Our year in pictures

Striking mural tells the story of University’s net-zero ambitions
An eye-catching mural has been created by academics, students and artists on the side of the Sustainability Hub

Centuries of separation – project explores how isolation and loneliness has been experienced throughout history
Professor James Daybell is part of a £1.5m project that will examine how communication changed in the 16th and 17th centuries

University awarded £1.6 million to support sustainable fishing of critical species
The funding, from the government’s £100m UK Seafood Fund, will focus on pollack, sharks, skates, rays and black bream

Simulator transforms research into marine and maritime installations
The new technology will be used on research in sectors such as offshore renewable energy and clean maritime

Study identifies potential link between oral bacteria and brain abscesses
The research forms part of ongoing work taking place within the University’s Oral Microbiome Research Group

University expands training facility to help meet the demand for more dental professionals
The Chief Dental Officer for England, Sara Hurley, unveiled our expanded Simulated Dental Learning Environment

Ceremony held at University’s new home for engineering and design excellence
The transformed Babbage Building will provide a state-of-the-art space to inspire creativity, innovation and collaboration

Winchcombe meteorite holds information about the origin of Earth’s oceans
A study involving researchers in the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre reports the orbital history and first laboratory analyses of the meteorite.

Study demonstrates how microplastic particles differ across the Atlantic Ocean
The research was conducted by scientists at the University working with the charity eXXpedition

Expansion enables more to benefit from access to electron microscopy
The University has started investing more than £1.7million to enhance the Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre

Volvo Environment Prize 2022 awarded for world-leading microplastics research
Professor Richard Thompson OBE is one of three recipients of the prestigious annual accolade

How mushrooms become magic
Researchers in our School of Biological and Marine Sciences are examining why fungi evolve psychedelic properties

National Centre for Coastal Autonomy unlocks radical new capabilities for coastal science
Plymouth is now home to the UK’s first autonomous fully integrated coastal observing and monitoring network

University hosts South West MPs to discuss dental access crisis
Luke Pollard and Anthony Mangnall toured the cutting edge teaching facilities at the Peninsula Dental School

Partnership supports the next generation of ocean guardians
The University is building on its links with UK law firm Ashfords LLP

Partnership aims to inspire the autistic animators of the future
Plymouth Institute of Education is working with DaniMation Entertainment to help young people consider new skills and opportunities

Graduation 2022 enables thousands to celebrate achievements
During five days of ceremonies, graduates from across the University marked the completion of their undergraduate and postgraduate studies

University works on £1.9million project to evaluate asthma monitoring phone apps
The Technology Enhanced integrAted asthMa care (TEAM-care) project will examine the performance of two commercially available products

Augmented reality provides a snapshot of Plymouth’s past
The AR/chive project unlock a series of heritage films from the British Film Institute archive featuring Plymouth's post-war reconstruction

New study finds care home residents benefit from robot pets
Robot pets help the wellbeing of care home residents and those with dementia

Study links cold water shock to catastrophic coral collapse in the Eastern Pacific
An international team of scientists used 25 years of reef survey and sea surface temperature data to document changes in coral cover

University hosts Ukrainian medical students in new summer school
Seven students from regions around the country, including Kharkiv, visited the University to enhance their clinical skills

Could shipworms be destroying the wreck of Captain Cook’s Endeavour?
Dr Reuben Shipway has studied the wreck thought to be HMS Endeavour and identified the particular species present at the wreck site

University and BMT join forces to improve cyber security in the maritime sector
The partnership will look to harness the capabilities of the University’s £3.2million Cyber-SHIP Lab

Research recommends safer approach to removing casualties from car accidents
Professor Tim Nutbeam has led research calling for a revised approach to how emergency services respond to patients in motor vehicle collisions

Academic elected as President of Academy of Medical Educators
Dr Nick Cooper has been elected as the next President of the Academy of Medical Educators

University and Great Britain Sail Grand Prix join forces to create high quality internship opportunities
Our students will be taking on 11 roles as Sail GP returns to Plymouth in 2022

New campus to further ambitions of University international partner
Peninsula College, Malaysia, has opened its Ship Campus in Batu Kawan Industrial Park in Penang

Sand dunes experience significant erosion due to sea-level rise and extreme storms
Researchers believe the dunes covered in a new study could retreat anywhere between 20 and 75 metres between now and 2100

