The University of Plymouth is in the running to earn the most coveted accolade in the Times Higher Education Awards 2022.
Its place on the University of the Year shortlist acknowledges the University’s international reputation for marine research and teaching, as well as decades of focus, investment, and impact.
It also reflects the University’s commitment to aligning its own ambitious long-term strategy with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the UK’s Maritime and Net Zero strategies, the South-West Development Strategy and Plymouth’s status as Britain’s Ocean City.
The shortlisting comes in a year where the University has again been named among the world’s top universities for marine excellence and climate action.
Professor Judith Petts CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, said:
"This is further recognition of our international reputation for outstanding marine and maritime research, teaching and innovation. It acknowledges the contributions of students and staff across the University to understand and address the key global challenges facing our planet. It also endorses our commitment to developing and investing in areas that are crucial to global sustainability, and to working with our partners in Britain’s Ocean City and beyond to generate a global network of advocates for the effective stewardship of the oceans.”
The University has more than 1,300 students on its marine and maritime degrees, the highest number of undergraduate and postgraduate marine students anywhere in the country.
The shortlisting covers the 2020/21 period during which the University reaffirmed its position as one of the world’s leading centres for marine research, innovation, and education.
In 2020, it collected its second Queen’s Anniversary Prize in eight years recognising its marine research, this time for its work to alert the world to microplastics and to influence solutions and policies that will reduce their future impact.
It has been integral to the development of clean energy solutions, leading the UK Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub, influencing national investment in offshore renewable energy technology, and securing funding to establish the UK’s national floating offshore wind test facility.
The University led initiatives in the emerging fields of clean maritime and maritime cyber security, installing a network of shoreside charging facilities for electric maritime vessels in Plymouth Sound and establishing the UK’s first Cyber-SHIP Lab to test the cyber resilience of connected maritime systems.
It has also worked in partnerships that established the UK’s first National Marine Park, supported government designation of two new Freeports (in Plymouth and on the Thames), advanced the Royal Navy’s work on autonomous marine systems, and cemented the city’s reputation as the UK’s go-to location for marine science.
The Times Higher Education Awards are open to anyone involved in higher education across the UK and Ireland, and aim to exemplify the talent, dedication and innovation of individuals and teams across all aspects of university life.
The 2022 winners will be revealed at a ceremony in London this November.