{"id":641,"date":"2026-01-30T09:42:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/?p=641"},"modified":"2026-02-04T15:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T15:14:13","slug":"from-the-vice-chancellor-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/2026\/01\/30\/from-the-vice-chancellor-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Vice-Chancellor \u2013 January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In my first newsletter of this year: looking after the London Games social legacy; outcomes from the Staff Experience Survey; our inaugural Futures Festival; advisory roles on HE bodies; and the WE Innovate project launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loughborough becomes Spirit of 2012 custodian<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the National Lottery Community Fund established the Spirit of 2012 to fund projects and research centred on the lasting legacy from local and national events. Since its inception, the Spirit of 2012 has amassed a huge collection of materials and I am delighted that we have been asked to be the custodian of this archive, ensuring that the Spirit of 2012\u2019s learning, research and impact will remain accessible and free to policymakers, researchers, funders and anyone dedicated to delivering social impact through events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last 12 years Loughborough researchers have contributed to the delivery and evaluation of Spirit of 2012 programmes including a\u202ffeasibility study for a proposed UK Capital of Sport<\/a>. In 2023 we were appointed as one of the Spirit\u2019s three Legacy Learning Partners to translate the organisation\u2019s knowledge into digital learning resources; one of our projects,\u202fIn The Spirit Wood<\/a>, used evidence from the Spirit of 2012 knowledge bank to create a digital storytelling resource to foster positive perceptions of disability and impairment from an early age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future plans for the collection include the development of an oral history archive to enhance\u202fLoughborough\u2019s social impact partnership with UK Sport<\/a>.  The Spirit of 2012 collection complements our world-leading expertise in sport, and continues the commitment made by our Chancellor, Lord Coe, when he was Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee that the London Games would have a lasting and far-reaching legacy. They were widely regarded as one of the best Games for legacy and the archive we now host will be the foundation for the planning of events such as these into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Headline results of the 2025 Staff Experience Survey<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We now have the headline results of the\u202f2025\u202fStaff Experience Survey<\/a>, with Loughborough retaining its position as a sector-leading university.\u202fOnce again, we sit\u202fabove, or in one case equal to, the sector average for all nine themes within the survey.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than\u202f2,200 of you had your say on what\u202fit\u2019s\u202flike to work\u202fat the University. Your feedback\u202fis crucial in helping us to understand what\u202fwe\u2019re\u202fdoing well as a\u202fUniversity and where we can change things to truly turn the dial on our staff experience.\u202fIn the last twelve months alone,\u202fwe\u2019ve\u202fmade some major\u202fchanges\u202fbecause of\u202fyour feedback. Working together,\u202fwe\u2019ve\u202fstrengthened academic line management structures and brought to life the philosophy of GLOW to support better conversations about growth, learning, opportunities and wellbeing.\u202fThese are all important\u202fthings you highlighted in\u202fprevious\u202fsurveys.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the nine themes measured in the survey,\u202fwe have increased our score in six compared to 2024.\u202fWe were\u202fespecially\u202fpleased to\u202fsee the progress we are making with work on our values\u202f\u2013\u202fthis was the theme that increased most significantly compared to last year.\u202fWe were\u202falso\u202fpleased to\u202fhear the things\u202fyou like about working at Loughborough University, receiving lots of comments particularly about the sense of community we have here.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the challenges facing the sector it is encouraging to see\u202fsuch\u202fresults. However,\u202fwe cannot stand still; there\u202fis more\u202fwe plan\u202fto do\u202fas part of our People and Culture Strategy, and your feedback will help us to focus this\u202ffurther. For instance, we’ll be continuing the work to support wellbeing across our community. We\u2019ll be looking at ways\u202fto help all colleagues\u202ffeel recognised \u2013\u202f\u2018reward and\u202frecognition\u2019 continues\u202fto be a theme that colleagues\u202ffeel strongly about\u202fand we recognise that this is an ongoing challenge within higher education. And we\u2019ll be further developing organisation-wide skills around feedback\u202fand embedding\u202fGLOW as the foundation of our colleague experience.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your\u202fDean\u202for Director will be communicating\u202fyour\u202flocal\u202fresults over the coming weeks and we will share\u202ffurther details about our\u202fUniversity results\u202fduring\u202fFebruary.\u202fWe will also keep you informed throughout the year about our progress\u202fas a result of\u202fyour feedback.\u202f  Thank you for engaging with the survey and for sharing your views. Your feedback really does make a difference.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New Futures Festival launched<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our first-ever Futures Festival<\/a> is now in full swing, offering events such as workshops, hands-on challenges and hackathons to help our students explore different career paths, enhance their employability skills and network with employers. The week-long event aims to support them at every stage of their journey, whether they have a clear idea of the path they want to take or are still exploring all their options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the speakers at this year\u2019s event is Zak Marks (Industrial Design and Technology, 2020). During his final year Zak came up with a concept that could store, monitor and provide training for emergency anaphylaxis medication in public places. With a grant from\u202fLoughborough University\u2019s Start-up Fund<\/a>, Zak and his business partner launched Kitt Medical in 2023 and secured investment from two of the Dragons\u2019 Den entrepreneurs in 2025. To date 1,500 of the kits have been installed in more than 1,000 UK schools and businesses and have also been trialled on our own campus. I was delighted to present Zak with a Vice-Chancellor\u2019s Gold Pin today in honour of his achievements. I\u2019m sure his story will inspire many more of our student to follow their entrepreneurial dream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Futures Festival was one of the outcomes of the academic calendar year project<\/a>, which was a priority initiative in our Education and Student Experience core plan. By making some changes to our academic year, we have been able to dedicate the week between Semesters one and two to professional and personal skills development activities for our students.   