Each year, the Senate and Council dinner gives us the opportunity to reflect on some of the key achievements of the past year.

Throughout 2023/24 we have continued to make good progress against the aims and themes of our 2030 strategy, Creating Better Futures. Together.

In terms of education, I was delighted with the outcome of the Teaching Excellence Framework assessment. Our triple gold – gold for student experience, gold for student outcomes and gold overall – is testament to our sector leading offering. We were one of only six high tariff institutions to earn this level of distinction. Initiatives noted in the assessment included:

• The ‘Personal Best’ framework, which helps students to develop the skills and experiences, alongside their studies, that employers look for.
• The volunteering ethos that is widespread across the University, through projects such as LSU Action, the Coach and Volunteer Academy and peer support. Last year, our students cumulatively did more than 115,000 hours of volunteering.
• And the entrepreneurship opportunities we offer through the Loughborough Enterprise Network – almost 10% of our students are now involved in entrepreneurial activity.

Our triple gold rating reflects the hard work of so many people – our academics and teaching fellows, our technicians, the Professional Services and administrative staff, and the students who dedicate their time to supporting their peers. It is a team effort, and I would like to thank you all for everything you do.

But we’re not complacent. We’re always pursuing better and are continuing to push forward the frontiers of education. Our DigiLabs initiative, for example, has been described as ‘trailblazing’. It’s allowing us to use the latest digital technologies, such as holograms and AI, to enhance the way our students learn. DigiLabs will ensure our students develop the skills and knowledge to become future fit for the world of work, where digital skills, data analytics, and virtual and augmented reality will be crucial.

The technology that underpins DigiLabs will also augment our global connectivity. Our students will be able to reach out to networks worldwide, and we’ll live beam academics, thought leaders and business chiefs from the other side of the world directly into our lectures and events.

We are passionate about being a globally connected university. And that’s why international engagement is one of our key strategic aims.

Initiatives such as the OnCampus Loughborough programme, which ran for the first time this year, are a significant expansion of our global education offering. Through OnCampus, international students develop the academic skills they need to study degree programmes at Loughborough. Since opening its doors last September, OnCampus Loughborough has welcomed 230 students from 51 countries. Our first cohort completed their studies last month and will proceed onto degree programmes from this autumn.

Our overseas trips also play an important role in furthering our international reach. They enable us to reinforce our existing partnerships and to forge new ones.

During our visit to China and Hong Kong, we saw how research into restoration techniques by the School of Design and Creative Arts and Beijing’s museums is helping to improve the preservation of historical artefacts.

During our trip to West Africa, we saw how researchers from the Centre for Lifestyle Medicine and Behaviour are working in partnership with academics, clinicians and public health specialists in Ghana on interventions that will prevent, treat and manage diseases such as diabetes.

And in the US, we visited our long term-collaborators at MIT. We have now announced the establishment of the UK Supply Chain Excellence Centre within Loughborough Business School, which will be the UK hub of the MIT Global SCALE Network, an international alliance of research and education centres focused on supply chains and logistics. It’s a hugely exciting initiative and a major opportunity for us to become the UK centre of this prestigious network.

Research and innovation partnerships are also a key part of our 2030 strategy. Our 20-year partnership with global sports brand adidas was recognised this year with the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Bhattacharyya Award. Using their expertise in engineering, aerodynamics, ergonomics and sports science, the Loughborough teams have improved sports performance, safety and accessibility and have helped to develop the adidas talent pipeline.

And another of our long-standing partnerships, with aerospace leaders Rolls-Royce, reached new heights. The company worked with our experts in the National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology, researchers in Germany and easyJet to develop hydrogen combustion engine technology that’s capable of powering aircraft. This is an industry first and a huge step towards achieving net zero aviation.

The exploration of new forms of energy lies at the heart of our Hydrogen Works project. This is a Loughborough-led consortium with academic experts and industry partners to establish the East Midlands as a hydrogen superpower. Funding this year from the East Midlands Freeport is helping us to develop a zero-carbon innovation centre. And a new Loughborough-led Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineering Hydrogen Net Zero will expand our research and develop the skilled workforce needed to enable rapid growth in hydrogen-related technology. 

This quest for greener energy solutions is also a major part of our Climate Change and Net Zero strategic theme. Our Aftrak partnership is a great example of our pioneering work in this area. This year it beat international competition to win the one-million-dollar Milken Motsepe Prize in Green Energy. The Aftrak team is working to provide rural communities across Africa with access to clean, green electricity to increase crop yields and the incomes of smallholder farmers. Following successful tests at the University and demonstrations in South Africa, Aftrak is now being deployed in Malawi. It’s a perfect illustration of how our work can bring direct and tangible benefits to the world’s communities.

