out from this new capability whilst we carefully monitor the experience of the institutions that have agreed to pilot it.
Tags: academic misconduct, Academic misconduct policy, AI, artifical intelligence, ChatGPT
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University establishes new independent investment company
April 4th, 2023
The university is one of eight research intensive universities in the Midlands to establish a new investment company to accelerate the commercialisation of university spinouts and early-stage IP rich businesses in the region.
Midlands Mindforge Limited has been co-founded by Aston University, University of Birmingham, Cranfield University, Keele University, University of Leicester, Loughborough University, University of Nottingham and University of Warwick, collectively Midlands Innovation.
This ambitious, patient capital investment company plans to raise up to £250 million from strategic corporate partners, institutional investors and qualifying individuals. It aims to transform ground-breaking science and technology into successful businesses with real-world impact.
Midlands Mindforge will help to address the significant funding deficit for early-stage technology businesses in the region.
Through the combination of additional capital and company-building skills, Midlands Mindforge will lay the foundations of a more vibrant ecosystem for emerging science-backed companies in areas such as Clean Technology, AI and Computational Science, Life Sciences and Health Tech.
Director of IP Commercialisation, Research and Innovation at the university, Susan Huxtable, said: “As an institution that is dedicated to growth, investment, and success for the region we call home, the University of Nottingham is delighted to be a part of Midlands Mindforge.
“Our entrepreneurial academics are already creating successful businesses, helping to boost economic growth and create highly skilled employment opportunities that people want and our region needs.
“This new company will strengthen the existing support network for research entrepreneurs in the Midlands, encouraging innovation and providing postgraduate students and researchers with early access to investment.”
Collectively, the eight founding universities have the most post-graduate students, the highest levels of annual income, more research disclosures and patents generated per unit of research spend in the last three years, in comparison to any other UK university grouping.
Minister of State for Science, Research & Innovation George Freeman MP said: “Commercialising UK science & technology for global industrial adoption has never been more urgent – for both the UK economy and the global resource challenges facing us. The Midlands Innovation universities are driving a new era of innovation from robotics and advanced manufacturing to life science and autonomous vehicles and much more.
“As we in Government increase UK public R&D to a record £20 billion a year, the key is private finance backing spinouts and scale-ups. The Midlands is rapidly becoming a world class UK cluster of excellence and Midlands Mindforge will play a key role in bringing global investors to help back world class companies.”
For more information about Midlands Mindforge visit www.midlandsmindforge.com
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Project Stay – Hugh Stewart Hall update
April 4th, 2023
The University has commissioned student accommodation experts Cushman & Wakefield to conduct a strategic review of students’ expectations for their accommodation on campus, to inform its programme to refurbish all on-campus halls of residence over the next 10-15 years.
The review will ensure that the University’s student accommodation strategy, Project Stay, is modelled to meet sector-leading standards and the wide variety of accommodation and facilities that would be required by students who will choose to live on campus in the future.
The review will consider the types of catered and self-catered facilities and the mix of accommodation needed to meet the broadest range of student requirements, for example students from diverse cultural backgrounds or postgraduate students with families.
To ensure that the current project to refurbish Hugh Stewart Hall can benefit from this thinking, work has been paused so that any new requirements can be considered before the University contracts the necessary works.
CFO Margaret Monckton said: “Students deserve the very best accommodation aligned to their needs and we remain committed to refurbishing this historic Grade II listed hall. However, it is important that we take a short period of time to ensure that our plans meet the needs of students both now and well into the future.”
As Hugh Stewart Hall has already been removed from student accommodation options for the next two years, the pause in refurbishment is not expected to impact the University’s guarantee of on-campus accommodation for all first-year undergraduates or its commitments in the recently published Student Living Strategy.
Tags: Hugh Stewart Hall, Project Stay, refurbishment, student accommodation
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Professor David Park appointed Dean of Nottingham University Business School
April 4th, 2023
The university has appointed Professor David Park as the new Dean of the Nottingham University Business School.
Professor David Park is a Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and was previously Associate Dean (External Engagement) and the Director of Executive Education for the School.
Professor Park holds three degrees (BEng, MSc, PhD) from the university, in engineering and artificial intelligence, and has a wealth of practical entrepreneurial experience gained in the UK and New Zealand from starting and running his own innovative businesses and social enterprises.
He has first-hand experience in raising millions of dollars’ worth of start-up funds, growing effective, multi-disciplinary teams, and completing multi-million-dollar licensing deals with FTSE100 companies.
He has also played an active role in helping create national policies across a number of sectors including food, geospatial engineering and UAV systems.
As well as providing strategic support and mentoring to hundreds of early-stage companies and social enterprises across the UK, he has enthusiastically mentored and taught thousands of Undergraduate and Postgraduate students from across the world.
Professor Park said: “This is an exceptionally exciting time to become Dean of Nottingham University Business School. There are some fantastic opportunities on the horizon in academia and business to help us realise the School’s potential.”
