Campus News
Sir Colin Campbell memorial: Thursday 13 October 2022
September 14th, 2022
Staff at the university are invited to join other colleagues, Sir Colin’s family, former staff, current and previous members of Council and other guests for a memorial service in honour of Sir Colin Campbell, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham.
The event is an opportunity for all to recognise that University of Nottingham is what it is today because of Sir Colin’s efforts and to celebrate and highlight his many significant achievements and contributions during his time as Vice-Chancellor.
Sir Colin played a key role in the commissioning of the Jubilee Campus expansion scheme and was instrumental in raising Nottingham’s profile internationally – overseeing the opening of campuses in China and Malaysia, and attracting more overseas students than any other university in the country.
The memorial event will take place on Thursday 13 October at 2pm in the Great Hall of Trent Building on University Park Campus.
To RSVP, please respond via our online form.
Tags: memorial, Sir Colin Campbell
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Pay award 2022/23 implementation: latest update
September 13th, 2022
The University Executive Board (UEB) has agreed to implement the current pay offer for staff at level 1-3 with effect from October salaries, following detailed consideration of the outcomes of the UNITE and Unison membership ballots.
The current cost-of-living concerns experienced by many colleagues at levels 1-3 and the potential impact of further delays to implementing the pay award in the current economic position led UEB to confirm implementation of the university’s three-year offer in the October payroll, including backpay from 1 August 2022. This ensures the pay and benefits that the offer provides are available for staff as soon as possible.
Find full details of the pay award here.
It is hoped this implementation will provide some relief and certainty for colleagues, coupled with a guarantee that they will be no worse off should the national pay offer from UCEA exceed the university offer over the three-year period. In this circumstance, the university would match the national offer.
Why have we decided to implement the pay award?
UEB acknowledges that cost-of-living concerns have continued to increase since the university offer was presented to trade union colleagues and employees. However, the current pay offer of 7.6% in year 1 and a 3-year total of 16.5% exceeds any other offer available in the higher education sector. These uplifts represent new money, additional to the costs of incremental progression that employees are currently entitled to. For reference, Nottingham Trent University have come out of national negotiations at 3.5% this year.
The three-year pay offer meets key objectives for both the university and trade unions, including addressing pay differentials, consolidating the voluntary living wage, and further tackling our gender and ethnicity pay gaps.
Additionally, the offer guarantees that in the event the UCEA national offer exceeds the university offer over the three-year period – which will factor in the current period of high inflation – the university would match the national offer. This provides staff with an assurance that they cannot be worse off under the proposals, while offering a significant three-year pay award, front loaded in year one and providing greater financial certainty.
The three-year offer also includes additional non-pay elements identified by staff during the level 1-3 terms and conditions review, many of which have been requested during previous local pay negotiations. Those elements will provide significant benefit in addition to the pay uplift including:
- An extra two days’ annual leave, one day in year one (2022/23 leave year) and a further day in year three (the 2024/25 leave year)
- Removing Operations and Facilities (O&F) pay scales and moving O&F employees onto the same pay scales as APM/Technical Services employees
- An increase in pension benefits – enabling colleagues to increase their level of contribution by 1% in each of the three years of the pay offer.
- Enhanced rates for bank and university holidays
- A commitment to change the number of formal stages within the O&F disciplinary policy to match the number of steps within the disciplinary policy that applies to all other job families
As requested by Unison, UEB agreed to not to withdraw the 20% weekend working supplement at this time. This is a current benefit for staff at level one who work weekends which will now be addressed separately, and relevant staff members will be contacted about this in due course.
What happens next?
The pay award will be implemented in the October salary payment, including backpay from 1 August 2022 to ensure the benefits that the offer provides are available for staff as soon as possible. The annual leave increase will be available from the start of the new leave year – which falls on 1 October for most colleagues.
Pay award drop-in sessions – where colleagues may join a Teams call to address queries about the changes and how they affect them – will be arranged over the coming weeks and communicated separately. In the meantime, please address any queries to hr@nottingham.ac.uk.
Tags: living wage, pay and benefits, pay award, pay offer, pay spine points, spine points, staff pay award, staff wage, UNISON, UNITE
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Final call for LMA programme applications
September 13th, 2022
Applications for our Leadership and Management Academy programmes 2022/23 close on Friday 16 September 2022.
There is still time to embark upon new learning, develop new skills and tool kits, try different ways of doing things and take the next step in your leadership journey.