And the University’s Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience Centre, known as STEER, has received an additional £57 million grant from the UK Government. This is our largest ever research funding award. The grant will extend the Climate Compatible Growth programme by a further five years to accelerate the roll-out of improved, climate resilient infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and the Global South.

Projects such as Aftrak and STEER align closely with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, which reflect the needs of society and the challenges we face worldwide. This year, the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings placed us 1^st in Europe and 7^th globally for the UN’s goal number 8 – advancing Decent Work and Economic Growth, and we also ranked in the global top 100 in a further two goals – for Reduced Inequalities and Life on Land. 

Driving the economy is central to so much of our work. Midlands Mindforge Limited, for instance, is currently raising £250m to support university spinouts and early-stage businesses. Midlands Mindforge was founded by the eight research-intensive universities across the region. Through it we are building the foundations of a new technology eco-system in the region and creating companies that can drive economic growth whilst delivering real-world impact. I’m delighted to have been involved with this development and to be a non-executive director on the board.

We take our local and regional responsibilities seriously. We’re proud to be part of the Civic Universities Partnership. Through the partnership we work with the other universities in the county and the local authorities in Leicestershire and Rutland on joint initiatives that benefit our region, its people and its businesses.

The grant we received through the Loughborough Town Deal supported the development of the fourth pavilion for the SportPark building – our first Passivhaus build, which this year picked up the Environmental Best Practice accolade at the international Green Apple Environment awards.

We’re also working with regional partners on initiatives that will benefit people’s health and wellbeing. Together with Leicestershire County Council, we’re working to reduce the prevalence of conditions such as asthma, obesity and heart disease, and to address health inequalities across the county. 

And the development of the National Rehabilitation Centre, on our doorstep in Stanford on Soar, is now progressing at pace and should open later this year. The Centre will combine NHS patient care with research led by Loughborough and Nottingham universities to transform the lives of those who have experienced life-changing injury, trauma or illness.

Harnessing the power of physical activity to benefit people’s health and wellbeing has long been central to the University, as has performance sport.

Last summer our students won the BUCS Championship title for the 42nd consecutive year, with a record-breaking total score. I’m hopeful that next month will bring more good news for us with the 2024 BUCS title. Our athletes will no doubt have been helped on their way with some outstanding performances on BUCS Big Wednesday, which we hosted this year and will do so for the next two. On that Wednesday in March, Loughborough became the epicentre of student sport with more than 2,000 student athletes competing in 57 finals across 16 sports, in front of almost 2,500 spectators.  

Of course, I must mention the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our association with the Games dates back to 1948, when Loughborough’s Jack Archer won silver in the 4x100m relay. Since then, Loughborough-linked athletes have won an amazing 126 medals.

This summer we’ll be the host venue for ParalympicsGB kitting out. This is an important milestone for both athletes and support staff, when they’re presented with all their official Games kit.

Then towards the end of July, around 100 athletes with Loughborough connections will head off to compete for their national teams in Paris. At the last Games in Tokyo our athletes won an impressive 35 medals and we’re aiming to top that this year. I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing our Loughborough contingent all the very best.

These are just a few of our achievements, successes and developments from the last 12 months. However, the last year has not all been plain sailing.  

Universities today are operating in a very challenging environment, and increasingly of late, we have been under fire. Changes to government immigration policies and real-term cuts to funding have seen the media and politicians questioning almost everything we do – from the value of our degrees to the significance of our research.

If we’re to change people’s perceptions, universities need to work together more effectively. Combining our complementary strengths and harnessing our collective power. We must unite as a sector to showcase the impact that we have on individuals, regions and countries worldwide, to change the narrative that’s currently so damaging to higher education.

With this in mind, we recently launched our campaign to position ourselves as a bold, ambitious university that strives to make change for a better world. The campaign is called ‘The World Can’t Wait’ to underline the pressing need for us to address the issues that face us all, now and in the future. We want our students to become changemakers. We want our staff to work towards a cleaner, healthier, fairer world. And we want companies, charities and governments to work with us on that journey.

I hope my reflections on the past year make you feel proud of everything we’ve achieved and that they inspire you as we embark on the next phase of our journey to creating better futures together.