Professor David Park
The University of Nottingham is placed seventh in the UK for research power according to analysis by Times Higher Education and Nottingham University Business School is an international leader in finance and management education, and a pioneer in entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability.
It is one of the select few business schools in the world that hold ‘triple crown’ accreditation – the renowned accolade for business schools worldwide is made up of the three most influential accrediting organisations: AACSB in the United States, AMBA in the UK, and EQUIS in Europe. Employers recognise the accreditation as a mark of high standards, quality and reputation.
Nottingham University Business School is the only business school in the UK to hold triple accreditation from AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for its operations on every campus (UK, China and Malaysia).
The news comes as the School is set to make a significant investment in its staff, students and research, as well as expanding its operations to the new Castle Meadow Campus in the city centre.
The Business School will conduct teaching, research and partnership activity on the new site, establish a new Executive Education Centre, and provide a practice-orientated campus where employers and postgraduate students can work and learn together.
Professor Todd Landman, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Social Sciences, said: “We are very pleased that Professor Park has been appointed to this exciting new role.
He has demonstrated his excellent leadership as Associate Dean for External Engagement in the School and brings outstanding experience from both industry and academia which benefits our staff and students.
We look forward to continuing to work with him to shape the future of the business school as it embarks on an exciting time of change.”
Tags: Nottingham University Business School, NUBS, social sciences
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People and Culture Survey 2023 launches soon
April 3rd, 2023
The university will launch the People and Culture Survey on Tuesday 25 April 2023.
This staff engagement survey is an opportunity for colleagues across our UK, China and Malaysia campuses to provide feedback on their working environment and culture, and how they are supported in the workplace.
The survey will run until midnight on Wednesday 17 May 2023 and results will be shared with Departments and Schools to develop detailed action plans in response to the feedback received.
For each survey completed, the university will plant a tree through the Eden Reforestation Project.
Staff will receive an email from the survey administrators People Insight containing a unique link to access the survey. The email will come from survey-invite@peopleinsight.co.uk.
This survey is confidential. People Insight, our external partner, will hold your individual responses and this information will not be released to the University of Nottingham or elsewhere.
People Insight will use all data for statistical and research purposes and the university will be provided with team-level summary reports. This is in line with People Insight’s policies, which are carefully designed to ensure your confidentiality is protected.
There are a number of questions for respondents to consider, covering areas such as:
- Is your role clear? Has someone explained it to you?
- Do you have access to the tools and equipment necessary to do your job?
- Do you get regular recognition of the work you do?
- Does someone take an interest in your personal development, career and wellbeing?
It is important that as many colleagues as possible participate in the survey, offering honest and balanced feedback, so that we can build on what works and change things where they are not working.
The responses will also be used to assess our progress against the People and Culture Strategic Delivery Plan.
Initial results will be reported to the University Executive Board in June, with School and Department-level results expected to be shared in July.
Virtual workshops for line-managers
In conjunction with the People and Culture Survey, we are running a series of four virtual workshops aimed at line managers. The workshops will run every working day in May, so there are plenty of times to choose from. The first three workshops will be one hour in length and the fourth will be 90 minutes.
As well as covering various management tools and models, the workshops will help managers to analyse the data gathered from the People and Culture Survey and develop realistic action plans.
Further details including booking instructions can be found here.
Tags: engagement survey, have your say, People and Culture Survey, People and Culture Survey 2023, staff survey
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Global visitors welcomed to the university
April 3rd, 2023
The University of Nottingham has recently welcomed a number of high profile international visitors to campus as part of our commitment to international research collaboration and being a globally engaged university.
On Tuesday 28 March the Indonesian Deputy Minister for Environment and Forestry, Dr Alue Dohong, was welcomed to campus at a reception dinner in the Trent Building.
His visit builds on the university’s UK-Indonesia partnership and follows our delegation to Indonesia led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West in October when the country hosted the G20 leadership summit.
The evening provided opportunities for academics and research groups to showcase their research, as well as strengthening our relationship with Indonesia and enhancing the university’s reputation in the region.
Discussions focused on land use and the natural environment and explored potential areas for collaboration to decrease carbon emissions and increase carbon absorption in Indonesia.
Kenya’s High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Manoah Esipisu, also attended an event on Monday 27 March on campus with the Kenya Society London, of which the university is a member.
The event provided a high profile opportunity to showcase research at the university that is particularly relevant to Kenya, including presentations on research into ethical mining from Professor Judy Muthuri, oncology from Professor Yashwant Mahida, and bioscience from Professor Levi Yant.
The Kenya Showcase event
Professor Robert Mokaya OBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement delivered the keynote speech and the High Commissioner spoke about the priorities for Kenya, including a focus on medicine and building hospitals.
On Monday 13 March, the university also welcomed the Cuban ambassador to the UK, Her Excellency Bárbara Montalvo Álvarez. This visit was part of a launch event for the Cuban archive of the Hennessy Collection of the Centre for Research on Cuba.
The Hennessy Collection features thousands of Cuban books, including publications in many disciplines that are not publicly accessible anywhere else in the world outside Cuba.
