Reasons to be proud: autumn 2026

The University of Birmingham has risen eight places to 68th in this year’s QS World University Rankings.

We have risen 23 places among the world’s best universities since 2023, and now sit at our highest position globally in a decade. We are also equal tenth in the UK, which represents our highest-ever position in the country.

Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, said: ‘These results demonstrate that the University of Birmingham is recognised around the world as an outstanding institution by academics, employers, students and alumni.’

We were also delighted to see the University ranked first in the Russell Group in the 2026 National Student Survey (NSS) results and among the UK’s top ten universities overall – our strongest-ever NSS performance.

Professor Tickell added: ‘Our ongoing focus on skills, employability and student success has undoubtedly contributed to this year’s outstanding NSS success. These results, together with our continued rise in global rankings, demonstrate the impact of that commitment and the momentum we are building as one of the UK’s leading universities.’

Ten years after the Birmingham Institute for Forest Research Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (BIFoR FACE) facility in Staffordshire opened, it continues to produce world-leading research into the effects of climate change.

Following the hottest summer in the UK on record, BIFoR-related research has revealed that while forests absorb and store enormous amounts of carbon, rising CO₂ brings both benefits and risks.

With more than 40 published papers and collaborations across five continents, academics have established that elevated CO₂ can:

• increase growth in mature trees;
• reduce nutrient quality in flowers, pollen and acorns;
• weaken young trees’ disease resistance;
• shift food webs and ecosystem dynamics;
• alter long term forest resilience.

The increased media exposure of BIFoR’s research was demonstrated in June when Dr Anna Gardner, a research fellow at the institute, was interviewed by the BBC following reports of mature trees falling during the June heatwave.

The University’s giving day, Birmingham Gives, saw our global community come together over 36 hours and raise a record total.

More than £225,000 was raised thanks to the generous support of over 450 donors from 25 countries across the globe, while 166 volunteer ambassadors supported the appeal by raising awareness across social media.

Those donations will help fund life-changing scholarships, pioneering medical research and the societies and sports clubs that make campus life unforgettable.

Donors were encouraged to share their memories of their time here on the website’s Memory Wall, with alumnus Martyn Hooton (BSc Applied Mathematics, 1991; PhD Mathematics and Statistics, 1996) contributing: ‘Six years at Birmingham shaped me, laid the foundations for a fulfilling career and left me with lasting friendships. It’s a great institution upholding free and creative thinking. Long may that continue through the generations of students following.’

Earlier this year alumni, staff and students gathered at the Exchange to celebrate 30 years since the launch of the MA Film and Television programme. Under the impressive Helios installation alumni of the programme Bhulla Beghal (MA Film and Television, 2016) and Sarah Learmonth (MA Film and Television, 2014) reflected on their time as students and of their ongoing participation with the degree programme as alumni volunteers, alumni community members and industry partners.

The evening also included the official launch of the new alumni documentary incubator scheme and guests heard from alumnus Alex Taylor (BA English and Film 2023; MA Film and Television 2024) about his experience piloting the scheme with his upcoming documentary about poet Michael Rosen.