Welcome to this latest edition of Alumni News. This issue brings you the most recent news from the University of Suffolk and upcoming events on offer to you as our graduates.
Your university has made considerable progress recently across a number of key measures including graduate employability, NSS results, and investment in our estate, to enhance the staff and student experience. We are regarded as pioneers in teaching practice with our Block and Blend learning method and we have recently achieved an award of ‘outstanding’ in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 for producing world-leading and internationally excellent research.
Further recent achievements include the University of Suffolk ranking within the top ten for UK Universities for waste and
recycling (People and Planet, 2022), the development of a £13m state-of-the-art Health and Wellbeing Building dedicated to the promotion of integrated care, and a £9.6 million research and engineering facility at BT’s Adastral Park for students within our School of Engineering, Arts, Science and Technology.
We climbed 30 places in the Guardian University Guide 2022, rising to 67 out of 121, 26 places in the Complete University Guide 2023, rising to 100 out of 130, and ranked 69th in the Guardian University Guide 2023.
The University continues to provide excellent graduate outcomes, investing in our students, providing subject area excellence and opportunities for all. We hope you enjoy reading about our latest news and events and are proud of the great strides forward your university continues to take.
Book your place now for our first ever Alumni Reunion on Friday 21 April 2023
You are invited to our inaugural Alumni Reunion. Open to all Suffolk graduates, we encourage you to attend the reunion to meet with old friends and lecturers. This event is all about celebrating you with live music, professional photography,an Alumni Art Exhibition and much more. We look forward to welcoming you back on campus.
Book your reunion ticket
10.00am–6.00pm Alumni Fine Art Exhibition Foyer, Waterfront Building
9.00am–5.00pm Careers support | Online
10.00am and 2.00pm
Tuesday 10.00am only
Campus tours Reception, Waterfront Building
Campus tours Reception, Waterfront Building 12.30pm
Lunchtime Lives | Online
Q&A with the Alumni Relations and Development team Apply for a Masters Apply for a PhD 6.30pm–9.00pm 10.00am–12.00pm
The Alumni Relations and Development team are proud to announce our inaugural alumni celebration event. Our first largescale graduate event will take place from Monday 17 to Saturday 22 April and will offer you, our graduates, a programme of activities to Connect, Reconnect and Reunite with your university and friends.
Offering you a variety of ways to engage during this week, we will be providing both online and in-person activities based on feedback and suggestions from our alumni.
Throughout the week there will be opportunities to access careers advice, information and guidance on postgraduate study through daily online live sessions, business engagement advice, an online session open to our international alumni, campus tours, the reunion and a family
friendly coffee morning. We also have an Alumni Art Exhibition, open to the public from Saturday 1 to Friday 21 April.
We can’t wait to see as many alumni as possible during Connection Week and hope you will take the opportunity to reconnect with us.
Full details can be found at uos.ac.uk/connection-week
In November 2022, a zero-carbon house which will be the ‘embodiment of sustainability’ opened at BT’S Adastral Park.
The University of Suffolk DigiTech Smart House project is a collaborative research facility demonstrating the regional capacity for designing, building and occupying sustainable homes.
Partners in the project include the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and BT and it coincides with the launch of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute.
The DigiTech Smart House will utilise systems to evaluate the performance of sustainable materials, low carbon energy,
and water consumption, addressing two pressing concerns — climate change and the impact of the construction industry and the associated links to the UK housing crisis and the chronic shortage of affordable homes. It will be used as a ‘living laboratory’ and demonstrator by the University of Suffolk and a range of third-party innovation partners.
The building will be easy to maintain and comfortable to occupy offering a vision for a sustainable way of life that enhances lifestyles and acts as a template for future domestic homes.
Professor Darryl Newport, Professor of Energy and Sustainable Development at the University of Suffolk and Director of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute, said: “The launch of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute and the opening of our new Smart House Living Laboratory is an important milestone in our journey to addressing some of the major global sustainability challenges. Our research experts will use their knowledge
and understanding to work with our local, regional and international partners and collaborators to deliver innovative solutions for a cleaner greener future.”
Mohammad Dastbaz, Deputy ViceChancellor at the University of Suffolk said: “We are strong advocates of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), working closely with BT, New Anglia LEP, our county and borough councils, as well as significant energy companies in our region including EDF. We hope that our collaborative research and knowledge exchange work will contribute to our region’s ambition for transition to a zerocarbon economy as well as the University’s key objective of carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.”
Lisa Perkins, Adastral Park and Research Realisation Director, at BT added: “Adastral Park is home to a thriving innovation ecosystem, comprising BT, Openreach and 150 businesses in the Innovation Martlesham tech cluster. It has long been home for the invention and delivery of impactful technology solutions that make a real difference to society. The ecosystem has been recently enriched with the presence of the University of Suffolk’s DigiTech Centre, creating more opportunities for research, education and training. The Smart House is another initiative that we have co-launched which will enable exciting research into sustainability linked with smart technology. We are excited to see what further purposeful solutions may come from this.”
