A WORLD-CLASS ENVIRONMENT

The quality of any organisation can be judged by its staff: talented and enthusiastic people who inspire others to achieve their potential, and who themselves reach exceptional standards.

Campus expansion facilitates further industrial collaboration
The purchase in April of the neighbouring technology park from Advantica Technologies Ltd was the largest and one of the most significant single investments in the University’s history. In a deal worth £35.5 million, the acquisition will enable the University to develop still further its already significant portfolio of industrial partnerships, confirming Loughborough as one of the country’s leading universities for collaboration with business and industry. The purchase augmented the campus by another 163 acres and provided a further 36,400m2 of high quality building stock, making the Loughborough campus one of the largest in the country. Advantica continues to occupy part of the site, which has been renamed Holywell Park, on a leaseback basis, and the University is utilising the remainder to enhance and extend its research, innovation and knowledge transfer activities.

The acquisition of the University’s latest asset was celebrated in June, when more than 230 people gathered at the site for the annual Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) soiree and exhibition, which featured almost 30 displays highlighting some of the pioneering research taking place on campus in partnership with industry.

The Vice Chancellor, Sir John Beckwith and Paula Radcliffe open the Sir John Beckwith Building		HRH The Duchess of Gloucester at the opening of the LTA Tennis Academy		Part of the new Holywell Park site

New Department, New Era
With a twelve year history of developing expertise and strengths in systems engineering, the creation this year of the Department of Systems Engineering – the first brand new department at the University for over 25 years – marked the start of a new era.

Systems Engineering considers both the business and the technical requirements of its customers, with the goal of providing a quality product that meets users’ needs. It draws information, expertise, skills and talent from a variety of sources, integrating a range of disciplines into a team effort – a tradition which has long been practiced at Loughborough. The new department will enable the University to preserve and build
on these strengths.

Loughborough’s collaboration with BAE SYSTEMS provided much of the impetus and investment for the University’s development into this new area. Their sponsorship has matured into partnership over the years and the University, which is rapidly becoming the UK’s leading higher education institution for systems engineering, has now been designated the company’s Strategic Capability Partner for Systems Engineering.

A Base for Sporting Excellence
The inauguration of the English Institute of Sport (EIS) Loughborough Pool by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal in October marked a significant milestone in the continuing expansion of world-class sports facilities at the University. The first element of the EIS’s network of elite training provision to be completed at Loughborough, the state-of-the-art 50m pool – one of only a handful of Olympic-sized facilities in the country – was developed to ensure the continuing advancement of quality swimmers to compete at the highest level. The additional provision of cutting-edge sports science, sports medicine and conditioning areas will help to ensure that Loughborough leads the way in British swimming, and continues to assist the country’s most promising swimmers in their development.

Serving as a hub for research, training and development, the Sir John Beckwith Centre for Sport was opened in December by sports star and Loughborough graduate Paula Radcliffe. The building has brought together a range of key sporting organisations, including the University’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, the Sports Development Centre,
and the Youth Sport Trust.

Developed in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association, the LTA Tennis Academy was opened in March by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester. The Academy offers players aged between 12 and 16 the opportunity to develop their tennis while continuing their education. Its first-class facilities will also help to further the development of the University’s top-flight tennis scholars.

This year’s Loughborough International Athletics Match provided the backdrop for June’s opening of the High Performance Athletics Centre (HiPAC). Having ‘turned the first turf’ just one year earlier, Loughborough graduates Sebastian Coe and David Moorcroft returned to the University to open the £5 million Centre, which will provide a crucial all-weather training base for both Loughborough’s students and many of the country’s leading elite athletes.Loughborough graduates Donna Kellogg, the 1998 Commonwealth badminton gold medallist, and England netball captain Olivia Murphy were back at the University in August to open the Badminton and Netball High Performance Centre – a training facility which provides a base for players to train and further their education.

"Loughborough has a great past, a great present, and an even more exciting future. It is a true partnership, with the University, the EIS, Sport England and UK Athletics all working together to provide one of the most integrated training centres in the world. A fantastic facility like this, delivering world class support, is what we have dreamed of."
David Moorcroft,
Chief Executive of UK Athletics, at the opening of the HiPAC

The Gymnastics Analysis Centre and the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) National Academy – the largest bespoke indoor cricket centre in the world, with extensive outdoor facilities – are both due to be opened
next year.