In my newsletter this month: our research partnerships with international universities, a pioneering graduate innovation, sustainability on campus, International Women’s Day, our pledge to ‘Can’t Buy My Silence’, and the war in Ukraine.

Partnerships with global universities

Working in partnership with others has long been one of Loughborough’s core strengths. We work with companies on the development and delivery of some of our teaching programmes; our students and staff work closely with industry on projects; and we collaborate with some of the world’s leading universities on pioneering research. 

Strong partnerships with great partners are central to all that we do. In terms of international universities, over the last five years, we have worked with roughly 3,500 higher education institutions around the world. We have most regularly collaborated with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, with our academics having co-authored over 150 publications, many within the field of Materials Engineering. We have strong mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering links with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US; our co-authored papers with MIT in these areas have increased by 500% over the last five years.

In Europe we have consistently strong links with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich particularly in the social sciences, with our most cited paper looking into populism. Fifty of the papers co-authored with colleagues at the University of Sydney focus on sports medicine, and almost a third of our research papers written with colleagues from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi are about business, management and decision sciences.

All these universities are great partners and through effective collaborations we can achieve global impact. Such collaborations are therefore central to strengthening the University’s international position as a centre for ground-breaking research and academic excellence.

Milestone for graduate start-up

The University provides a supportive environment for its student entrepreneurs at every stage as they build their businesses. Tzuka, a consumer electronics start-up, is a great example of this, with the company announcing this month that it is close to completing its third investment round to launch what is believed to be the world’s ultimate sports earbuds.

Previous funding rounds and grants had enabled Tzuka to engineer a prototype with never-before-seen durability, achieving a world-first impact (IK) rating for earbuds. This latest funding round, which has attracted investment from Loughborough alumni and Wilkinson Future – the family-owned investment fund of the well-known high street retailer – will enable the earbuds to be launched. 

Tzuka was founded by Geography and Business Management graduate Tom Jelliffe, who’d begun work on his concept during the final year of his undergraduate degree. Tom launched Tzuka on LUSEP, the University’s Science and Enterprise Park, as part of LUinc. – the University’s incubator for accelerating the growth of graduates, academic spinouts and external founders with innovative ideas. 

Tom’s entrepreneurial journey – through the University, LUinc and LUSEP – enabled him to access the Sports Technology Institute’s competitor testing facilities and 3D printers in engineering labs. Our sports performance facilities provided him with a ‘living lab’ of athletes for consumer testing.

Tom attributes his company’s success to the environment in which he was able to develop his innovation. His earbuds are a true Loughborough collaboration, having benefited from input from the University’s innovation, engineering and sport communities.

Sustainability on campus

The climate emergency is one of the most pressing issues facing us today and we must all make changes to our everyday lives if we are to begin to reverse the impact we are having on the earth and its resources. 

The University has signed up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the blueprint to achieve a better, more sustainable future for all. The SDGs are a standardised way to relate our activities to the global picture. They are reflected in much of our research and innovation, and are also embedded throughout our operational activities that impact us all.

For instance, in November last year we announced the development of SportPark’s Pavilion 4, which will be constructed to Passivhaus Classic Accreditation – the world’s leading low-energy building standard. This will be the first of our new buildings to be certified to this standard.

Pavilion 4’s development is a significant further step in our commitment to reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or before. To date we have delivered a 32% reduction in absolute carbon emissions against the baseline set by the Government. Among the other initiatives currently under consideration are solar farm photovoltaic arrays and air and ground source heat pumps to replace existing gas boilers across the campus.

Our students and researchers also use our campus as a ‘living laboratory’ for projects. Holywell Woods on the western outskirts of the University is equipped for long-term forest monitoring and used for multiple projects within the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Our Fruit Routes initiative is another unique project, providing an enriched habitat for nature, a location for cultural activities and outdoor learning and a ‘lab’ space used by the School of Design and Creative Arts, and the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering.