The launch of the Smart House coincided with the launch of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute, one of our six research Institutes and centres representing regional centres of excellence. For more information , visit uos.ac.uk/research-institutes
Local youth charity Inspire, and the University of Suffolk are teaming up to provide students and young people with sporting facilities to aid their mental and physical wellbeing.
Inspire, a charity dedicated to supporting young people on to a positive future, are forming a partnership with the University to strengthen both organisations services to provide students and the community with state-of-the-art sports facilities which we hope will begin development in 2023.
These facilities will include an enclosed, fullsize grass pitch to BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) standards with security fencing and floodlighting, and an allweather pitch.
As a second phase, the University and Inspire will work together to provide improved home and away changing facilities, with potential for a social space.
These facilities will enable students to participate in a variety of sports and activities which will in turn improve their health and wellbeing.
This partnership will help both organisations further their missions which include supporting young people, skills development, providing opportunities and investing in their physical/mental wellbeing.
Tim Greenacre, University of Suffolk’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “It’s really gratifying to develop our partnership with Inspire through the delivery of these great assets for University and community use. This will be a modern sporting facility which generations of our students and local people can use and enjoy. Both the University and Inspire have a powerful positive impact on our locality and working together in this way helps us deliver even more.”
Alex Gooch, President of the University of Suffolk Students’ Union, said: “The Students’ Union is very excited about the development and the quality of the plans. These facilities will give a true sense of belonging to our teams and give them an unquestionable home here at the University of Suffolk where they can feel proud to play sports. This is one of many projects the University and Students’ Union are working on to improve the experience for our students.”
Terry Baxter, CEO of Inspire, said: “We are so excited for this partnership to bring the local community closer together and to support young people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, as physical activity is so important for mental health. Both the University of Suffolk and Inspire are dedicated to supporting young people onto a positive future, and I feel this partnership will strengthen our joint efforts in achieving this goal.”
The University of Suffolk and the Students’ Union are committed to supporting students and staff with the cost of living and have implemented several measures to help. These practical measures are designed to support students over the winter months and help maintain wellbeing during key study periods.
The campaign has so far offered the following:
Free car parking
Free weekly breakfast and dinner clubs
Free food banks
Lunch bags
Free tea and coffee
Free sanitary products
Students also have access to additional kitchen facilities such as microwaves and hot water, and to free showers. The University and Students’ Union also provide information to all students on financial support including bursaries and scholarships, advice on keeping costs down, earning whilst studying, and living sustainably.
Gifts to the University serve to form a major part of our future and we cannot achieve our ambitions without philanthropic support from our donors. If you are interested in supporting the University please contact the Alumni Relations and Development team at giving@uos.ac.uk or you can donate online today
The Journal of Suffolk Student Research is a brand new online academic journal, dedicated to the publication of high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate student research. The online journal is open to the public and volumes will be published annually with open access.
Following the success of the first MA Creative and Critical Writing anthology Suffolk Folk, a second anthology, Suffolk Arboretum, has been written by graduates.
Stories
Inspired by Remarkable Trees is a collection of original stories which map Suffolk from Haverhill to Lowestoft via the county’s trees, celebrating our diverse natural landscape through stories inspired by the trees we love. An interactive digital map accompanies the book and allows readers to seek out the featured trees and visit them. Alternatively, if the weather suggests indoor reading, links to images of the trees take you to the podcast series produced alongside the anthology.
Dr Amanda Hodgkinson, Associate Professor English and Creative Writing, said “The MA Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Suffolk is known for its award-winning lecturers, guest speakers, networking and publishing opportunities, and particularly, it’s warm and vibrant community that supports and encourages the talented writer of the future”.
You may have recently caught our MA graduates on BBC Radio Suffolk and Norfolk talking about Suffolk Arboretum and we are very much looking forward to welcoming these graduates back at a special Honorary Graduates and Supporters Drinks Reception during Connection Week.
Graduate Jobs Marketplace — 14 March, 11.00am–2.00pm in the Waterfront Building
Part-time Jobs and Work Experience Marketplace — 16 March, 11.00am–2.00pm in the Waterfront Building
Sports Symposium — 23 March
IpSWITCH Start-up Open Day — 27 March
Connection Week — 17 April to 22 April
Open Lecture Series
— There’s Nothing so Practical for Management as Good Theory — 15 March
— Finding my way — an Essex Ministry — 12 April
How do we Make our Education System Work for Every Young Person? — 10 May
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To check out all of our events, visit uos.ac.uk/event-list
CPD Courses
Continuing Professional Development in the School of Health and Sports Sciences
uos.ac.uk/alumni