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From the Vice-Chancellor – April 2022

29 April 2022

8 mins

In my newsletter for April: the QS Subject Rankings, an update on the University Strategy, the appointment of our PVC for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the Black in Sport Summit, and the launches of the Student Success Academy and our Wellbeing Framework.

QS World University Rankings by Subject

Best in the world for sports-related subjects, six years running. QS World University Rankings by subject 2017-2022

The QS World University Rankings by Subject, one of the most well-respected international league tables, were published earlier this month and I was delighted to see Loughborough ranked in the global top 100 in five subject areas.

The QS rankings are based on surveys of academic staff that declare a speciality in the subject area and employers who recruit graduates that specialise in the discipline. It also takes into account research output and impact, with both citations and paper output measured over a five-year period.

In the 2022 tables, Loughborough was ranked the best university in the world for sports-related subjects for the sixth year running – a position we have held since the tables were launched in 2017. This is a fantastic result that underlines the breadth of talent within our internationally leading academic community in this field.

The University’s strengths in Information Management-related research, focused in the Schools of Social Sciences and Humanities and Business and Economics (SBE), were reflected in Loughborough’s 21st place ranking in the Library and Information Management subject table. An example of our work in this area, being conducted by the Centre for Information Management in SBE, is our use of scanning techniques to measure activity in someone’s brain and nervous system as they process information to make decisions

Loughborough was ranked 27th in the world for Art and Design. The research conducted in the School of Design and Creative Arts has a broad scope, ranging from digital storytelling to help tackle adults’ feelings of exclusion from education, to initiating changes to European HGV design standards in order to enhance drivers’ field of vision and save lives.

In the Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing table Loughborough was ranked 64th. Examples of our research in these areas include High-Speed Sintering (HSS), which was invented at and patented by the University and is the first and, to date, only 3D-printing process to enable low-cost, high-volume, mass manufacture of complex and customisable parts that competes economically with injection moulding. 

Our fifth subject area in the top 100 is Communication and Media Studies. The ranking is underpinned by research such as the large-scale media content analysis of national and international events, undertaken by the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture. Their real-time evaluation of national news coverage of the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections and the 2016 EU referendum provided political campaigners, journalists and public commentators with authoritative weekly analysis.

University Strategy — Creating Better Futures. Together

At its meeting on 31st March, University Council formally approved our new ten-year strategy, Creating Better Futures. Together. The new Strategy is an ambitious plan that outlines the goals for the next phase of our development. It will be the framework that shapes and guides the activity of all the Schools and Professional Services over the next ten years.

The feedback we received from staff, students, alumni and other key partners through the briefing sessions we held over the last few months enabled us to refine our thinking as we worked towards finalising the Strategy. Thank you to the 1,000+ staff, students, alumni and partners who gave us feedback and insights.

Work is now underway to publish the Strategy online.

Over the coming months we will be developing a set of core plans that will guide the University’s operations in the following areas – Research and Innovation; Education and Student Experience; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; International Engagement and Impact; Sporting Excellence and Opportunity; and Partnerships. The core plans will be supported by a series of ‘enabling’ projects which will consider the operational changes that will need to be made to ensure we are well placed to progress our strategic aims. We will share further information about the emerging core plans and ‘enabling’ projects as these progress.

Next month we will host staff events to showcase the Strategy to you, enabling you to learn more about our vision, our aims and the institutional themes that will guide what we do over the next decade. It’s an opportunity for you to think about how our Strategy relates to the role you do. Details of the events will be circulated soon.

PVC for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

Professor Charlotte Croffie

This month we announced the appointment of Charlotte Croffie as the University’s first-ever Pro Vice-Chancellor (PVC) for EDI. Charlotte will play a key role in ensuring EDI is at the heart of everything we do at Loughborough. She will work directly with me and senior colleagues, in collaboration with staff and students across the University community, to help make Loughborough a truly inclusive organisation.

