In 2023, our Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI), celebrated its first 10 years of successful operation.

The ESI, on the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, examines the problems caused by environmental change – and seeks solutions.

The ESI’s work and achievements cover a wide range of areas, from light pollution and anti-microbial resistance to sustainable fashion and solar energy.

“Our overarching goal is to work with natural systems for sustainable futures,” said outgoing ESI Director Professor Jane Wills.

“To achieve this, our work has had impact in four key areas: understanding environmental and ecological change; conserving and regenerating nature;, informing sustainability policy and practice; and powering the future.

“We are proud of the work we’ve done and the community we’ve built over the last decade, and we’re now looking ahead to the next 10 years.”

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“I’m delighted that we are able to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the University of Exeter, Cornwall.

Our Penryn Campus has gone from strength-to-strength since its inception, and now leads the way in forging a greener, healthier, fairer future.  The research and education taking place here is putting our University and our region on the map as an international hub for sustainability and, coupled with the enormous potential of the county, places us at the forefront of the global efforts to tackle the climate emergency and ecological crisis.
 
It has also been 20 years since we began teaching Medicine students (BMBS) in Truro, originally as part of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, then within Exeter Medical School since 2013.  Our work in this area is making an enormous difference to the health of people across our region and in the wider world.

I would like to congratulate all colleagues for making our Cornwall campuses such an enormous success, and as we look to the future, I am full of optimism for what can be achieved in the next 20 years.”

Professor Lisa Roberts, President and Vice-Chancellor at The University of Exeter

Penryn Campus received a visit from the late Queen Elizabeth II and husband the Duke of Edinburgh on 1 June 2006 to open the new Learning Resources Centre, where the Queen unveiled a plaque.

They also met with local dignitaries, residents, and staff and students from both universities, including Sir Steve Smith, the Leyshons (and their four-year-old daughter Miriam who presented the Queen with flowers); Stephan Harrison, Terri Stoddern and Brendan Godley.

Here is the Queen talking to Professor Annette Broderick about her research.

“In the last 20 years, the University of Exeter has established campuses in Penryn and Truro, driven by a strategic desire to grow research, education and partnership activities in Cornwall in alignment with regional priorities. 

Twenty years on, I am immensely proud of our shared successes, from the thousands of graduates who have enriched communities in Cornwall, across the UK and internationally, to our outstanding achievements in research. It is also with great pride and gratitude that we celebrate our strong partnerships with local businesses and decision makers.

As a civic University, our role in harnessing our excellence in teaching and research to deliver a positive impact for the people of Cornwall, and beyond, is more crucial than ever. Looking ahead to the next 20 years, our expertise in areas such as critical minerals, sustainable mining, offshore wind energy, ecology and conservation, Cornish culture, the environment and human health, and Space and data science, to name but a few, will help to build a thriving healthy, fair and green society in Cornwall.”

Professor Martin Siegert – Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Cornwall), University of Exeter

In November 2023, the University of Exeter, Cornwall launched a new initiative to expand the interdisciplinary nature of its Masters programmes and help create a cohesive community of postgraduate students across its Penryn campus.

The Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability brings together experts from across the spectrum of earth and life sciences, engineering, humanities, social sciences and business.

The Graduate School supports a key aim of the University’s Strategy 2030 to “grow our research, education and partnership activities in Cornwall, aligning our activities with regional priorities and building on our reputation for sustainability”. 

It will ultimately be situated in a new facility that will adjoin the Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) and be opened in 2025-26, where students will benefit from new postgraduate teaching and collaborative learning space.

Professor Brendan Godley, Chair in Conservation Science, who leads the initiative said: “Bringing our programmes and academics together will help students to understand links between the climate and biodiversity crisis, the need for critical minerals, the development of renewable energy solutions, the impact on communities and human health, and new methods of doing business, in ways that are fair for people across the world. 

“It will ensure our graduates are able to approach problems in different ways, consider different perspectives, and deal with complex challenges.”

Plans are underway to further develop the portfolio of courses offered, including potential for Executive Education and Degree Apprenticeships. Visit the Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability website

The Leyshons were originally lecturers at Streatham Campus and expressed an interested in transferring to Tremough when asked. At that time Kate was a junior lecturer, Grade B, and Mike a Grade A.  They came to visit what was just a building site in May 2003; there were no walls, just subframes and were told ‘This is where the Stannary will be – just imagine it’.  They recall aircon being routed on the wrong side of what was thought to be a north-facing building, but was actually south-facing, making the postgrad’s room unbearably cold. Also of architects’ plans of a computer room…without any sockets.  They came to work wearing boots and hard hats.
 
