17 September: At the 2020 Sustainable Business Awards ceremony held in Shanghai on 17 September 2020, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) received the COVID-19 Crisis Response Award presented by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

Having been assessed by eleven judges who were experts in sustainability, UNNC stood out for its overall strategic planning and pioneering role in maintaining academic standards along with the student experience in response to the pandemic.

Thomas Murphy, UNNC’s Chief Financial and Planning Officer received the award at the ceremony on behalf of the University. In his speech, Thomas said that it was the University’s firm decision to continue teaching and research in the turbulent times while doing everything possible to ensure the safety of students and staff as the highest priority.

He said, “A key element of our COVID-19 recovery strategy was to reopen our campus such that our students can complete their degrees and go out to the world of business or further study.”

UNNC initiated a series of measures to respond to the COVID-19 challenges. The working group which was established in January 2020 immediately initiated the University’s emergency response procedures and established a closed campus routine. In mid-February 2020, UNNC’s senior leaders agreed on a COVID-19 recovery strategy which involved initially moving to online teaching followed by face to face teaching as soon as agreement was obtained from the local authorities to do so.

On 2 March 2020, UNNC launched its teaching programme online which involved implementing a number of alternative software applications, upgrading the IT infrastructure and moving all of the teaching modules online.

Local authority approval to re-open the campus was received mid-April 2020 and the University opened its gates to students at the end of April such that in-person teaching could resume. UNNC became the first Sino-foreign University in China to resume face-to-face teaching with over 75% of the academic staff being in Ningbo prior to the border restrictions being implemented, along with 85% of students choosing to return. A blended format of online and offline teaching was adopted to ensure the consistent learning outcome of those who were unable to return.

The University of Nottingham has also undertaken COVID-19 related research through their partnerships in China, especially Ningbo. Research with Ningbo No 1 and No 2 hospitals on epidemiology and drugs related to COVID-19 have already been published, with a number of other research collaborations ongoing.

At the end of his speech, Thomas commented that it takes global solidary to win the war against the pandemic. “We only succeeded with our strategy because we collaborated on a global basis.” He said.

The 2020 Sustainable Business Awards Ceremony, organised by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, celebrates companies and organisations who put sustainable economic growth, environmental care and social welfare at the forefront of their values. The award categories follow United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in its China operations, including Advocate in Combating Poverty, COVID-19 Crisis Response, Navigating Diversity and Inclusion, Outstanding Environmental and Climate Performance, and Social Innovation Pioneer.