Campus News
Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam to join trustees of the charity parkrun
January 9th, 2023
Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the university and former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England is to join the board of trustees for the charity parkrun, it was announced today (Monday 9 January 2023).
Professor Van-Tam is among seven new trustees to strengthen the leadership provided by the Board, as well as improve diversity and provide expertise and guidance for the delivery of an ambitious five year strategy, due for release in February 2023.
The new trustees will join current Global Board members, Christine Gibbons, Gavin Megaw and Jeremy Townsend. Six of the seven will become Board members in January 2023, with Professor Van-Tam joining in March 2023.
Through the extensive recruitment process for the roles, the charity sought a range of diverse and experienced individuals to bring the right amount of challenge, lived experience, alternative perspective, and professional experience across a range of disciplines.
parkrun started in 2004 with just 13 runners and 5 volunteers in London’s Bushy Park. Events now take place in more than 2,200 locations in 22 countries around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people from all ages, backgrounds and abilities take part every single weekend as walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers.
parkrun events in the Nottingham area have seen 75,340 participants walk, run or volunteer, with 8,664 unique volunteers amongst them. There have been more than 800,000 parkruns completed and almost 93,000 instances of volunteering. 2022 saw 9,377 participate at a parkrun in the area for the first time
Professor Van-Tam said: “parkrun is a fantastic organisation which has done so much to promote free, inclusive, friendly participation in sport, exercise, movement and mental wellbeing and I am delighted to be joining it this year as one of its trustees.
“As a public health professional, I am passionate about supporting initiatives which focus on the benefits that an active lifestyle can bring to our physical and mental wellbeing both in the short term and in helping us to live longer and healthier lives. I look forward to contributing to the charity’s continuing success.”
parkrun Global CEO Russ Jefferys said: “We have been working through a huge programme of change over the past 12 months, as we seek to invest in the organisation and strengthen our governance and leadership, to ensure we are meeting and exceeding our responsibilities as a global health and wellbeing charity.
“A big part of this work has been the recruitment of new trustees, and it has been incredibly humbling to see the calibre and passion of the individuals applying to join us. I’m looking forward to welcoming them all to the team and working with them on this next exciting chapter for parkrun.”
The new Trustees are:
Sonya Byers
Long-standing parkrun volunteer Ambassador with a passion for delivering equity, diversity, inclusion and social impact. Sonya is Chief Executive of the non-profit Women in Transport with a mission to support and advocate for women working in transport.
Nat Poulter
Joint CEO of Jungle Creations, a media, marketing and commerce business that has appeared on the Financial Times list of Europe’s fastest growing companies. Nat is a digital community expert with a demonstrable track record of creating content and channels to reach diverse and hard to reach audiences and has introduced world class diversity, equity and inclusion practices in his agency. Joins the Board in January 2023.
Sarah Powell
Chief Executive of British Gymnastics. Sarah joined British Gymnastics in late 2021 to lead a major remodelling of its safeguarding, operations, culture and future strategy. She was previously CEO of Sport Wales and a former international sportswoman.
Professor Sir Jonathan Stafford Nguyen-Van-Tam
Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England. He is presently Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham. Sir Jonathan is highly influential across public health and will help the organisation think through its public health positioning with a focus on delivering greater impact within communities across the world.
David Dinsmore
Chief Operating Officer of News UK, responsible for developing new digital revenue streams across the organisation while maximising the legacy print operations. He helped to lead the organisation through a significant period of turbulence and reform its governance structure. Prior to his current role, David was Editor of The Sun newspaper.
Gordon Seabright
Previously CEO of the Eden Project, Gordon has worked at a senior level for a host of charitable organisations. He now leads Creative Land Trust, a charity established by the Mayor of London, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Arts Council England to solve the problem of the loss of artists and creatives from London. He is a trustee at Five Talents, a charity that delivers financial inclusion for women in East Africa.
John Vickers
Chartered Accountant and currently Director of Finance and Corporate Services at St Christopher’s Hospice, the largest hospice in the UK, with an annual income of £30m. John has extensive experience of working in charity finance; prior to St Christopher’s Hospice he was Director of Finance and Corporate Services at the Design Council.
Tags: JVT, Professor Sir Jonathan Van Tam
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Advisory warning to users of LastPass software – action required
January 6th, 2023
Digital and Technology Services have been alerted to a cybersecurity breach of the commercially-available password management software LastPass, whereby an unauthorised party has gained access to sensitive data held by LastPass
This highly sensitive information includes names, billing addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and website URLs that have passwords stored within LastPass.