Reflecting on the recent visits, Professor Robert Mokaya OBE said: “At Nottingham our vision is to be a university without borders, where we embrace the opportunities presented by a changing world, and where ambitious people and a creative culture enable us to change the world for the better.
“It has been a pleasure to host our recent visitors from Indonesia, Cuba and my own country of Kenya to share that vision and progress conversations to identify areas for research collaboration to help address some of the world’s most pressing problems.”
Tags: global university, Kenya, Professor Robert Mokaya
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Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance launches research fund: deadline extended
April 3rd, 2023
The Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance, set up to deepen engagement between the two universities, is inviting researchers to apply for funding to develop further collaborations.
The alliance, launched in Nottingham by Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West and her Adelaide counterpart, Professor Peter Høj, sees our long-standing friendship develop into a strategic global partnership.
The alliance aims to increase the impact of our research and further opportunities for international collaboration, while developing the next generation of students with a truly global mindset.
Now a fund has opened to support a core aim of our partnership: to encourage and develop high-quality research collaborations between our universities.
Professor Robert Mokaya, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement, said: “This strategic global partnership deepens our commitment to work together to address the challenges shared by Australia and the UK and our partners across the world.
“The Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance will provide opportunities for our staff and students to enrich their experiences through joint teaching and learning initiatives here in the UK and in Australia. Such global partnerships also have the power to enhance our research excellence.
The alliance is a significant landmark in our history as a global university and I have no doubt that it will spark further international collaborations, increasing the reach and impact of our innovations.”
Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance Research Seed Fund
Researchers from both universities are invited to submit proposals for collaborations that align to one of the alliance’s strategic themes:
- Global Food Systems
- Intelligent Health
- Sustainable Futures
The new extended deadline for applications to the fund is midnight GMT UK time, Sunday 16 April 2023.
Discover more about the Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance and the Research Seed Fund
The Adelaide-Nottingham Alliance builds on years of collaboration in research and education between the two universities.
Since 2015, Nottingham and Adelaide have delivered an International Doctoral Training Partnership, 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.
The two partners have collaborated on multiple funding awards including a £2.8m BBSRC Responsive Mode Link grant led by the University of Nottingham and the recently announced AU$90 million University of Adelaide-led Centre for Excellence in Plants for Space in which Nottingham researchers will play a key role.
Tags: research, research seed fund, University of Adelaide
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Annual pay gap figures published
April 3rd, 2023
The university has published its annual pay gap figures for gender and ethnicity.
This is the sixth year of the statutory reporting of our gender pay gap, and the third year of voluntarily reporting our ethnicity pay gap.
For details on the pay gaps and how we are addressing them, visit the pay gap web pages on the HR website.
Gender pay legislation requires employers with 250 or more employees to publish annual data clearly demonstrating how large the pay gap is between their male and female employees.
The University of Nottingham is covered by, and fully complies with, public sector regulations. The legislation is based on a snapshot of pay at the census date of 31 March for the relevant reporting year – this year being 31 March 2022.
In 2021, we started reporting on our ethnicity pay gap. This is not required by legislation, but we use the same calculations as required by the gender pay gap legislation.
Tags: ethnicity pay gap, Gender pay gap, pay gap
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Introducing the CRSP workplace retirement advice service
April 3rd, 2023
Legal and General are introducing a new retirement service for Workplace members, providing independent retirement advice for members approaching, at and in retirement.
Delivered by an in-house Legal & General Financial Advice team, services will be highlighted for members at key touch points throughout their retirement planning journey.
Information will be presented to members in digital and print format and via our Member Helpline teams.
Getting financial advice can benefit members in many ways, including:
- Future security – understanding your income needs for later in life
- Peace of mind – knowing you have fully considered and understood the range of options available to them with the support of an expert
- Confidence – ensuring financial decisions meet the members’ personal needs and goals
- Investment choice – helping members choose a solution that balances their risk appetite and personal circumstances
- Planning for the unknown – preparing and safeguarding members to help protect against unforeseen circumstances.
CRSP – Annual Benefit Statements
A new simplified annual benefit statement will be issued towards the end of April.
For more information, visit the Legal and General CRSP pages.
Benefits of staying in a pension scheme
In addition to preparing for a different stage of life there are other benefits of paying into the university pension, including:
- Tax relief on personal contributions (subject to limitations) – for example, a £100 pension contribution for a basic rate taxpayer will only cost £80
- You benefit from contributions from the university when you save (that’s like free money for your retirement) if you are in CRSP or the Investment Builder part of USS – as these are ‘defined contribution’ schemes
- The money can be passed on to your loved ones, depending on the pension scheme rules, on your death
- You have lots of flexibility in how you access the money at retirement (for most people, any time from age 57)
Furthermore, as an active member of CRSP, if you die before retiring there is a death benefit of 5.5 times your salary in addition to the money in the pension scheme.
Visit our pension pages to find more information including details of how to update your wishes in respect of death benefits payable to your loved ones. There are frequently asked questions and links to each scheme’s website.
Tags: CRSP, CRSP scheme, pensions
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