The Director’s Update
Some years ago, the Institute published an electronic newsletter for staff called the Update. This was published quarterly and circulated by email. It carried news of the Institute’s activities and people and was, apparently, well received. For a variety of reasons, many associated with the other pressures of work, the Update ceased to appear in 2006. However, the Update has now re-appeared but in a new guise as a blog ~ the Director’s Update. It is once again carrying news of the Institute, its activities and people, their achievements and interests. Among other things, the Director’s Update is a vehicle for celebrating the Institute’s successes.
Looking Back: 2008
2008 has been a good year and is closing out in fine form. In September, the Institute returned to the University proper after a challenging 6 years off campus on the Nottingham Science & Technology Park. Its new home, International House, is excellent (or at least will be when the snagging is finally completed). Being back on Jubilee Campus is allowing old friendships to be re-established and new ones forged. We have seen new collaborations in research with the Medical School, the Institute of Mental Health, the School of Education and, of course, Nottingham University Business School (NUBS). Earlier in the year, the Institute saw several of its courses re-accredited by the British Psychological Society and then its intake in Nottingham for 2008 2009 held up in an increasingly competitive and tightening higher education market. Furthermore, its undergraduate course in UNMC ~ applied psychology and management studies ~ recruited well in its first proper year. In terms of research, the Institute committed itself to increasing its excellence in research and to facilitate this move has appointed two new Chairs and two new Lecturers: all research productive. The year has closed out with a good result for the Institute with NUBS in the RAE 2008. This result, which out stripped that of our closest competitors, has established the platform for the further strengthening of its research.
Looking Forward: 2009
Given the achievements of 2008, 2009 will be the year that the Institute comes of age. In January, we will begin the celebration of our 10th anniversary as a international postgraduate research institute and, in the summer, we will celebrate having been a school for 7 of those years.
In January 1999, we numbered a solitary chair, two lecturers and a teaching fellow, a young secretary and a handful of researchers, and about 20 postgraduate students. By January 2009, our operation at UNMC will slightly bigger than that (see IWHO@UNMC) and, overall, we will have grown to 5 established Chairs, 5 Special Professors, 5 Associate Professors, 7 Lecturers (Assistant Professors), a similar number of seconded clinical staff, and 2 Research Fellows with 8 administrative staff, a similar number of research staff and over 200 postgraduate students with a growing number of undergraduate students at UNMC. And … there are still vacancies!
Throughout this period of managed and sustained growth, the Institute has remained in surplus and has returned over £ 1,000,000 to the University’s Reserves.
I think that we will have something to celebrate in 2009!
(Editor)Tom Cox