While LastPass is not software provided by the university, as one of the leading password management products, we are making staff and students aware as they may use LastPass in a personal capacity.
If you use this software, you will need to take action to protect yourself.
Recommendations
While a strong master password for your LastPass account will make it more challenging for hackers to gain access to the passwords contained within your password vault, it is recommended that, as a precaution, you:
- Change your LastPass master password
- Change all passwords stored within the vault
- Change all the passwords for any other systems that share a password with your master password or any password in the vault
- As ever, be suspicious of all unsolicited email and do not click on links or open attachment in any emails that you were not expecting
It is recommended that you prioritise accounts that are of more value to an attacker, such as bank accounts or primary email accounts. You should also review any notes or form filled data contained in LastPass to identify what the impact of its disclosure to an attacker may be.
LastPass’ Multi-factor authentication does not provide any additional protection in this breach as the attackers have an encrypted copy of the passwords to allow for an offline attack, but use of multi-factor authentication for passwords in the password vault does help protect these systems.
The LastPass information on this breach is available to read via their website.
Support
Notwithstanding this breach, general advice remains that password managers are the best way to maintain multiple passwords for web applications.
If you have any cybersecurity questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the IT service desk.
Tags: Information security, IT Service Desk, LastPass
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Looking back on Disability Recognition Month 2022
January 5th, 2023
Disability Recognition Month (DRM) celebrations took place across the university from 16 November to 16 December 2022. The theme for this year’s celebration was ‘Disability, Health and Wellbeing’.
We received fantastic attendance at our central event ‘What’s new in the Disability Space?’, showcasing initiatives and the provision of service for disabled staff and students, allies, managers and anyone who wanted to know more about the support available at UoN.
Watch the DRM Central Event recording
Check out the EDI in Practice SharePoint Site where you will find the full event recording of our central event, ‘What’s new in the Disability Space?’ to watch back, alongside:
- Presentation slides from all presenters
- A further information and support document for disabled staff
- A further information and support document for students
- Q&A written responses
Short on time? A key presentation for line managers and staff
If you’re short on time and you are a member of staff who would like to know more about the disability support that is available to you or your staff member, HR and Legal Services delivered a really useful presentation as part of the central DRM event.
This presentation is less than half an hour and is available to watch back as a separate recording. Watch the recording here.
The presentation features:
- What a disability is, according to the Equality Act
- How to disclose a disability
- What reasonable adjustments are, according to the Equality Act
- Current and future support for disabled staff
Local Event Recordings
In case you missed out on our local events, you can catch up with the recordings below.
Covid as a Mass-Disabling Event: A Pedagogy of Kindness in Pandemic Times
This webinar features Professor Cate Denial, Bright Distinguished Professor of American History at Knox College, University of Nottingham alumna, and PI on a $150,000 Mellon Foundation grant analysing practices of care in academia during Covid. Professor Denial will discuss the need to practice a “pedagogy of kindness” to create a more inclusive and just academy.
Drawing on her research and own experiences with disability, Professor Denial will prompt us to re-evaluate our ideas of educational “rigour” not only in response to the pandemic as a mass-disabling event, but also a part of larger efforts to make higher education more accessible for disabled students and instructors alike.
Disablism and being an Ally
This talk focused on how workplaces can become more inclusive to all members of the community.Leading disability charity, Disability Rights UK delivered the talk, which included:
- How disablism is exhibited in culture, including workplace cultures
- Internalised discrimination, its impact on people who are disabled and allies
- How to stand up for human rights and how allies can help
Tags: disability recognition month, Disability Recognition Month 2022, diversity and inclusivity, DRM, edi, inclusivity
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Wellbeing workshops for staff – Feb/Mar 2023
January 4th, 2023
The University Counselling Service are once again offering a number of workshops for staff.
Time to take stock, reflect, check in, consider where you might need to ease up on yourself… and also enjoy a few mindfulness practices too.
The workshops are for all members of staff and students at the university and are about providing reflective spaces with elements of self-care and mindfulness.
Please register with your university staff (or student) email address using the links below.
NOTE – the workshops will be carried out online on MS Teams and the details of how to access the workshop will be sent to you shortly after you register.
Thursday 9 February 2023, 1.30pm – 2pm: Breathe here now mindfulness for staff and students
Bookings open 27 January 2023 – Book your place here
Tuesday 21 March 2023, 1pm – 1.30pm: Breathe here now mindfulness for staff and students
Bookings open 7 March 2023 – Book your place here
Tags: mindfullness, staff wellbeing, staff wellbeing services, wellbeing
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Defibrillators (AEDs): what they do, where they are and how to use them
January 4th, 2023
Since an initiative in 2009, the university has maintained a number of defibrillators across its main campuses.
