About the University
University of Nottingham – Driving Growth
The University generates an economic impact of more than a billion pounds a year. It drives economic growth regionally and nationally, bringing the world to Nottingham and Nottingham to the world. We produce extraordinary talent and drive growth through a globally connected network of unrivalled academic, research and industrial collaborations. The University’s research innovation services team is the primary gateway for businesses seeking to improve their competitive advantage, and leads on the delivery of knowledge exchange and impact. Staff focus on key account management with our industrial partners, SME-specific initiatives, interactions with local and central government, commercialisation of intellectual property, business development in Asia and management of the University’s Innovation Park.
The Midlands Engine
A major fund designed to drive cutting-edge research, innovation and skills, the Midlands Engine for Growth was launched in 2015 with significant backing from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Through the Midlands Engine, the Government aims to raise the long-term growth rate of the region, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and add £34 billion to its economy by 2030. The University is a key player in these developments.
Midlands Innovation, a partnership comprising The University of Nottingham and five other leading universities across the region, will also help drive this vision. Working collaboratively with regional, national and international partners, it is playing a pioneering role in growing the Midlands further as a high-skilled, hi-tech, globally-focused economy and improving the quality of life for communities throughout the region.
Midlands Innovation aims to drive cutting-edge research, innovation and skills development that will grow the high-tech, high-skilled economy of the Midlands and the UK. Work is in progress to build global hubs of research and innovation excellence, from engineering and transportation to medical science and the humanities.
Energy Research Accelerator
The Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) was the first project to be delivered by Midlands Innovation. ERA will tackle some of the biggest energy challenges facing the UK and investigate how to make the best use of the resources available, by being more efficient and innovative whilst producing affordable, safe energy.
This £60 million investment is helping to establish the region’s hi-tech, high-skilled economy. The University of Nottingham and partner universities, Aston University, the University of Birmingham, Leicester University, Loughborough University and the University of Warwick, are working alongside the British Geological Survey, local industry and others to ensure ERA becomes a global centre of excellence for energy research and innovation.
The £5.4 million Research Acceleration and Demonstration (RAD) building on the University’s Jubilee Campus, has recently opened, providing state-of-the-art facilities for research and testing as part of the ERA initiative.
Reputation and Brand
To thrive and succeed in a changing environment, the University must be able to present a compelling vision to the world so that it remains a first choice for students and staff. The institution needs a strong profile so that it stands out in a crowded market – to ensure students choose Nottingham – and to effectively communicate its strengths.
With this goal in mind, the University’s brand has been reviewed and refreshed to strengthen our profile, and we have implemented a new approach to marketing with the introduction of a Global Student Recruitment Campaign.
Student recruitment targets up to 2020 have been set with schools, departments and faculties following a review of our ‘size and shape’. To support the achievement of these targets, domestic and international recruitment teams have been aligned to deliver both efficiency and synergy. Looking ahead, further work will improve how the most talented students are targeted, attracted and recruited, to ensure we achieve student numbers and quality applicants. Other developments include producing coordinated recruitment plans, boosting outreach and liaison activity, and enhancing the admissions policy. Recently we announced the significant move, that we were going to end unconditional offers to undergraduate students after this September.
Our role in the Community
We are part of a great city – and we turn our global connections to the benefit of the communities, businesses and people of Nottingham. We invest in our cultural community and in the education and aspirations of Nottingham’s young people, through our economic impact, our Nottingham Potential Scheme and our sponsorship of three Nottingham Academies. This exchange of skills and knowledge, and the sharing of facilities and physical resources, benefits the community and University alike.
A public resource
Academic and administrative departments across the University carry out a wide range of work with schools, colleges, community organisations and the public. We are committed to playing our part and encouraging visitors to our campuses through community engagement. Our gardens, sports facilities, cafés and museum, together with the galleries and performance spaces at Nottingham Lakeside Arts, are all open to the public.
The University plays a significant role in the artistic and cultural life of the City of Nottingham in collaboration with a wide range of local partners. Our role in the recent award of UNESCO City of Literature status for Nottingham is just one example of this kind of partnership.
School engagement
Nottingham University Samworth Academy (NUSA) was one of the first academies in the UK to have direct sponsorship and academic links with a University and is also backed by businessman and philanthropist Sir David Samworth. Since it opened in September 2009, it has gained national and international recognition for its partnership with the University and its innovative teaching and learning methods. NUSA has subsequently been joined by Firbeck Academy and both are in a formal partnership with NOVA, a multi-academy Education Trust.
