The University of Nottingham is the most international university and the best in the UK for sports, according to the 2019 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, published today (Friday 21 September).
The University has also moved to 16th position in the overall league table, up a further two places, thanks to both student satisfaction scores and particularly strong graduate prospect outcomes.
It is the first time in the history of the guide that a university has been given two awards and enough to earn a shortlisting, for the second year running, for the coveted University of the Year award.
President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shearer West, said: “At a time of unprecedented change in higher education, and in the wider world, the University of Nottingham is a thriving institution offering an outstanding student experience, world-changing research and a global reputation for excellence.
“I am delighted that the dedication of our research and teaching staff, and the hard work of our students has been recognised with a further climb in our league table position and the ‘double first’ award as University of the Year for both International and Sports.
“With campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia, the international dimension extends to every facet of life at Nottingham, whether it is our research, our teaching, our student community or global alumni. Our approach to sport ensures that everyone can realise their competitive potential whether that is through our specialist sports courses, success in worldwide competition, leading edge facilities or our civic contribution in helping Nottingham’s communities stay active.”
The University celebrated its latest international accolade by launching a new international student recruitment campaign encouraging prospective students across the globe to discover the world at Nottingham.
The University has capitalised on its well-established campuses and reputation for excellence in both Malaysia and Ningbo, China. Both campuses now have extensive international research and teaching collaborations in their own right, with the University of Nottingham Malaysia recently announcing a $25 million partnership with the World Bank and Bangladeshi Government, as well as a series of initiatives reaching out across ASEAN.
The University’s breadth and depth in sports is unrivalled with Nottingham having the largest intramural sports league with over 3,500 students playing against each other each week. A new Sport and Exercise Science degree programme has also been launched this year which underlines the commitment to the future of sport, and enhances an academic sporting portfolio that includes leading courses in Sports Medicine, Sports Rehabilitation (a programme which sees student volunteers provide pitch-side cover for many events and undergo clinical placements within the David Ross Sports Village) and Physiotherapy.
Director of Sport, Dan Tilley, said this approach combined with a £40m investment in facilities, which opened in 2016, has given the University an undisputable edge.
He said: “The David Ross Sports Village, which was made possible thanks to a generous donation from Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, has transformed our sports offer. We have the breadth of different sports and teams, success in leagues like British University and Colleges Sport (BUCS), an outstanding sporting academic offer, and now we have facilities that demonstrate tangibly the importance we place on sport, and which now see over 21,000 students regularly participating in sport.
“Our facilities have underpinned a dramatic rise in scholarship applications and have also enabled us to appeal to a wider range of students. The links between sport and wellbeing are well documented and we work hard to ensure our programme is inclusive. We are really proud of the role sport can play in breaking down barriers, developing life skills and helping students transition both into and beyond University life.”
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Notes to editors:
- The University of Nottingham was the first foreign university to establish an independent campus in China in 2003. The campus is on China's eastern coast close to Shanghai, and has been developed in partnership with the innovative Wanli Education Group.
- Over the last few years, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China has secured major investment from local government, industry and philanthropic partners to help significantly expand its capacity to shape the future of Ningbo’s economy through world-class research and innovation.
- The University of Nottingham is committed to ensuring that its global connections also make a tangible economic, social and cultural contribution to its local and civic communities. It facilitates and hosts numerous trade, business and educational exchange missions – opening a ‘Trade and Invest in Nottingham’ office on its campus in China in 2016. It also helped secure the multiple award-winning Dinosaurs of China exhibition for the city, bringing nearly quarter of a million of people to see fossils that had never previously been outside of China.
- The David Ross Sports Village, which is open to staff and the local community, comprises a swimming pool, climbing wall, the second largest sports hall in the UK, squash courts including one of only four all-glass courts in the country, a martial arts dojo, a fencing salle, a high performance zone complete with 60m sprint track, and a sports injury clinic.
- The facility has already hosted a number of high profile competitions including the AJ Bell European Individual Squash Championships, the PG Mutual National Table Tennis Championships and the BUCS Big Wednesday Finals. As well as attracting top names to train and play at the facilities e.g. Richard Whitehead, Ollie Hynd, Chris Adcock and Nick Matthew, the University also offers 150 sports scholarships to support students who want to progress their sporting career alongside their academic ambitions.
- The University is thought to be the only one in the country with a full time officer dedicated to inclusivity through sport, developing teams and opportunities for not only disabled students but also to overcome other barriers. The University also holds the annual Tri-campus Games with students from Malaysia, China and the UK competing together.
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Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.
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