In my first newsletter of the new academic year: Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowships, Clearing and Conversion, success at the World Athletics Championships, the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards, and shaping our People and Culture.

Staff elected as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering 

I was delighted to see that three of our academics – Professor Malcolm Cook, Dean of the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering; Professor Rajkumar Roy, Dean of the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering; and John Moran, Professor of Practice in Combustion Technology in the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering – have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

Fellowship of the Academy is one of the most prestigious honours in the profession, awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and technology. Fellows are drawn from across academia and industry – from energy and defence to emerging materials – and are recognised for pioneering innovation, shaping national policy and advancing public understanding of engineering.  

The latest appointments mean we now have seven current staff who are Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering – more than we have ever had before. We also had two alumni – Dr Daniel Elford, who founded the University spinout Sonobex, and Chetan Kotur, who is now Head of Technology and Innovation at Laing O’Rourke – elected in this round. To have staff and graduates made Fellows of prestigious Academies underlines our standing as a leading research university, and also helps to further our strategic ambition to raise the University’s global profile.

Staff recognised at the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards 

Every year since 2022 I have hosted the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards to recognise, honour and celebrate members of the University community who have achieved amazing things in delivering the University’s aims and values. Nominations for the awards have increased year on year and this year saw almost 400 made in total from across the Academic Schools and Professional Services, a 58% increase on the previous year. 

On 16 September almost 200 colleagues came together at West Park Teaching Hub for the awards ceremony. Details of all the winners, and those shortlisted in each category, are available on the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards web pages. 

My congratulations to the winners and all those shortlisted and thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination. It is hugely important to me that we take the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding work of our staff throughout the year. The University could not achieve what it does without the hard work, dedication and creativity of individuals and teams from across our campuses.   I would also like to take this opportunity to give a special thank you to my co-host at the awards evening, Pauline Matturi, Senior Learning and Development Adviser in Organisational Development, who has been alongside me at most ceremonies since we launched the awards. Pauline will be officially retiring from the University at the end of this month, but rest assured, she’ll be returning here next year for the Awards. Thank you for helping to make the ceremonies such wonderful and memorable occasions.

Reflections on Clearing and Conversion

While the summer months afford many of us the chance to take a break, I know that for some at the University, August brings a concentration of activity for Clearing and Conversion. Thank you to all those who work incredibly hard on this crucial activity. As I said in my newsletter in July, we’re operating in a challenging environment at the moment and Clearing and Conversion, while always important, are particularly so right now.  

Our undergraduate recruitment for this academic year has been positive, and we’re currently welcoming a good number of high tariff students across our disciplines to Loughborough. It’s always a delight to see new, enthusiastic students arriving to begin the next phase of their lives with us.  

Our success in attracting students in good numbers is the result of sustained efforts over many months and even years. Our interaction with students and teachers at schools and colleges, and our University open days and School visit days, which give students such a wonderful insight into Loughborough, are just some of the activities that play such key roles in positioning Loughborough as the university of choice for so many. And the experience we offer our students throughout their time with us, both through their academic programmes and the opportunities we provide outside the lecture room, is hugely important. It gives our students the skills, knowledge and experience that will shape their future lives and careers, and hopefully sets them on a path to becoming powerful advocates who showcase the University for future generations of Loughborough students. 

Loughborough-linked athletes on the world stage 

Alongside large-scale international multi-sport events such as the Olympics and Paralympics, many sports hold world championship events, offering athletes further opportunities to compete on the global stage. 

This month two of athletics’ most important events – the World Athletics Championships and the World Para Athletics Championships – have been taking place. Nineteen Loughborough-linked athletes were selected to compete at the World Athletics Championships, which took place from 13 to 21 September in Tokyo, Japan, and 12 Loughborough-linked athletes are currently in action at the World Para Athletics Championships, which began on 26 September in New Delhi, India and conclude on 2 October. 

At the World Championships, University alumnus Jake Wightman secured Britain’s first medal with an incredible performance in the Men’s 1500m, gaining silver and coming within an agonising two hundredths of a second of securing gold. Three days later, Loughborough University-based Katarina Johnson-Thompson produced a stunning performance in the 800m to claim an incredible shared heptathlon bronze medal. 

At the Para World Athletics Championships, Loughborough athletes have so far won two bronze medals. Sports Scholar Thomas Young finished third in the Men’s T38 100m, while Hollie Arnold, who trains on campus, secured bronze in the Women’s F46 javelin.  Both Championships are key competitions on the athletics calendar and selection to compete is, in itself, a huge achievement. For Loughborough-linked athletes to have brought home two of Great Britain’s five medals at the World Athletics Championships, and to have secured two so far at the Para Championships is incredible and underlines our strategic aim to excel in sport. Congratulations to the medallists and all those who competed, as well as the staff who play such a crucial role in supporting our athletes on their journey. 

Helping to shape our People and Culture

Over the summer months, Ffyona Baker, our Chief People Officer, and I hosted a series of events to engage staff in our work around People and Culture.  

As I have said before, the environment in which we’re currently operating is challenging and our staff will be central to our success. We need to attract and retain the very best people. If we are to do that, we have to ensure that Loughborough is a great place to work and develop and that staff feel welcome, enabled and included. We are well known for the quality of the experience we provide for our students; the experience we provide for our staff should be of a similar calibre. 

Our work around People and Culture has been informed by the outcome of the annual Staff Experience Survey and will consider how we recruit and support our staff and work together to develop a culture, through our actions, decisions and leadership, that enables everyone to be their very best. 

The events we held in July and August brought together representatives from all job families, who were invited to share their experiences of four key themes drawn from the staff experience survey: leadership, workplace wellbeing, development opportunities, and how we work together. I would like to thank everyone who took part. Your contributions will be invaluable in helping us as we continue to shape our thinking. Over the coming weeks we will start to talk more about ‘People and Culture’, beginning with GLOW, which stands for Growth, Learning, Opportunities and Wellbeing and is a University-wide approach to helping you feel supported at work. It’s an exciting development in the way that we support you to thrive in your role.

Knowledge Exchange Framework 

Our success in working with business, the public and third sector organisations and commercialising our research has been recognised in the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) assessment from Research England, with Loughborough awarded the highest possible grade, ‘Very high engagement’ (Quintile 5), in these three areas. 

2025 Hydrogen Awards

The University’s innovative battery-electrolyser technology, developed by the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), received the Outstanding International Impact award at the this year’s Hydrogen Awards, with the judging panel praising the technology for its potential in both energy storage and green hydrogen production, particularly providing energy access in underserved regions and to off grid communities. 

THE Awards

Loughborough has been shortlisted for two 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Awards, recognising the Aftrak initiative, which aims to empower smallholder farmers across Africa, and the University’s Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics marketing and communications campaign.