Charlotte, who is currently a Partner with GatenbySanderson, will join us in September. She has more than 20 years’ experience at an executive level in human resources, organisational design and development, business and leadership development, entrepreneurship, education, and international development. She has also held positions as Director of Human Resources at Birkbeck, University of London; Director for Entrepreneurship and Director of Organisational Development at UCL. She has an extensive portfolio which includes working internationally to support EDI, social justice, cultural change, and entrepreneurship promotion.

Alongside her role as Pro Vice-Chancellor for EDI, Charlotte will take up the post of Professor of Practice of Entrepreneurship in the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Loughborough London Campus.

We know our journey towards making Loughborough a truly inclusive organisation will be long, and often challenging, but the creation of a Pro Vice-Chancellor post for EDI, and Charlotte’s appointment to it, marks a major step forward in our ambition.

I hope you will join me in welcoming Charlotte to Loughborough.

The Black in Sport Summit

Graphic showing the Black in Sport Summit, ACS Loughborough and Loughborough University logos

Recently we hosted the Black in Sport Summit (BISS), which aimed to inspire students from all backgrounds to strive for excellence. Held in collaboration with the Afro-Caribbean Society, the event saw some of sport’s highest profile Black athletes and professionals take part in panel discussions and Q & A sessions on the themes of opportunity, resilience and growth.

Among those taking part were Commonwealth Gold medallist netballer Ama Agbeze MBE, Loughborough’s Paralympic Games gold medallist Thomas Young, Loughborough alumnus and Sky Sports presenter Mike Wedderburn, and Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent, the broadcaster and former England Cricketer.

BISS was initiated by a group of the University’s students in the wake of the appalling reaction towards Black English footballers at the Euro 2020 final. The group wanted to change the narrative by championing the achievements of Black people in sport and inspire the next generation of sport leaders.

The event, which was attended by more than a hundred people, prompted some fantastic and inspirational discussions between our students and the presenters. Events such as these are important steps on our EDI journey and I’m very keen that we host similar such events again.

Student Success Academy

Next month sees the official launch of the Student Success Academy, a new initiative to support our students through every stage of their Loughborough journey. It will help 16- to 18-year-olds develop the academic and life skills they need for higher education, offering students one-to-one coaching as they work towards their degree, and provide life-shaping skills development and employability opportunities.

The Academy will include initiatives such as the Get Ahead Together peer mentoring scheme; the LUDUS Gold initiative, Loughborough’s University’s Discover University Scheme for school students; and Personal Best+ Skills Development, which offers a range of study, career and life skills support.

The establishment of the Student Success Academy was supported by a £2m donation from Loughborough alumnus Chris Gill

Higher education data show that we need to increase the number of students we have at Loughborough who are from disadvantaged backgrounds; we also know that these students’ degree attainment and their success in securing work placements and internships is below that of their Loughborough peers. The Academy, which will involve staff from the Careers Network and School and College Liaison, will provide crucial support for our widening participation work to ensure that Loughborough becomes a more inclusive, diverse and welcoming university.

Wellbeing Framework launch

Health and wellbeing are the cornerstones of one of the three institutional themes in our new Strategy, with a key goal being to create an active and accessible environment that benefits the physical and mental wellbeing of our staff and students.

I was pleased, therefore, to help launch the Wellbeing Framework this week. This aims to embed wellbeing into the core of what we do. Alongside talks on issues such as nutrition and emotional wellbeing, staff were able to learn more about the services offered at the University and meet the Wellbeing Champions, who have been at the heart of the Framework’s development. My thanks go to them for their commitment to this hugely important piece of work.

The last couple of years, when all our lives have been challenged by Covid, have shown just how important physical, emotional and mental wellbeing are and it is crucial that we empower our staff and support them during life’s ups and downs. The Framework will allow us to work with managers and the Wellbeing Champions to explore the needs of staff and implement strategies that support all aspects of their wellbeing.

Vice-Chancellor's Communications

Opinions and comment from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Jennings

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