Nottingham’s universities play leading role in city and county’s recovery from pandemic

Through the Universities for Nottingham collaboration, the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University are uniting with local partners including councils, healthcare trusts and D2N2, to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for local citizens, families and communities.

Universities for Nottingham is already supporting local employers in the Nottingham area through the Digital Marketing Academy (DMA), which sees students working with local marketing agencies to increase skills within the industry.

With input from Digital marketing agencies Hallam and Impression, the DMA provides students from any degree with a deeper understanding of digital marketing who also receive an additional qualification.

The DMA was introduced by the universities as an initiative to combat the digital skills gap identified by Nottingham City Council.

In addition, Nottingham Trent University’s state-of-the-art £9m Dryden Enterprise Centre will link industry and academics, enabling them to work together on projects and challenges.

Entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs will also have access to tailored support to help them achieve their business goals such as access to upskilling opportunities or recruitment help, as well as mentoring, networking and training programmes delivered by NTU’s Enterprise team, business experts and associate partners.

The skills of graduates from both institutions will also have an important role to play in the future success of businesses and sectors during the Covid-19 recovery process, with many staying in the city to launch successful start-ups of their own.

Elsewhere, the universities’ research continues to drive forward innovation and knowledge exchange in the city and wider region.

Nottingham Trent University’s £23 million Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF) brings organisations and clinicians together with university researchers to develop their ideas and get them to market.

The MTIF project is expected to improve the lives of patients, reduce the cost of care and stimulate the regional economy. It will focus on supporting the development of innovative products and advanced materials to meet a range of future healthcare needs and accelerate innovation.

The University of Nottingham has also been awarded a share of the £28.5m award by Driving the Electric Revolution part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to invest in new equipment to support innovative manufacturing processes for advanced electrical machines and drives which will support the UK’s net zero ambitions.

The equipment will be hosted within the new Power Electronics and Electrical Machines Centre at the University of Nottingham which has been selected to host the Midlands Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centre.

The state-of-the-art building will also host the UK Electrification of Aerospace Propulsion Facility providing industry and academic partners with a comprehensive end-to-end facility for the manufacturing and testing of technologies towards electrification to deliver the UK Government’s targets towards a net zero carbon economy.

In a joint statement, Professor Shearer West, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham and Professor Edward Peck, Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University said:

In Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, we believe our students, colleagues, researchers, and graduates have so much to offer.

We are proud of their knowledge, skills and expertise and we look forward to seeing them help businesses and industries bounce back in the years to come.

We must now make sure that we work closely with our local employers and partners so they are getting the most out of what our university can provide in this challenging process of recovery.

Professor Julia Buckingham CBE, Universities UK’s President, said:

By working closely with their partners, including local government and employers, universities will play a vital role in the UK’s post-Covid recovery.

Together, they can contribute significantly to future economic success and improve lives. Moving forward it is important that employers fully take advantage of universities’ support and develop productive relationships so the nation can bounce back stronger from the pandemic.

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