December 18, 2024, by Rob Ounsworth
University of Nottingham Ningbo China: research and KE highlights 2024
The University of Nottingham Ningbo China shares its research and knowledge exchange highlights of 2024, and looks ahead to 2025.
Driving Green Innovation with Sichuan Longyuan
The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) has partnered with Sichuan Longyuan to establish the Green Smart Equipment Technology Innovation Collaboration Platform. This initiative supports China’s national strategy for high-quality development in western regions and focuses on advanced research areas such as fluidised bed reactors and supercritical fluid systems. With an investment of RMB 8m (£863,000), the platform aims to accelerate breakthroughs in green chemical, energy, and agricultural technologies, while ensuring research outcomes are effectively translated into practical applications. Led by Dr Dongbing Li from the China Beacons Institute’s Green Energy Research Centre, the project will bring research achievements into commercialisation through a pilot plant in Zigong city, where a traditional manufacturing base is in need of upgrading.
Strategic collaboration with China-Base Ningbo Group
Ranked among China’s top 500 companies and generating a revenue of RMB 107 billion (£11.5m) in 2023, China-Base Ningbo Group (CBNB) is forming a strategic partnership with UNNC to accelerate its digital transformation, talent development, and research-driven innovations. The collaboration focuses on key areas such as quantitative trading, full-supply-chain digitalization in commodity trading, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology.
Discipline development
UNNC now has five disciplines among the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) top 1% with Material Science and Environment/Ecology entering the ESI top 1% list in 2024 for the first time. UNNC ranks second among Sino-foreign universities for the number of subjects listed. The five disciplines are Engineering (top 0.22%), Social Sciences, General (top 0.42%), Economics and Business (top 0.83%), Materials Science (top 0.89%), and Environment/Ecology (top 0.96%). UNNC also has a number of key disciplines approved by provincial and municipal education governments and will secure about RMB 30 million (£3.2m) funding over the coming 3-4 years.
Lead author for international biodiversity report
Dr Linjun Xie from the Faculty of Science and Engineering contributed as one of the lead authors, including colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Science, for the upcoming IPBES Nexus Assessment Report. The report is scheduled for approval and release during the eleventh session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 11) in Windhoek, Namibia, from 10 to 16 December 2024.
Find out more about Dr Linjun Xie’s research
Loctek and UNNC collaboration
This three-year partnership between UNNC and Loctek explores innovation in office products for the global market. The collaboration successfully launched the Loctek-Nottingham Cross-Campus Innovation Competition in 2024, inviting students and staff from all three Nottingham campuses to present cutting-edge design solutions. Additionally, project-based coursework in Module MMME2024 emphasised hands-on learning, and award-winning designs were submitted to prestigious international competitions, including the Red Dot and iF Design Awards. This initiative not only fosters industry-academic collaboration but also provides students with invaluable real-world experience.
Look ahead to 2025
Building on the success of 2024, the partnership will expand its reach by introducing new competition themes and enhancing student engagement across campuses. Plans are under way to broaden the scope of industry collaboration, ensuring even greater opportunities for innovation and impact.
Bridging the ‘valley of death’
With the aim of promoting technology transfer, improving the quality of the pipeline projects and scaling up industry engagement in a systematic manner, an international Proof of Concept Centre will be established to serve as an institutional platform to bridge the ‘valley of death’ between innovation and real-world application and impact by supporting early-stage research ideas to be developed, validated and prepared for commercial applications. With the development of the centre and the upgrading of the existing incubator model into a more comprehensive and inclusive platform, enhanced tri-campus engagement and a complete international innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem will be better able to respond to opportunities presented by policymakers and industry needs from both home and abroad.
Professor Laura Bishop
Vice Provost for Research and Knowledge Exchange
Dr Alain Chong
Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Partnerships
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
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