Our programmes are open to all staff at the university, whether you see yourself as a ‘leader’ or not, now or in the future. Leadership is something that everyone can do, it’s not a position, title or role; it is the action you take, the example you set and the impact you have. LMA programmes are great ways to:
- Build confidence in leading and managing
- Broaden your impact and influence
- Support others to grow and perform to their best ability
- Improve the environment for your team to achieve
- Lead change with new thinking to take people with you
Take a look at the video below, where a colleague Vicky shares her LMA journey:
By joining one of our programmes, we will help you to be more comfortable not knowing all the answers, help you to understand the wider context in which you lead, and help you to build the personal and professional resources to be able to pass on energy, confidence, trust, and a shared purpose to the people you lead.
You’ll get the space, time, and support to focus on your own leadership practice and develop a great network of like-minded colleagues.
LMA programmes provide focused development for leaders and managers, at all levels:
- Aspiring Leadership
- Stepping into Leadership
- Operational Leadership
- Senior Leadership
- Executive leadership
You can find out more about which programme is right for you, contact the programme leader for further details and apply for a programme here: LMA Development Programmes.
Tags: Continuing Professional Development, leadership, Leadership and Management Academy, LMA, Professional Development
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Scholars at Risk programme to reopen
September 13th, 2022
The university will reopen the Scholars at Risk programme for new applicants from Tuesday 13 September.
The programme will be open to researchers and PhD students who will be fully funded to come to Nottingham.
Funding covers costs such as accommodation, stipend, consumables, travel to the UK and welcome packs – as well as pastoral and mental health support to all scholars.
The university has been able to support five researchers and one PhD student through the Scholars at Risk programme which was first initiated earlier this year as a response to the war in Ukraine.
Four scholars have already arrived in Nottingham and are settling into their new routines on campus.
We will welcome the remaining scholars in the coming weeks and look forward to giving colleagues a more detailed update on their progress once they have settled in fully.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme has been a key element to enabling us to welcome scholars to Nottingham, so please be aware that should you wish to nominate someone for funding you must be prepared to act as their sponsor under this scheme.
The university will provide accommodation for scholars and full support to sponsors going through the process.
If you would like to nominate a researcher or PhD student for the Scholars at Risk programme please read our information page on the Global Engagement Hub and complete a nomination form.
If you have any questions please contact the Global Engagement team and they will be happy to help.
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Safeguarding training at the university
September 12th, 2022
In September, the university will be recommencing our short course, Safeguarding at UoN.
The interactive online workshops will be facilitated by Dr. Charley Baker (Associate Professor of Mental Health) and Laura Sanderson (Senior Manager Critical Incidents & safeguarding).
Our short course has been specifically created for all student-facing staff at UoN, and the aims are to help people understand:
- What safeguarding is
- What the safeguarding risks for students are and how they might occur
- Where people can get support, advice and guidance for safeguarding-related issues
You can find the dates and book your place here.
Tags: Safeguarding, Safeguarding at UoN, Safeguarding Resources, training
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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – The University of Nottingham joins the nation in mourning
September 8th, 2022
The Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Nottingham, Professor Shearer West, has expressed her great sadness on behalf of the university at hearing the news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
Professor Shearer West said: “The University community joins the Royal Family and the nation in mourning the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“As sovereign to the UK and Commonwealth for more than 70 years, and as the longest-reigning British Monarch, she leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service and dedication.
“From a young girl who did not expect to be Queen, to an iconic and celebrated figure who became Britain’s longest reigning monarch. For every generation, she provided an example and continuity that unites us today in offering our heartfelt condolences.”
Flags will be flown at half-mast across the university’s campuses and books of condolence will open on all campuses from Friday 9 September.
Professor West has written to the Royal Family expressing condolences at the loss of a national figure who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion to duty in the service of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Queen Elizabeth II and the University of Nottingham
Although King George V officially opened the Trent Building on University Park back in 1928 his granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II’s reign has had the biggest impact on our University.
Here we look back at some of her numerous visits to Nottingham.
In July 1964, a shortage of doctors in the UK prompted a significant announcement by Minister of Health, Anthony Barber. With healthcare in the Nottingham area the most under-resourced in the country at that time, the Minister announced that a new teaching hospital of around 1200 beds would be built on 42 acres of land next to the University campus.
When the new Queen’s Medical Centre was officially opened by The Queen on 28 July 1977, it was the biggest purpose-built hospital in Europe with 27 miles of corridors.
The Queen came to visit The University of Nottingham again in 1981. Her Majesty unveiled a plaque to commemorate the centenary of the foundation of University College. In the photographs below she is pictured en route to Hallward Library, chatting to the then-Vice-Chancellor and leading a procession of dignitaries.