We are investing in green waste management equipment to optimise the way we deal with the hundreds of tonnes of green waste generated from our sports grounds and gardens. Across campus 78% of our waste is now recycled, with less than 5% going to landfill. Our environmental performance is managed through the ISO 14001 accreditation, an externally verified environmental management system – the 2021 external audit report graded us as outstanding. 

Our community warden team are working with local landlords and the Borough Council to encourage students who live off campus to be more informed and active about their waste and recycling management. Spring and summer clear-outs, through which students are able to donate their unwanted items to charity, help to reduce the volume that goes to landfill.

Lastly, later this year we will be launching a Carbon Action Planning Tool to enable every Academic School and Professional Services Department to create and implement a personalised carbon reduction plan. 

We must all play a part in reaching our sustainability goals.

War in Ukraine

I am sure you will be as horrified as I am by the events continuing to unfold in Ukraine. The Loughborough University community stands in full solidarity for Ukraine and in support of all those impacted by the war.

We know our Ukrainian colleagues and students are incredibly worried for their loved ones at home. We will do everything we can to support you throughout this difficult time. I also know many others in our community will have been deeply affected by the terrible events we are seeing and hearing about. Our Staff Counselling Service is available if you would like to speak to someone, or you can access support through our Employee Assistance Programme, as well as our Mental Health First Aiders. The Centre for Faith and Spirituality also offers a space for reflection and has chaplains of various faiths. 

As well as offering support to our community, our leadership team has been exploring other measures we can put in place in response to the invasion. Formal and funding links with Russia and Russian universities are being reviewed and suspended. We are working with the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), which helps those who are in danger or have been forced into exile, to support academics in Ukraine with visiting fellowships at the University. We are also offering ringfenced positions such as PhD scholarships to researchers from Ukraine. The aim is to enable scholars to continue their personal and professional development in order ultimately to help rebuild post-war Ukraine. 

Our academics are also sharing expert commentary about the war in Ukraine. They have published thought leadership pieces on our website and in The Conversation and have secured coverage in media outlets around the world, including Deutsche Welle, Hong Kong Herald, EuroNews, The New Statesman,France 24, Sky Sports News and BBC Five Live.

In taking these steps we show our support for all those impacted by this atrocious war, and together we hope that peace will prevail.

International Women’s Day

Earlier this month the Maia Network and the Student Women’s Network hosted a range of events to mark International Women’s Day (IWD), held on 8th March with the theme of Break the Bias. The day aims to celebrate the achievements and successes of women, bring increased visibility to the challenges women face and call out inequality.

Our dedicated webpage features all the events run by both the staff and student networks, as well as inspiring stories and profiles of women at Loughborough.

The Maia Network’s event programme saw staff members sharing letters they have written to their younger selves, centred around the theme of body image. The Student Women’s Network events included a self-defence class, Enterprise bazaar event and a march around campus to support women and challenge the biases experienced by women and perpetuated by others.

Among the events was the excellent Voices of Diversity talk, given by Loughborough alumna Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and hosted by Professor Rachel Thomson, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Teaching, to mark International Women’s Day. Baroness Grey-Thompson shared insights into her life as a Paralympian, her time at Loughborough and becoming a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. She talked about experiencing misogyny – particularly in her early career – and how these experiences taught her skills to deal with the world. She also shared her personal experiences of discrimination as a disabled woman. If you weren’t able to attend, you can watch a recording of the event by contacting the Alumni team.

Can’t Buy My Silence pledge

At the start of this year, the Minister of State for Universities, Michelle Donelan, invited higher education institutions in the UK to sign the ‘Can’t Buy My Silence’ pledge. The pledge is a commitment not to use Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to silence those who make complaints of sexual harassment, abuse, bullying or other forms of misconduct.

In deciding to support the pledge, we believed it was important to develop a broader statement about our work on sexual abuse and violence, and our approach to confidentiality. We discussed these issues with staff and students who have a role in supporting and tackling sexual abuse and violence, and took on board their views to produce a collaborative statement. In this context, we signed the pledge. You can read our statement online.

Our aim is for Loughborough to be a supportive environment for everyone, and our commitment to this pledge is another step towards this.