In addition, the University partners with Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology (NUAST), a specialist academy in Science, Engineering, IT and Computing located very close to the University campus. NUAST offers Post-16 students a complex and diverse range of curriculum options in these specialist areas.
Throughout their studies students have the opportunity to work with well-known employers and the University.
Nottingham Potential: Widening participation, enrichment and support
Nottingham Potential plays an important role in supporting attainment, complementing the work of teachers and schools in specific areas of learning. We consult with other local universities and third-sector organisations to ensure our services are complementary and collectively contribute to our shared aim of helping young people across the region reach their potential.
Nottingham Potential aims to:
- engage young people in education and develop a curiosity for learning;
- raise young people’s awareness of higher education;
- provide information, mentoring and practical ‘taster’ experiences to help learners make informed decisions about their educational progression.
Nottingham Potential is successful in these aims and, given the scale of uptake of our services, the programme makes a major contribution locally including through our three Nottingham Potential Centres, based in the community, which provide vital after-school Academic Support sessions (for students aged 7 - 18) and Focus Programme theme-based study days for partner schools.
Campuses in Three Countries
We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia — part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. State-of-the-art laboratories and teaching and research facilities nestle within the beautifully landscaped gardens, providing staff and students with a wonderful environment in which to work, study and live.
University Park Campus, Jubilee Campus, Sutton Bonington Campus and King’s Meadow Campus are all in the UK; the University also has campuses in Ningbo, China, and in Semenyih in Malaysia.
UK campuses
With established woodland, landscaped gardens and period buildings set around a large boating lake, Nottingham’s flagship 300-acre University Park Campus is one of the largest in the UK. It is widely regarded as one of the country’s most attractive campuses, with a record 14 Green Flag Awards – the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales. Nottingham became the first university in the country to achieve Green Flag Awards for two sites when Jubilee Campus won its first award in 2013.
University Park Campus is the focus of life for many of our students. As well as excellent teaching facilities, the campus has halls of residence, a conference and exhibition centre and 200-bedroom hotel, shops, banks, bars, galleries, a theatre and restaurants. A new state-of-the-art sports centre, the David Ross Sports Village, had its official opening in 2017.
Built on the site of the former Raleigh factory, the 65-acre Jubilee Campus is an exemplar of brownfield regeneration and has impeccable green credentials, with five Green Flag Awards. Opened by the Queen in 1999, it is adjacent to University Park Campus. Its series of lakes are home to a variety of wildlife, and provide storm water attenuation and cooling for the buildings. Facilities include Nottingham University Business School, the Schools of Education, Computer Science and Contemporary Chinese Studies as well as the University of Nottingham Innovation Park (UNIP).
UNIP includes the Nottingham Geospatial Building, the Energy Technologies Building, the Institute of Mental Health and Aerospace Technology Centre. Recent additions include the Ingenuity Building and the GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, both of which opened in summer 2016. A new Advanced Manufacturing Building was opened in 2017.
The 110-acre Sutton Bonington Campus is 10 miles south of University Park Campus in the countryside on the border of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Its rural location makes an ideal home for the School of Biosciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, which opened in 2006.
The School of Biosciences is internationally renowned for research across its five divisions: Animal Sciences, Food Sciences, Plant and Crop Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
China Campus
The University’s strong links with China resulted in an invitation to become the first foreign university to establish an independent campus, under legislation passed in China in 2003. UNNC is located in Ningbo, a historic city on China’s eastern coast close to Shanghai, and has been developed in partnership with the dynamic and innovative Wanli Education Group.
The campus at Ningbo provides accommodation, sports facilities and a shopping street and is close to the Central Business District. The campus has more than 8,000 students, undergraduate and postgraduate, with around 650 international students from over 60 countries.
Key research areas include the marine economy and technology, sustainable energy technology, global finance, Sino-Foreign universities, international finance, fluids and thermal engineering and creative and digital cultures.
Malaysia Campus
The University of Nottingham Malaysia opened in September 2000. It was the first branch campus of a British University established outside the UK – earning the distinction of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2001 and the Queen’s Award for Industry (International Trade) 2006.
The purpose-built campus opened in 2005 and provides on-campus accommodation, good sports facilities, and a multi-level library, as well as state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities. The campus has over 5,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 65 different countries.
Research areas include Asia Pacific Studies, Sustainability, Islamic Finance and Communications and Cultures.
More details on all of our campuses can be found here:
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/about/campuses/campuses.aspx