In case you've not been keeping up to date with our news over the past 12 months, we've rounded up some of the most impactful, prestigious and heartwarming stories from across the university community.

This is your regular reminder to share any personal or career updates directly with your alumni team too – we're always on the lookout for news from all of you!

Trent Building

University highlights

Most significantly in 2025, Nottingham returned to the QS World Top 100, reflecting our commitment to excellence in teaching and research. Our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jane Norman, has stated her aspiration for the university to propel towards the Top 50 in coming years.

In the field of research, work began on what will become the UK's most powerful MRI scanner. Building on the world-renowned legacy established by Sir Peter Mansfield, the '11.7 Tesla Ultra High Field MRI scanner' is a 70-tonne, state-of-the-art system that will enhance the UK’s capability for world-leading brain imaging research.

A new research centre bringing together leading scientists and clinicians to develop innovative new approaches to diagnosing and treating ovarian cancer opened in August. The Naaz Coker Ovarian Cancer Research Centre (NOVARC), which is based at the university’s Biodiscovery Institute on University Park Campus, was named in honour of Nottingham alumnus Farid Suleman’s sister, who died from ovarian cancer in 2015. Farid and his family made a significant financial contribution to support the establishment of the centre.

In the sporting arena, it was another successful year for the university's teams. Nottingham placed second in the overall BUCS table, only behind Loughborough. We also had the highest representation of any UK university at BUCS Big Wednesday with a record 31 teams reaching finals, providing incredible memories as 11 teams won national championships!

Read more news highlights from our press team >

Alumni team highlights

From London to Lagos, we welcomed hundreds of you to networking events across the globe, in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. It was wonderful to catch up with old faces and make new connections – the team looks forward to more of the same in 2026.

Alumni at an event in Los Angeles Alumni at an event in India Alumni at an event in Accra Alumni at an event

As always, we're incredibly grateful to the hundreds of you who volunteer your time to support current students. Our University Radio Nottingham (URN) networking event in May was a highlight, with a number of alumni joining us in Portland Coffee to share their insights on the media industry.

We ran our second Future Connections programme, which culminated with 26 students visiting the London offices of Microsoft UK & Ireland, BloombergNEF and EY to hear from alumni on their careers in business.

We were also delighted to welcome back Emma Barnett (History and Politics, 2006) to campus. Now one of the UK's most revered broadcast journalists, Emma and her husband Jeremy Weil (Management Studies, 2006) launched their Nottingham edition of 'Colour Your Streets', which encourages mindful colouring in of some of the city's most iconic locations! Emma was just one of many, many alumni who joined us in person throughout the year to share their experiences with students, so thank you to you all!

Our fourth annual Nottingham Ambition Giving Day raised £80,000 with your generous support – nearly 400 of you donated to causes including student mental health, scholarships and medical research.

Alumni community highlights

We've been delighted to see the level of interest and number of responses to our re-established 'Where are they now?' section. We know many of you appreciate a snapshot into the lives of former coursemates and staff at the university – we're also keen to share those successes that you attribute to the grounding which Nottingham has given to your careers.

In no particular order, some of your highlights this year:

Patrick Johns (Music, 1999), a member of the 'London Vegetable Orchestra', was a guest at a reception at Windsor Castle where King Charles played a carrot recorder; Dr Jane Ansah (Law, 2003) was sworn in as the newly-installed Vice President of the Republic of Malawi; Zelah Glasson (International Relations, 2022) took part in the most recent series of Big Brother; Meg Pragnell (Medicine 2019, Clinical Medicine 2021) spent July and August completing 15 half-ironman triathlons in 15 days to raise £15,000 for charity.

Where are they now? >

Alumni at a 50 year reunion Phillip Willey Meg Pragnell Parsonage and Bird 70th

Because we all like a little stardust, here are a few updates on alumni in the public eye (so you can say 'ooh, I had no idea they were a Nottingham graduate'):

Myles Smith (Sociology, 2019) continued his rapid ascent, supporting Ed Sheeran on a global tour and picking up a BRIT Award on the way; Elizabeth Dulau (Environmental Science, 2012) played a starring role in smash-hit 'Andor'; Theo James (Philosophy, 2007) appeared in hit film 'The Monkey' and has been filming a second series of 'The Gentleman'; Ruth Wilson (History, 2003) appeared in thriller series 'Down Cemetery Road'; Rosalind Eleazar (Spanish and Chinese Studies, 2011) continued her run as Louisa Guy in the latest series of 'Slow Horses'.

And finally...

To keep you updated with some of the things that have been happening in the city you called home:

...the Broadmarsh shopping centre is finally being demolished, a new pedestrian bridge over the River Trent is in place, a pub in Gedling had to give away hundreds of free pints after an over-optimistic promise ahead of a Nottingham Forest game, Torvill and Dean performed together for the final time...