Defibrillators, or Automated External Defibrillators (DEFIBRILLATORs) are portable lightweight devices that are intended for use in emergency situations in the case of a suspected cardiac arrest.
They are not effective for all cardiac emergencies but certainly can be very beneficial and life-saving in a small proportion of acute emergencies.
Who can use a Defibrillator?
Defibrillators can be used by anyone, you don’t need to be trained. Our first aiders have familiarisation training as part of the first aid course but the devices have been designed for members of the public to use.
You may have noticed devices in shopping centres, railway stations and the like – these are not just for the staff, they are for any of us to use.
To feel more confident of how the devices work, please see this four-minute video clip from St John’s Ambulance which shows you how to use a defibrillator.
How they work
A defibrillator acts to restart or correct the heart rhythm by applying an electric shock to the chest. It detects the electrical activity of the heart and gives automated instructions to the operator on what to do.
The automatic diagnostic sequence ensures that they will only operate under appropriate circumstances so please don’t worry about delivering a shock accidentally or in the wrong situation, the device will not let that happen.
Example of defibrillator found around campus
What do I need to do?
To have the best chance of being effective, it is crucial to get a defibrillator to a casualty who is having a suspected cardiac arrest as soon as possible. The quicker life-saving first aid and a defibrillator are used on a casualty, the better the outlook for survival.
If you are a first aider, you will know to make an assessment and if appropriate, commence CPR, request a defibrillator to be fetched and to have the emergency services called.
If you are not a first aider, summon a first aider (for details see local first aid notices) and know where your nearest defibrillator is so you can bring it to the casualty or send someone to fetch it.
To get started with the defibrillator, remove it from its case, press the green button and follow the voice prompts.
If a defibrillator is used, i.e. the pads are applied to a casualty, we will need to get them replaced, please notify h&s@nottingham.ac.uk. Any incident on campus, please report online.
Where are they?
Information about your nearest defibrillator should be on first aider notices in your building and the full list is given here [Workspace login required]. Note that UoN Security carry defibrillators on their response vehicles.
Our defibrillators are checked on a regular basis by local staff. If you pass by one and it’s beeping or appears damaged or is missing, please report to h&s@nottingham.ac.uk.
Tags: Defibrillator, Defibrillators, health and safety
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January exam revision resources launched
January 3rd, 2023
The university has updated our exam resources to support students through the upcoming January exam period.
The new page includes updated information and support to help you revise and prepare, as well as a daily event calendar to highlight opportunities across the university.
We’ve also improved our wellbeing information from teams like HealthyU and libraries alongside regular exam timetables, access to past papers, tips, tricks and toolkits.
As well as this refreshed page we will be hosting Pomodoro method “Study with me” sessions on our university Instagram to offer a structured, enjoyable virtual environment to aid students in self-study, as well as highlighting
The new pages and resources are available here to help students get exam ready.
Tags: exam, Exam Ready
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Nottingham academic and PHD student recognised in New Year Honours
January 3rd, 2023
A positioning and navigating expert and a PHD student at the university have been listed in the 2023 New Year Honours List.
Honoured for his services to satellite navigation, Terry Moore is an Emeritus Professor, and former Director of the Nottingham Geospatial Institute, in the university’s Faculty of Engineering.
A professor of satellite navigation at the university for 20 years, Professor Moore’s links to the city date back to 1979 when he began his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Over the course of his career, he’s taken a leading role in national and European initiatives aimed at integrating academic research and teaching in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) – all while based at the University of Nottingham.
He was the founding Director of the GNSS Research and Applications Centre of Excellence (GRACE), an internationally recognised centre of excellence in surveying, positioning, and navigation technologies, which was jointly funded by the University of Nottingham and the East Midlands Development Agency and has gone on to support hundreds of companies worldwide.
Professor Moore has also overseen numerous research projects funded by industry, research councils, the European Space Agency and the European Commission, and has supervised more than 40 successful PhD students.
Read more about Professor Terry Moore’s OBE award.
Honoured with a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire for services to the environment and to the community in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Maxwell Apaladaga Ayamba is a PhD student in Black Studies, studying the spatiality of the Peak District National Park, in relation to access and use by people of Black African ancestry in the diaspora.
His work builds on the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and the Julian Glover Review attempt to promote access to the countryside for everyone, especially Black and Minority Ethnic Communities.
It’s also based on his own interests and convictions: in 2004 Maxwell co-founded the 100 Black Men Walk for Health Group, and he was the first Black person appointed on the board of Ramblers Association UK in 2006.
