It is truly exciting to be at Birmingham. In May, we received an outstanding vote of confidence in the quality of our research and, during the summer, we were very proud to be an Official Partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
As the host venue for hockey and squash, the largest athletes' village and the official training venue for swimming and athletics, we welcomed 170,000 visitors to our beautiful campus. As the eyes of much of the world looked to our city and region, we were honoured to be a part of the most comprehensive university partnership in the history of the Games.
We are so proud of the 25 alumni and student athletes, plus three coaches/supporters, but especial congratulations go to Yasmin Javadian – a 21-year-old dental student who won a bronze judo medal – and the women's hockey team, which had no less than six current and former students in their gold medal winning squad. The match was thrilling and when the crowd sang 'Hockey’s coming home' it was a true University of Birmingham moment. I had the pleasure of attending a broad range of athletics, hockey, cycling and squash events and kept on meeting alumni, staff and student volunteers who were giving up their time to make Birmingham 2022 such a success. As a graduate of Birmingham you know how wonderful our city is, but the Games showcased this to 72 countries and territories around the world and it was a real joy to meet Rena Lalgie (BSc Public Policymaking and Administration, 2001), who is not only the Governor of Bermuda but a proud alumna of our University.
Our involvement in the Games extended beyond Edgbaston: alumni and students from around the world formed part of the Queen's Baton Relay, which also made a special stop at our campus in Dubai, and 20 of our game-changing graduates, students, supporters and staff across England carried the Baton on the home straight to Birmingham. The Baton was designed by alumni and contains an air quality sensor devised by one of Birmingham's researchers, Professor Francis Pope, which collected data about air quality across the Commonwealth. Read more about the University's involvement with the Commonwealth Games.
Earlier in the year, a major exercise to evaluate the quality and broader impact of research in the UK concluded that Birmingham is one of the best universities in the country. Every six or seven years, research by UK universities is independently assessed through the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and we saw our best ever outcome (by some distance).
Being ranked 10th amongst Russell Group universities and 13th in the whole of the UK for our Grade Point Average means we can continue to attract the very best researchers and partners. But the most important thing is not the ranking itself but the confirmation that we are collectively engaged in world-leading work that has a genuine impact on people's lives.
Thank you so much for everything you have done to be part of and support our research, our students and the Commonwealth Games. We couldn't do it without you.
Professor Adam Tickell
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
Find all the medals throughout the autumn 2022 edition of Old Joe to enter our Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games competition.