Newcastle University

Introduction

About Newcastle University Newcastle University was founded in 1834 to address the economic, health and social issues of an industrial city. We are a thriving international community of more than 27,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 countries studying at our main campus in Newcastle upon Tyne and in London, Singapore and Malaysia. Ranked 146 in the world (QS World Rankings 2020), we are recognised internationally for our work across several broad multi-disciplinary areas. A member of the Russell Group of 24 research-intensive UK universities, we have a world-class reputation for research excellence in medicine, science and engineering, social sciences and the humanities. In 2018, we unveiled a new Vision and Strategy, outlining our future direction. Underpinning the Vision and Strategy are four core strategies developed to demonstrate how we will tackle some of society’s challenges. These encompass Education for Life, Research for Discovery and Impact, Engagement and Place, and Global. We remain dedicated to catalysing transformative research within and between disciplines – enhancing its globally recognised strengths in Ageing and Health, Energy, Data, Cities, and Culture and Creative Arts. Research and innovation Our passionate academics and dedicated researchers are exploring solutions to world challenges, pioneering new ways of thinking and collaborating with institutions that share our vision for excellence, creativity, and impact. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) placed us 16th in the UK for Research Power and the vast majority of our research (78%) was assessed to be world-leading or internationally excellent. In partnership with Newcastle City Council, we are creating Newcastle Helix – a £350million urban regeneration project in the heart of the city. The flagship development on the site, our £58 million Urban Sciences Building (USB), opened in September 2017. Home to our world-leading School of Computing and a series of innovative research labs, the USB and surrounding area represents a living laboratory underpinning research to make urban centres more sustainable for future generations. Construction work on the new headquarters of the National Innovation Centres at Newcastle University, located on Helix is nearing completion. The £50m building (The Catalyst) brings business, academics and the public together. The £35m Frederick Douglass Centre on Newcastle Helix is due to open, seating 750 people in the auditorium and 200 more in a collaborative lecture theatre. The building has been named after world-renowned activist-author Frederick Douglass, a 19th-century social reformer and abolitionist who was associated with the Summerhill area of the city next to the Helix site. Designed to provide space for performance and recreational sport plus academic space for sports research and teaching, the £16.2m Sports Centre will incorporate facilities for a range of sports and leisure activities. Work is underway on a 9,000m2, six-storey building that will feature a lecture theatre for 300 students, social learning spaces and seminar rooms. Due to open in January 2020, the £39m scheme will provide facilities for Sport and Exercise Science, Human Nutrition, the School of Psychology and specialist facilities for the School of Medical Education. Recent research highlights include: · The first human corneas have been 3D printed by scientists at Newcastle University. It means the technique could be used in the future to ensure an unlimited supply of corneas. · An exploration of one of the deepest places on earth has captured rare footage of what is believed to be three new species of the elusive Snailfish. Involving a team of 40 scientists from 17 different nations, including Dr Alan Jamieson and Dr Thomas Linley from Newcastle University, the expedition to the Atacama Trench has uncovered a wealth of information about life in one of the deepest places on earth. · Newcastle University academic reveals Redoshi – known as Sally Smith - was the last surviving African-born slave in the Americas. Painstaking research by Dr Hannah Durkin, has identified Redoshi, the last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade. Student experience and teaching quality Teaching is at the heart of our University: at Newcastle we educate for life, to develop and nurture successive generations of creative practitioners, clinicians, scientists, engineers, social scientists and educationalists and set them on the path to making their own mark on society. We are proud to have achieved the best possible outcome - a Gold Award - in the UK government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The TEF Panel judged that Newcastle University delivers consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students. It is of the highest quality found in the UK. Newcastle graduates are highly sought after by UK employers, with 95% of our UK and EU first degree students progressing to work or further study within six months of graduating. International partnerships We aim to grow and sustain our international profile, impact and reputation for academic excellence through mutually beneficial partnerships and collaborations with organisations around the world. At NUMed, our fully owned overseas campus for Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Malaysia our fully GMC-accredited programmes are helping to train doctors to work in the Malaysian Health Service. Our staff undertake research with local partners for the benefit of local populations throughout South East Asia. In Singapore, our excellence in engineering education has led to a strong collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Technology to deliver joint undergraduate degrees. Building on our staff presence, we put our expertise in research and postgraduate training to work with local universities, research institutes and high tech industries in this global centre of the enterprise. We are the lead for two of the 12 Global Research Hubs set up to tackle the world's toughest challenges. Led by Dr Andy Large and Professor Richard Dawson, the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Living Deltas and Water Security and Sustainable Development Hubs bring together 94 organisations from 25 countries, drawing on the expertise of scientists, engineers, geographers, architects and social scientists. The Hub awards demonstrate our commitment to working in partnership across national borders and academic disciplines via our Global Challenges Academy to help deliver the SDGs. Significant international partners include Xiamen University, PRC; Monash University, Australia; University of Groningen, Netherlands and Universitas Indonesia.