The project inspired the Royal Court Theatre play Black Men Walking, which explores 500 years of black people in the English countryside, and later evolved into monthly walking group Walk4Health, which now includes other ethnicities, women and young people.
Maxwell regularly participates in public and policy discussions about black access to the countryside. Amongst other things, Maxwell gave a speech in March 2022 at the Natural England Parliamentary Reception.
Maxwell’s advocacy and expertise on black access to nature in England is making a difference at national level.
Tags: Maxwell Ayamba, New Year Honours, OBE, Professor Terry Moore
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Trent Building to turn green for the NSPCC
December 20th, 2022
Along with landmarks across Nottingham, Trent Building will be illuminated green on the darkest night of the year in support of the NSPCC’s ‘Walk for Children’ Christmas campaign.
On Wednesday 21 December, the NSPCC is asking people in Nottingham to dust off their walking boots and to get into the festive spirit by taking part in the charity’s Walk for Children.
Walk for Children is a sponsored 5km walk where families, friends and colleagues can get together on the longest night of the year to raise money to support the NSPCC and Childline this Christmas.
Barbara Elsey, NSPCC Community Fundraising Manager for Nottingham, said: “We’re extremely grateful for the support given by all the landmarks here in Nottingham. Together they will help raise awareness of the NSPCC’s Walk for Children campaign. The NSPCC relies on public donations for the majority of its income, which is why we’re calling on people in Nottingham to support the NSPCC and Childline this festive season.
“By joining our Walk for Children, every step participants take and every pound that they raise will help Childline be here for all children, even on the darkest night of the year. Together let’s make a difference.”
In the last year alone, Nottingham Childline has delivered 13,171 counselling sessions to children and young people. At a time that should be magical for all children and young people, Childline counsellors across the UK will receive an average of two contacts every minute about abuse, neglect, self-harm, and anxiety; things no child should have to deal with.
To sign up for Walk for Children and to see a list of local participating landmarks search Walk for Children on the NSPCC website.
For anyone taking part in Walk for Children in Nottingham, please remember to share any photos on social media using #WalkforChildren.
Tags: NSPCC, Walk for Children
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A52 gasworks – plan your journey to and through campus
December 20th, 2022
This article was updated on Monday 9 January 2023
The A52 gasworks are set to have a significant impact on road traffic surrounding the University Park campus from 9 January 2023 and new guidance is published today to help staff, students and visitors to plan their journeys to, and also through, the campus.
From Monday 9 January to Friday 31 March 2023, the westbound carriageway of the A52 Derby Road will be closed from the QMC roundabout junction, and the diversion proposed by National Highways circles the perimeter of the University Park campus.
This is likely to impact access to entrances and surrounding routes at peak times and, if not carefully managed, other drivers may seek to use campus routes as a ‘rat run’, presenting risks to campus safety and congestion levels.
Temporary barriers and routes will be introduced to ensure that members of our community can access and leave the University Park campus safely, and we can minimise the disruption and prevent other drivers from accessing campus.
Two new barrier gates, together with campus signage, will be installed at Cripps Health Centre and at Hallward Library to prevent non-university traffic using the campus as a ‘rat run.’ The barriers are designed to avoid the types of delays experienced during the Nottingham tram works, keep our community safe and minimise non-university traffic. Unfortunately, some disruption is still anticipated.
Colleagues will need to plan their car journeys through campus and drivers may find it quicker to park in new locations and walk across campus to their place of work. There will be signage throughout the university and a map has been created (see below) to show the different routes that are available.
Exemptions will be made for emergency service vehicles and for staff and students with accessibility issues (please see FAQs below). The accessibility minibus will still travel in the same way it does now, and colleagues who use disabled parking spaces will still be able to do so.
Whilst every effort will be made to avoid delays, the roadworks may also mean there are disruptions to catering and deliveries during this period and colleagues are asked to bear this in mind when making bookings and build in some flexibility into their plans.
Please be respectful to members of security staff who are helping to manage the barrier operation, redirect traffic and ensure the safe flow of vehicles through campus.
Where are the barriers?
Cripps Health Centre
Located just in front of the Zebra Crossing at Cripps Health Centre. Traffic coming up Cripps Hill can turn left or right down Lenton Hall Drive, before turning around and going back down Cripps Hill. Traffic coming up Beeston Lane will not be able to pass this point.
Hallward
Located on Cut Through Lane, between Hallward and The New Theatre, just after Cherry Tree Hill (coming from Portland). Traffic coming up Cut Through Lane will be required to turn right down Library Road, and follow the network round to Cripps Hill, where they will have to turn right towards North entrance.