World-renowned health expert to become our new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for research and innovation
Professor Archie Clements will join the University in September

University of Plymouth and University College Cork agree climate partnership
The first initiative under the agreement will see early career researchers funded to conduct research supervised by academics in the UK and Ireland

Survey assesses impact of organised crime on Devon and Cornwall’s farming communities
Researchers from the University are working to identify and map the impacts of organised crime in rural areas

Plymouth’s IGNITE Festival of Creativity returns
Award-winning festival and digital platform for city’s creative graduates returns with a new employment programme

Company makes significant progress with raspberry harvesting robots
The robots developed by Fieldwork Robotics have been deployed commercially in two locations in Portugal

New book examines the forfeit fathers pay for balancing family and full-time work
Caregiving Fathers in the Workplace – Organisational Experiences and the Fatherhood Forfeit draws upon years of research by Dr Jasmine Kelland, exploring the experiences and perceptions of caregiving fathers in the UK

Supporters welcomed back to see University’s pioneering research into brain tumours
Caprice joined families and patients on a tour of the University's Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence

Collaboration accelerates development of offshore renewable innovations
The University and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult have agreed to work in partnership

£1m to unite generations in developing technologies for coastal communities
The ICONIC project will launch later this year thanks to £1m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Extreme storms could help protect beaches from sea-level rise
An international team of researchers has found sand movements stirred up by intense storms may offset some of the impacts of coastal erosion

Experiments aid in the restoration of seagrass in Plymouth Sound
Tests in our COAST Laboratory have looked at how seagrass planting units are influenced by hydrodynamic forces

International project aims to understand and protect endangered sea turtles
The 18-month project will see ResM student Naomi Westlake working closely with leading researchers in the UK and Grenada

First UK charging network for electric maritime vessels launched in Plymouth
A series of high power DC electric charging stations has been switched on around Plymouth Sound National Marine Park

Half a million to further digital innovation for people with Parkinson’s
The Parkinson's home-based care pathway has received a funding boost of nearly £500,000 from NHS Transformation’s Digital Health Partnership Award

University appoints new Deputy Vice-Chancellor to lead student education and experience
Professor John Curnow to join from Birmingham

Enabling North Devon to become the UK’s first World Surfing Reserve
The University of Plymouth has played a key role in the region being recognised for the quality of its waves and its thriving blue economy

Plymouth named among world’s top universities for marine excellence and climate action
The University has been named among the top 5% of global universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022

Life in the freezer – study provides first evidence of growth limitations in Antarctic fish
Research by the University and British Antarctic Survey shows the fish have lost the ability to grow at rates seen in their warmer water cousins

University partners with world-leading simulator provider to revolutionise floating offshore wind installations
A state-of-the-art Kongsberg K-Sim Dynamic Positioning simulator will be installed on the University’s campus

Schools receive prestigious national mark for commitment to gender equality
Three Schools in the Faculty of Health have been collectively recognised for their gender equality work – receiving an Athena SWAN Silver Award

Losing the cover of darkness
A new study shows how advances in street lighting are reducing the efficacy of coastal species’ camouflage

New facility opens to transform brain research in South West
The Brain Research & Imaging Centre (BRIC) will help to better understand brain activity and human behaviour

University invites local communities to apply for new collaborative research projects
The launch of the Get Involved Awards

Social work academic receives British Empire Medal
Harrison Dax Nash received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to the children of South Africa

University receives Gold Award for LGBT+ inclusion
The University has been praised by the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index

Economic and social impact of the University unveiled in new report
Institution contributes more than a quarter of a billion pounds to South West economy

Study shows how temperate rainforests can aid the fight against climate change
New research has shown that producing the amount of trees required to meet UK net-zero targets is unlikely to be achieved through natural means alone

Plymouth wins bid to run first residential dental summer school
The University will be hosting the UK’s first residential programme based around dentistry

Venetian glass bead and Chinese porcelain among star finds at Plymouth’s first navy supply yard
Experts from the University and Plymouth Archaeology Society have been leading excavations at the earliest Royal Navy victualling yard in Plymouth

Critical care course is first in UK to receive prestigious accreditation
The Advanced Critical Care Practitioner (ACCP) programme has been accredited by the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM)