In my first newsletter of the new academic year: Clearing and Confirmation, the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) post, a round up from University Executive Board, our partnership in the INFINITY advanced tech park, and a visit from the Office for Students.

Reflections on Confirmation and Clearing 

The last few weeks have seen a flurry of activity on campus. In August colleagues in Academic Schools and Professional Services were busy with Confirmation and Clearing; a couple of weeks ago we held our September open days; and last week we welcomed both our new and returning students to the University.  

It’s always nice to see the campus so vibrant with both prospective and current students who are either considering or embarking on a new phase of their educational journey. 

On results day in August, staff in our contact centre answered over 6,000 calls, the majority of whom were UK applicants enquiring about opportunities through Clearing. Clearing has always been a key point in our undergraduate recruitment cycle, but it is becoming increasingly important as students make choices much later in the year and also change their minds on courses and institutions after receiving their results.  

Ensuring we can attract, and crucially retain, good numbers of high-quality students is hugely important right now and will be even more so in the coming years. Our plans for UK and international student growth represent one of the most significant periods of undergraduate expansion in the University’s recent history, with undergraduate numbers expected to reach record levels. That is a demanding target, and we are operating in a challenging environment, with competition for high-tariff UK and international students intensifying. Delivering this growth successfully will require careful planning across the University so that we continue to provide an excellent student experience while making the best use of our resources.

So, we cannot be complacent. We must be responsive to student demand, prioritise and be flexible with our academic offer. Success will require commitment from across the University, with sustained effort at every point throughout the cycle and maintenance of a clear focus on activities that support our student recruitment.   Our interaction with students and teachers at schools and colleges, and our University open days and School visit days play a key role in positioning Loughborough as a university of choice. 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. Value for money and graduate outcomes are increasingly important factors in students’ university choice. To maintain a competitive edge, we must continue to enhance the opportunities we provide to our students to develop the skills, knowledge and experience that will shape their future lives and careers – and hopefully set them on a path to becoming powerful advocates who showcase the University for future generations of Loughborough students.

Plans for the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) role

Following the departure of Professor Sam Grogan in the summer, Professor Russ Marshall has been appointed as Acting Pro Vice Chancellor (Education and Student Experience). In this interim role, Professor Marshall will focus particularly on our National Student Survey performance and enhancement of the student experience. 

During this period, Professor Rebecca Cain will provide strategic oversight of the University’s student enterprise and entrepreneurship activities and Dr Sophie Hyde will continue to lead the University’s employability and Graduate Outcomes activity, working with colleagues across Schools and Professional Services to coordinate and drive this important area of work. 

These arrangements will enable us to provide continuity and maintain momentum while we recruit to the permanent Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) role. We have begun the recruitment process and hope to be able to make an announcement before Christmas.  I am sure you will wish to join me in congratulating Professor Marshall on his appointment and thank other colleagues who are supporting the interim arrangements.

University Executive Board round up

University Executive Board (UEB), the executive decision-making group of the University, met for its first session of the 2026/27 year on 28 September. Moving forward I thought it would be helpful to provide a brief overview of the main discussion items from these meetings in each of my newsletters. 
 
In our first meeting of this academic year, we covered progress of the REF 2029 submission, the implications of local government reorganisation and devolution for the University, and plans for making further improvements to our National Student Survey score this year. We also discussed our latest student recruitment results following the start of the autumn term.  
 
Further updates on a number of these items will be shared as part of our first General Assembly of the year on 25 November.

Loughborough becomes a founding partner in INFINITY advanced tech park

Our strategic plan, Creating Better Futures. Together, outlines our ambition to expand our high-quality research and innovation that has the potential to make regional, national and global impact. Much of this will be done in partnership with businesses and organisations, and I am therefore delighted that we are to be a founding partner in a new venture that will drive forward development of an advanced technology park in Derby. 

The initiative, called INFINITY, will draw on expertise from Loughborough, the University of Derby, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (in which we are a founding partner) and Infinity Technology Group Ltd to facilitate technological developments that will place the UK at the forefront of advanced component manufacturing and clean energy technology. By bringing together research, industry and advanced manufacturing at scale, we can accelerate the journey from discovery to deployment. It will also enable the creation of high-value jobs and the development of a skilled workforce of the future; INFINITY will support around 2,500 skilled jobs, 15,000 indirect jobs and 1,500 trainees. 

This is exactly the kind of ambitious, collaborative innovation we want to, and should, support. While the development will be supported financially by the government and business partners, the project will enable us to connect our research strengths directly with industry, contributing to the UK’s long-term economic growth, resilience and capability.  The aim is to start development of the first phase of building in 2027, with the site being fully operational in the 2030s. I look forward to seeing how the initiative develops over the coming months and years. 

Office for Students representatives visit the University

Last Friday we welcomed senior leaders from the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England, who are touring the country’s universities to learn more about each institution’s strengths and to reaffirm the links with the OfS. 

We took them to the recently completed DigiLab Central, the latest in our DigiLabs suite of facilities, which have been backed by a £5.8m Office for Students grant with additional University investment, and the Claudia Parsons hall of residence, where they met the warden, Karl Brennan, Hall President Tilly Davidson, the hall committee and some of our new students. Later, at the Students’ Union, the group met with representatives from the Union Executive, including the new President, Kieran Oliver. 

With Arif Ahmed (Director of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom) among the OfS party, the visit presented an opportunity for us to reaffirm our commitment to securing and promoting freedom of speech and academic freedom. We have a Freedom of Expression Code of Practice that I would encourage everyone at the University, both staff and students, to familiarise themselves with.    The visit was also a good opportunity for us to showcase to the OfS our unique position as the world’s leading university for sport. The delegation was able to see some of our facilities as we toured around the campus, and I was proud to remind them that we have been ranked the world’s number one university for sports-related subjects for the last ten years, and to tell them about our prowess in sports participation and performance.

Industry Sectoral Group Chairs

Expressions of interest from academic colleagues are being sought to chair some of our established Industry Sectoral Groups, which play a pivotal role in shaping and strengthening partnership engagement activities and translating those relationships into funded research and innovation opportunities.

Research Culture Fund

Research-active and research-enabling staff can apply for up to £10,000 funding to support activities that strengthen and enhance the University’s research culture and support the REF Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE) statements.

New hall of residence

Our newest hall, currently being built on campus, is to be named after Loughborough alum Baroness Sue Campbell, one of the most influential women in sport. 

Centre for Olympic Studies 

Loughborough University’s Centre for Olympic Studies (LUCOS) has been formally recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Studies Centre as a member of the global Olympic Studies and Research Centres network, placing LUCOS among an elite worldwide network.