The map below has been created to show where you will be able to travel and park depending on which entrance you use:
Key:
Red line = lane closure
Green line = lane open as normal
Red square = start of lane closure
Yellow circle = temporary barrier
Blue stars = car parks accessible from West entrance
Green hexagons = car parks accessible from North and South entrances
Black dotted line = cars will not be able to pass this divide during the gas works
Orange arrows = traffic diversions
Which entrance should I use?
All entrances, including North entrance, are open. You should use the one easiest for you to access from home.
Where should I park?
Staff are advised to use car parking spaces closest to the entrance they use to get onto campus.
For North and South entrance this is the Visitors Car Park, Law and Social Sciences/ Monica Partridge, Life Science, Physics and around the L Buildings.
For those using West entrance this will be spaces at, Lincoln, Derby, Sherwood, Ancaster and Cavendish Halls, Trent and Jubilee Avenue, or the spaces on the road adjacent to EMCC.
I use the hopper buses – will services be affected?
With effect from Monday 9 January we are putting in place the following changes to the hopper bus services to mitigate and ease the congestion both on campus and on the surrounding network as a result of the lane closures on the A52.
- 901 – Sutton Bonington Service – this service will operate from East Drive only – anyone who usually gets this bus from Beeston Lane area will need to walk to East Drive to catch the bus.
- 903 – Jubilee Campus service – this service will operate from East Drive, anyone who usually gets this bus from Beeston Lane or Library road will need to walk to East Drive to catch the bus.
- 904 – Royal Derby – this service will operate from East Drive only, it will exit campus via the south entrance and will travel to Derby via the A453 and A50, so as to avoid the congestion on the A52. Anyone who usually catches this bus from West Entrance will need to walk to East Drive.
Whilst these changes have been put in place to try to minimise disruption to the hopper bus services the increased congestion in and around the city may impact on these scheduled services, so passengers are encouraged to think before they travel and ensure they leave plenty of time to make journeys.
I have accessibility issues – what do I do?
Speak to your line manager in the first instance. The accessibility minibus will still travel in the same way it does now. Blue badge holders will be able to pass through the barrier closest to Cripps Health Centre (Beeston Lane) between 8am and 6pm by showing their badge and university card to the member of the security team staffing the gate during these times.
Please note: outside of these times the barrier will not be staffed and therefore staff and students will need to use the diversions in place on campus. Staff who use disabled parking spaces will still be able to do so but may need to plan a new route into work.
Emergency Services
Exemptions will be made for emergency service vehicles travelling through campus but anyone requiring help in an emergency should contact security first (0115 951 8888) so they can best support, and direct vehicles coming onto campus if necessary.
Visitors and events
Those planning events or inviting visitors to campus should consider the impact of the traffic changes and avoid large-scale activity during rush hours.
Alternative transport options
Public transport
The university in collaboration with a number of public transport operators across the city offer a number of travel pass schemes. They offer staff the opportunity to purchase travel passes through salary deductions – there are a range of these available to support differing work patterns, many at discounted rates.
Cycle to Work
Cycling to work offers a flexible, fit and sustainable way to travel between our campuses and elsewhere. The university offers a comprehensive Cycle to Work scheme accessible through the Employee Hub and has increased the value of the scheme to enable staff to purchase bicycles up to the value of £2,000.
Further information
For all other queries relating to these measures contact parking@nottingham.ac.uk
Tags: A52, A52 gas works, roadworks, traffic, Travel to campus
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Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey results 2022
December 20th, 2022
The survey results place us above the sector average and demonstrate a marked improvement on previous years.
The survey is operated by Advance HE, an organisation promoting excellence in education and striving to improve higher education for students, staff and society. Nearly 80,000 postgraduate taught students from 91 institutions took part this year.
There were 721 respondents from the University of Nottingham and results show that the university has improved on itself in eight out of the nine sections listed within the survey, including:
- Overall course quality
- Assessment and feedback
- Engagement
- Organisation
- Teaching and learning
- Resources
- Retention
- Skills development
In addition, we have surpassed the Russell Group and wider sector average in five of these areas, including overall course quality, teaching and learning, resources, retention, and skills development. This is an extremely positive set of results that reflects our commitment to outstanding education and student experience for all of our PGT students.
The results will be analysed in more detail over the coming months as we endeavour to continually improve in all areas moving forward. You can view the results for yourself in the Tableau Dashboard (log in with your university username and password).
Thank you to everyone involved for your support in encouraging our postgraduate taught students to share their feedback.
Tags: 2022, Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey, Postgraduate taught students, PTES, survey
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