Events such as the Futures Festival are a crucial part of the student experience, which is assessed through the National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS enables us to gain real insight into what our students think we\u2019re doing well and where we could improve. Professor Sam Grogan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience), emailed you all earlier this week to explain why the NSS, which launches next week, matters. I would encourage you all to consider how you can encourage our students to take part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Helping to shape UK higher education<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I have recently been privileged to accept appointments to two of the country\u2019s leading higher education organisations: to become a board member of Universities UK<\/a> (UUK) and to join the new Office for Students<\/a> (OfS) Provider Panel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UUK is the voice for 142 of the country\u2019s higher education institutions. It works to bring universities together to take collective action, engage with government to influence policy and provide insight into the role that universities play and the benefits they bring to so many aspects of society. The Board, which is part of the organisation\u2019s governance structure, is UUK\u2019s main decision-making body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OfS is the regulatory body for higher education in England. It ensures that universities are well-run and enable students to have a high-quality academic experience and achieve positive outcomes, and that students from all backgrounds are enabled to access, succeed in and progress from university. The OfS\u2019s Provider Panel will help the organisation to understand the views of the diverse institutions it regulates and alert the OfS to any risks that universities are facing.  Appointments such as these enable Loughborough to play a key role in influencing decisions and policies that are crucial to higher education and other sectors, both now and in the future. I know colleagues across the University are regularly invited to take up advisory roles on national and international bodies or to contribute their expertise to formative projects. I would encourage you to engage with opportunities open to you and ensure you are sharing your knowledge and expertise with influential organisations around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

University becomes a partner in \u2018WE Innovate\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This month we launched our first programme as part of the WE Innovate<\/a>\u202fnational programme, which is led by Imperial College London to support women-led startups across the UK. Loughborough was announced as a partner in the scheme last year and is the only Midlands university involved in the prestigious network that is committed to breaking barriers for women in entrepreneurship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WE Innovate is a six-month pre-accelerator programme running from January to June. Participants benefit from expert-led masterclasses, personalised coaching, and monthly mentoring sessions, all designed to help transform early-stage ideas into viable, investor-ready ventures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year five standout teams\u00a0are\u00a0chosen to pitch their ventures in a high-profile competition held in May, where they compete for a share of a \u00a320,000 prize fund\u00a0as well as\u00a0legal support\u00a0and\u00a0leadership coaching. The programme is open to current students, alumni within two years of graduating, and PhD researchers who are looking to spin out ventures.\u00a0Since\u00a0its launch ten years ago, the WE Innovate programme\u00a0has supported more than\u00a0500 women entrepreneurs, helping them\u00a0to\u00a0raise over \u00a388million in funding and lead high-growth ventures in sectors such as health,\u00a0sustainability\u00a0and deep tech.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\u00a0our first call for participation, we received\u00a038 expressions of\u00a0interest,\u00a0with\u00a020 female founders selected to join the\u00a0six\u00a0month\u00a0programme at Loughborough, which is supported by staff from the\u00a0Loughborough Enterprise Network<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Research and Innovation Office.<\/a> I\u00a0am incredibly proud of the\u00a0entrepreneurial culture we have here at Loughborough and am\u00a0delighted\u00a0that our partnership in this programme will enable us to expand the support and opportunities\u00a0available to\u00a0our women-led start-ups. I look forward to seeing how the first cohort of\u00a0founders progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

LinkedIn newsletter launched<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Loughborough Research Edit<\/em> will be released monthly and include stories on research projects, features on staff awards and honours, and thought leadership pieces. It\u2019s a great way to share with your networks how our research, people and discoveries are making a real difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Partnership for a Net Zero future<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Manufacturing Technology Centre, a research and technology organisation at the forefront of manufacturing innovation, has partnered with Loughborough University to fasttrack the development of hydrogencompatible systems for aerospace, automotive and power generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my first newsletter of this year: looking after the London Games social legacy; outcomes from the Staff Experience Survey; our inaugural Futures Festival; advisory roles on HE bodies; and the WE Innovate project launches. Loughborough becomes Spirit of 2012 custodian After the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the National Lottery Community Fund established the Spirit of 2012 to fund projects and research […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":727,"featured_media":473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"lboro_blog_alternative_thumbnail_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-email-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/727"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":660,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions\/660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/vice-chancellor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}