View from the Vice-Chancellor: autumn 2026

When I started as Vice-Chancellor nearly five years ago, both staff and alumni told me that the University is too modest in talking about the achievements of our community. I like this authenticity about Birmingham – it reflects the unpretentious culture of our home city.

But the truth is that there is a lot to boast about. In the last few years, we have quietly transformed many aspects of our student experience – from timetables and summer term activities to wider opportunities for personal development. Over the summer, the results of the National Student Survey, which asks every final year student in the UK about their educational experiences, showed Birmingham achieving the highest average score in the Russell Group (and tenth in the UK). We have also strengthened our research: over the last four years alone, our academics have won over £1 billion of research awards in an extraordinarily competitive environment – putting Birmingham in the top tier of universities in the country. And we are the partner of choice for many of the best universities around the world.

Behind these achievements are the people of the University of Birmingham who make a difference every day. In this edition of Old Joe you can read about some of the world-changing research at the University; meet two of our Sanctuary Scholars; and discover more about the transformational educational offer.

It is these successes, and our people, that mean our time in the shadows is passing. Earlier this year, your university was named the 68th best university in the entire world by QS, whilst the Complete University Guide gave us our highest ever domestic league table position; we have just been shortlisted as University of the Year by Times Higher Education and were named as the University of the Year by The Daily Mail newspaper.

As ever, we would be delighted to hear from you: please keep in touch.

Professor Adam Tickell
Vice-Chancellor and Principal