In my April newsletter: Staff appointed to the UK and Global Young Academies, our new People and Culture Strategy, a partnership to deliver real change for our community, a new academic recruitment campaign, and the Director of Sport and Loughborough Students’ Union CEO appointments.

Staff appointed to influential networks

Ensuring that our researchers and academics have the opportunity to maximise their expertise and work in partnership with colleagues around the world to help address issues facing society is central to several of the core aims within our University strategy. One of the ways in which they can do this is through participation in prestigious national and global networks. 

Last month it was announced that Dr Manuela Pacella, a Senior Lecturer in High Value Manufacturing from the School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, would be the first member of the University to join the Global Young Academy (GYA). The GYA has approximately 200 member scientists from around the world who are united by their academic excellence and their commitment to societal engagement. Members take part in working groups, strategic projects and collaborations with international partners. 

The Global Young Academy is exceptionally prestigious, and I am thrilled that Manuela has been elected. Her outstanding research has had a global impact on some of society’s most pressing problems in the automotive, aerospace, and biomedical fields.  

I am also delighted that, for the third consecutive year, Loughborough academics have been selected as members of the UK Young Academy, a network of early career researchers and professionals established to help tackle local and global issues and promote meaningful change. It is a collaborative endeavour involving some of the country’s most prestigious national organisations including the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. 

Dr Haitao He and Dr David Maidment are Loughborough’s newest members of the UK Young Academy. David is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology based in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. His research focuses on healthy ageing, with a particular emphasis on supporting older adults with long-term health conditions and disabilities. Haitao is an UKRI Future Leaders Fellow within the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, working on simulation, machine learning, and digital twinning approaches for scenario testing and optimisation of multimodal transport systems.  

David and Haitao’s appointments bring the total number of Loughborough members of the UK Young Academy to eight.   Manuela, David and Haitao’s selection to these prestigious academies is testament to their academic excellence, and I’m sure you will join me in congratulating them on their success. Their achievement also reflects the outstanding programme of support provided by the University’s Enhanced Academic Practice team, who support applicants through targeted mentoring and training and ensure colleagues have the best opportunities to flourish.

Advancing our approach to people and culture

Wherever I go in the University, I see the dedication of our staff and their commitment to do the very best job possible. Throughout the whole organisation there is positivity, drive and team spirit. Our staff have real pride in what they do and, I believe, in the University as a whole.  

Our success as an organisation is built on the excellence of our staff and we want to provide an environment where they feel supported and enabled and have opportunities to thrive and develop. I was delighted, therefore, to see Loughborough named in the top quartile of the recent Inspire HE Rankings, a new annual ranking, based on data from staff engagement surveys, that has been developed to celebrate universities that are committed to creating an exceptional employee experience.  

We have a good foundation from which to build, and our new People and Culture Strategy that we are developing will help us work towards our strategic aim of being one of the best employers in the sector. 

Over the last 18 months, our work on Project Expectations (one of the six strategic enabling projects), has highlighted the need to continue and grow our focus on our people, and to look ahead in terms of the changing nature of the workplace and our response to it. Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ffyona Baker has been instrumental in overseeing the development of this work and, to reflect her leadership responsibilities for People and Culture more formally, we have added the title of Chief People Officer to Ffyona’s role, to ensure parity with the sector and provide clarity of leadership for this important activity. As Chief People Officer, Ffyona will continue to help shape our workplace culture and staff experience, championing our people agenda in all that we do.  

More details of the People and Culture Strategy, and what it means for staff, will be made available in the coming weeks and months, and staff will have the opportunity to feed into its development at events being scheduled in the summer. I’m looking forward to working closely with Ffyona to shape and drive this important area of activity, which will be the cornerstone to the overall success of everything we do. 

New programme seeks to deliver change to our region

Earlier this month it was announced that the Universities Partnership, which involves Loughborough, De Montfort and Leicester universities and the county’s local authorities, will be part of the Co(l)laboratory Programme, an exciting community research initiative that aims to deliver meaningful change for people in our region. 

Co(l)laboratory began as part of the Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement and has given students with typically non-traditional academic backgrounds the chance to make real change and improve the lives of the communities around them. The programme has now been awarded additional funding of £1.8m from the Research England Development Fund, enabling the Leicestershire Universities Partnership to join the project.  

The Co(l)laboratory team is inviting civic and community organisations in the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland regions to think about problems they are experiencing and to get in touch to explore a potential collaboration to tackle those issues through research. Twenty-seven PhD studentships across Leicestershire will be fully-funded. 

This is a perfect example of how universities can harness their collective power and work together to make a real difference to their local communities, which aligns well with our Vibrant and Inclusive Communities strategic theme. I look forward to hearing more about the research projects that emerge through this exciting initiative. 

Academic recruitment campaign to be launched

Our staff here achieve great things and have big aspirations to achieve even more. We know that if we are to do this, we need to grow our academic community and so we will shortly be launching a new campaign to recruit additional academics to join us on our journey to our strategic goals and help us drive the University forward.   

In a challenging time for the sector, this is a significant investment in our staff, who are absolutely crucial to the continued success of the University. We want to complement and enhance the excellent work our academic community is already doing and strengthen our organisation still further to ensure its long-term success.  

Through the campaign we’re seeking individuals and teams to join us to amplify our excellence in research and contribute to our education portfolio across the University in six critical areas of strategic importance: Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation; Digital Engineering and Transformation; Health and Wellbeing; Renewable Energy, Hydrogen Research and Infrastructure; Sport and Society; and Sustainability and Circular Economy.  If you know someone who leads or is part of a world-class academic team, or who specialises in one of our key strategic areas, and you think they would be a great addition to our community, I would encourage you to share this exciting opportunity with them.  

Senior staff appointed 

This month we have confirmed the appointment of two senior members of staff. 

Louise Gear will join us in June as Director of Sport. Louise is currently Head of Development at the Football Association. During her time there she has helped to double participation in women’s and girls’ grassroots football, was instrumental in working with key commercial partners, including Sport England and UEFA, to grow the women’s game, and launched an award-winning disability football programme. She also played a key role in the transformational legacy of the Lionesses’ historic EURO 2022 win across grassroots football and in curricular and extra-curricular school participation. 

In her role at Loughborough, Louise will be responsible for performance sport, strategic development, and the commercial growth and development of Loughborough Sport. She will work with a multitude of industry partners, support the development of the next generation of sports leaders, and manage our elite and recreational programmes. 

I’m sure you will join me in welcoming Louise to Loughborough when she joins us later this year. 

I also want to congratulate Liz Monk who, after an extensive recruitment process, has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer of Loughborough Students’ Union (LSU). Liz had been acting as Interim CEO and will now be able to accelerate the positive trajectory she has already established and continue leading the staff team into the Students’ Union’s new strategic period.   LSU is an integral part of the outstanding student experience for which Loughborough is well known and I am confident that under Liz’s leadership, LSU will continue from strength to strength.