Autumn 2024 • northumbria.ac.uk
Issue 32
GOING BANANAS
DRIVING CHANGE. INSPIRING POTENTIAL
SUMMER OF SPORT
Waste from agricultural industry converted into renewable energy
World-leading research in space, computing, energy and health
Olympic and Paralympic alumni represent their countries in Paris
Discover more on page 9
Find out more on pages 15-23
Read all about it on page 34-35
National recognition tells inspiring story orthumbria University has once again been recognised as one of the top universities in the UK after being awarded N the title of Modern University of the Year 2025 by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide.
The announcement marks an impressive and sustained run of national recognition for Northumbria University in recent years. In 2022 Northumbria was crowned Times Higher Education’s University of the Year, the most prestigious accolade in the UK higher education sector, in recognition of its transformation over more
than a decade into a researchintensive university with a clear social mobility mission to unlock potential and change lives. Earlier that year, Northumbria had recorded the biggest rise in research power of any UK university for the second time in a row in the national assessment of research excellence in universities, known as the Research Excellence
Framework. A ranking of 23rd in the UK for research power – a measure of the quality and scale of research – confirmed Northumbria’s status as a research-intensive university. In 2023 the Daily Mail awarded Northumbria the titles of both Research University of the Year and Modern University of the Year in its first ever university guide in recognition of its
research performance and its deep-seated all-round excellence. This most recent accolade from The Times and Sunday Times has been awarded following analysis of Northumbria’s performance in their research quality index and increasing student satisfaction. The University’s leading work to improve social mobility and create opportunities in the North
East, as well as Northumbria’s overall rise in the table after climbing six places to rank 43rd overall, also contributed to Northumbria’s award. Continues on page 2.