University of Birmingham highlights of the last year, demonstrating ways in which the University is shaping the future.
Title: We Are Shaping the Future, Our Future
Duration: 12.22 mins
Speaker Names (if given):
No individual speakers, just narrative over visual images
The Staffordshire Hoard: Birmingham researchers struck gold in the Staffordshire countryside. A major exhibition bought the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, and our archaeologists, into the public eye.
Community Day: Our first community day offered something for everyone and attracted 6,000 local visitors from all walks of life to our beautiful campus.
Shakespeare Dig: Our archaeologists are helping visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon to dig for Shakespeare. The public can peek over the shoulders of our experts as they excavate the site of Shakespeare’s last home.
Student Volunteering: Our students are ambassadors for the University, giving their time for good causes at home and abroad. Student fundraising work also generates hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities each year.
Bramall Music Building: The Bramall Music Building will provide a purpose-built home for our world class Department of Music. It has been made possible through the generosity of our alumni whose donations total £6 million.
Winterbourne: This unique attraction is set within a beautiful seven acre botanic garden. Winterbourne House has now been restored to its Edwardian Arts and Crafts splendour.
Muirhead Tower: Muirhead Tower has been refurbished to provide an ultra-modern space for the University’s College of Social Sciences and Special Collections.
Cadbury Research Library: Funded by the philanthropy of our alumni, the Cadbury Research Library inhabits three floors of the Muirhead Tower. It includes exhibition space and archiving facilities for the University’s collection of rare manuscripts.
Circles of Influence: The House of Lords played host to the launch of the University’s £60m fundraising campaign, Circles of Influence. Thanks to all the generosity of our alumni and philanthropists, we are on course to meet our target.
Alumni Day: In June, 450 alumni and their guests returned to campus to celebrate the anniversary of their graduation. The day was an opportunity to meet old friends and to see exciting developments on campus.
Doug Richards: Budding business tycoons from the student community enjoyed a masterclass from Doug Richards, entrepreneur and original BBC2 Dragon.
A2B: Our Access to Birmingham Scheme goes from strength to strength. It helps students from families and communities who have little or no experience of higher education prepare for university.
Health Research Bus: Our mobile medical bus brings research into the community, transforming the way in which clinical research on major health issues like diabetes and obesity is conducted. The bus is part of the Birmingham Science City collaboration.
Cancer Trials Unit: Our work in the Cancer Trials Unit develops laboratory science into clinical trials that benefit thousands of patients. Links with the NHS translate discoveries into new treatments for patients.
New Queen Elizabeth Hospital: The University has strong links with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. We are sharing high quality laboratory and clinical research facilities as part of the NHS partnership.
CN–CR: The Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics brings together advanced techniques in both neuroscience and robotics to unlock the secrets of the brain.
Eton Myers: Priceless Egyptian antiquities from the Eton Myers Collection are being given a new lease of life thanks to a collaboration between Eton College, Birmingham and Johns Hopkins University. The artefacts will be digitised, studied by scholars and put on display.
Manufacturing Technology Centre: Birmingham is a research partner in the Manufacturing Technology Centre. We are partnering with global manufacturers, including Rolls Royce and Airbus, to improve the UK’s manufacturing competitiveness.
The National HE STEM Programme: Birmingham hosts the National HE Stem Programme. This collaboration is widening participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and enhancing skills of the nation’s workforce in these areas.
CERN: Physicists from the University are working at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, exploring the origins of the universe. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle accelerator.
Chicago: We are working closely with top-flight universities in our twin city, Chicago, and forging close links across the Atlantic.
China: From our sponsorship of Birmingham’s Royal Ballet’s Chinese Tour, to the launch of our office in Shanghai, Birmingham has a comprehensive presence in the People’s Republic of China.
India Office: Last summer we opened our first overseas office in the heart of New Delhi. This is now strengthening student recruitment and helping us to increase our research and alumni links.
Haiti Campaign: Birmingham’s Action for Haiti Campaign is a student- driven initiative to fundraise for victims of the earthquake and to raise awareness for the rich diversity of Haitian culture.
Ran Ki Moon: The UN Secretary General visited the University of Birmingham to meet key figures including business leaders, politicians and top academics from Birmingham and the West Midlands.
George Osborne: George Osborne, architect of the Conservative Party’s General Election campaign, visited the business school to give a key speech in the run-up to the election.
David Willetts: David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science, chose the University to deliver his first keynote speech since being appointed to the Cabinet. He also visited the School of Chemical Engineering’s Centre for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research.
Prime Ministerial Debate: The University caught the eye of the world when it was selected by the BBC to host the final Prime Ministerial debate. The event generated £4m of media coverage for the University in the UK alone.
END OF RECORDING