The Queen returned in 1999 to open the initial phase of the University’s Jubilee campus. The campus has grown tremendously over the years and is now home to the School of Education, Computer Science, the Business School and Innovation Park. The engaging photograph below captures Her Majesty sharing a joke and taking tea with staff and students.
During celebrations for her 90th birthday scientists based in the new Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre in the School of Chemistry etched their birthday wishes on a corgi hair. The hair was kindly donated by Cracker and CJ – two corgis living in Nottinghamshire who are from the same blood line as the Queen’s corgis.
The message was preserved in a tiny glass corgi specially made by Clive Dixon, The University of Nottingham glassblower and sent to the Palace where it has been kept to posterity in the Royal Library.
During her 70-year reign the Queen has celebrated dozens of University staff and academics with birthday and New Year Honours, including most recently Sir Jonathan Van Tam, Professor Robert Mokaya and Professor Tony Avery.
Tags: obituary, Queen Elizabeth II, Royal family
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New Director of Estates and Facilities appointed
September 6th, 2022
A new Director of Estates and Facilities will join the University of Nottingham from the start of January 2023.
Gary Moss, currently Director of Estates Operations at the University of Cambridge, will take up the role. He will be responsible for providing strategic leadership to the university’s estates and facilities functions – driving the long-term estates strategy and capital projects programmes, and ensuring the delivery of high performing and innovative estates services such as maintenance, housekeeping, security and catering.
Gary has extensive experience in managing large estates, managing complex capital projects and leading and supporting large teams. At Cambridge, he was responsible for managing the UK’s largest higher education estate comprising over 370 academic and research buildings alongside a residential estate of a thousand keyworker apartments and houses. He oversaw a multidisciplinary team of 300 people and an operational budget in excess of £50m.
In previous roles he has developed and implemented facilities and asset management strategies for major UK and international corporate, educational and residential estates, and was part of the team that established the performance management metrics for the London 2012 Olympic Games development programme.
He said: “I’m delighted to be joining the senior team at Nottingham at such an important stage in the implementation of the university’s strategic vision and estate masterplan.
“I am a very hands-on leader and take great satisfaction in developing teams and nurturing individuals to be the best they can. Nottingham has an established and diverse estates team who do great things across a very large and complex estate – I’m looking forward to leading them on the next stage of their strategic journey.”
Chief Financial Officer Margaret Monckton said: “I am delighted to welcome Gary to the university. He brings a huge range of skills and experience to the Director role of an already high-performing department – I look forward to working with him over the coming years.”
Gary will take up his role on 1 January 2023.
Tags: Director of Estates and Facilities, Estates, Estates and Facilities, Gary Moss
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Disability Recognition Month 2022: call for funding open
September 6th, 2022
As part of the university’s ongoing commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, we are inviting applications for the celebration of Disability Recognition Month, which will take place from 18 November – 18 December 2022.
The national theme for this year is Disability, Health and Wellbeing, so we would encourage colleagues to think about how they might align events with this theme.
Funding will be awarded to host local events or activities to a maximum of £200.
Applications will be assessed according to the extent to which the aims of the proposed activity or event align with the recognition month theme, and how wide the impact would be.
For guidance on how to run EDI events, please see our EDI events toolkit.
How to get involved
For funding applications, please complete the form using the link below by Monday 3 October 2022 at 12 noon.
Submit a Local Funding Application here.
For any queries, please contact the EDI Co-ordinators.
Tags: disability, Disability at work, disability awareness, disability recognition month, Disability Recognition Month 2022, DRM, DRM 22, edi
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Staff and students to be able to book available rooms
September 5th, 2022
From the beginning of the Autumn Semester both staff and students will be able to book available rooms to use as a meeting space or group/individual study space.
A new resource booker system will replace the existing Web Room Booking site and will be available for staff and students to use from Tuesday 20 September. The resource booker can be access via the link below.
Staff will be able to use this to book meetings and events, but it should not be used to book teaching. Teaching requests should continue to go through the timetabling team. Staff will be able to browse the available rooms based on their location or the type of facilities required.
The resource booker will be fully responsive and can be accessed from a desktop computer or a smartphone. The previous Web Room Booking resource will automatically redirect to the new system from Monday 19 September and we will update this article with a direct URL.
Students
Student feedback tells us that there’s not always enough dedicated study space across our campuses at busy times – such as during assessment periods.
With this in mind, from Tuesday 20 September, students will also be able to use the new resource booker to book available classrooms. Students will be permitted to use their booked space for individual or group study but will not be able to use it for society-related activity, which should continue to be booked via the SU
Throughout the trial period – which will run until the end of 2022 – each student will be able to book no more than two slots of two hours per week.
Tags: meeting spaces, room booking, room booking system, Room bookings
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