By January 2004, Kate had been made Head of Department, along with the responsibility for writing four degree programmes and recruiting students. It was a tight turnaround on all counts but they succeeded in recruiting 37 students to the first Geography cohort with a team of 6 academics. Their students were very outdoor-oriented, keen to learn, predominantly from state schools with a large proportion of WP.

They describe how amazing it was to have EU investment to buy good quality equipment, but also how far they felt they were from ‘the mothership’ and just had to get on with it and make things work. They came to enjoy this freedom.

In 2007 Geography moved to the newly built Peter Lanyon building, which is where the tennis courts were previously.

And of the future, Kate wishes for Cornwall to continue to be innovative.

Completed in 2007, the second new teaching building to be constructed at Penryn Campus was named after Peter Lanyon (1918-1964). But who was he?

Born on 8 February in St. Ives, Cornwall, the only son of Herbert and Lilian Lanyon. He is best known for the development of a new and highly distinctive approach to landscape painting, although he experimented widely with a number of different media.  Lanyon started to pain seriously during the late 1930s and became a key figure in the St Ives School where he was the only Cornishman amongst the leading figures of that movement. However abstract his paintings appear, they were always based on an intimate knowledge and closely observed relationship with location. He is one of the foremost British artists of the 20^th Century.

HRH the Earl of Wessex officially opened the Peter Lanyon building on 19 November 2007.

Dating as far back as 1309 when Nicolas de Tremoghe is recorded as being a chief parishioner in the ‘Chapelry of St. Laudius near Penren’ – it is fair to say that the estate has a long and interesting past. We thought we’d share a little of it here.

The beginning…

It is thought that the name Tremough is derived from the Cornish word ‘Tre’ which means ‘house’ and ‘moch’ which means ‘pigs’. This coupled with the fact that West Street in Penryn – which previously led directly to Tremough – used to be called Pig Street, suggests that the Tremough family may well have started off as pig farmers.

The family lived on the site until the 1600’s which, at that time, consisted of parcels of land that roughly extended from what is now the roundabout situated outside the campus, down to the edge of Penryn.

Changing hands…

In 1703 a successful local merchant, John Worth, bought the estate and built the house, starting the creation of the estate we know today. He had married Bridget Trefusis, a member of the prominent Flushing dynasty, four years earlier, and would go on to become High Sheriff of Cornwall. During his time at Tremough, he also introduced an avenue of lime trees and a small deer park in the grounds.

Continue reading about the History of Penryn Campus

When Nathan joined in 1996, he only thought he’d be here a few years, as he liked change. 28 years on Nathan tells us it’s the constant change that has kept him here.

He was one of the first few people to come and work at Penryn Campus back in 1999, to assess the IT challenge. In fact the nuns were still living here, and the old stable block was set in time from the old convent school days; science labs with bell jars and gas taps covered in cobwebs – a bit like Hogwarts! The stable block became the Stannary when the Daphne Du Maurier building was completed in 2003. The square cut out shape in the Upper Stannary is a hangover from the stable block design. The main campus entrance was by Tremough House.

Trying to design the IT infrastructure in 2002/3 was a huge challenge, as there were no staff nor idea of what was going to be taught. At that time there wasn’t a plan for research, but the focus swiftly changed with the approach of REF 2004. Nathan had to shift his focus on delivering to these new requirements on top of meeting the needs of two universities. 

Falmouth University started teaching in the Design Centre mid-2003, whereas Exeter began in September 2004. 

Nathan likes the strong community feel at Penryn Campus caused by shared experiences and a common goal.

Building on the success of the Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, the institution is proposing to invest in a new facility to expand its sustainable futures research and teaching. Currently in the design phase, the new three-storey facility is fundamental to the University’s Strategy 2030 ambition to “grow our research, education and partnership activities in Cornwall.”

The new space will provide much-needed space for innovation, creativity, learning and discovery, collaboration and community, where interdisciplinary research and teaching can make a profound and positive difference to our world, now and for decades to come. 

Professor Martin Siegert, Deputy Vice Chancellor, is responsible for activity and strategic development in Cornwall at the University. He said: “Our goal is for our Penryn Campus to have a global reputation of expertise in sustainability, where we deliver practical solutions to create a just and sustainable future and solve world-wide environmental issues. 

“The new space will allow our team to substantially grow environmental and human health areas of research, to train the next generation of environmentalists and to engage further with businesses and partners within the South West region and globally. 

“It will also increase capacity for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and include state of the art laboratories and collaborative space that will enable us to deliver new, interconnected programmes of learning that are focussed on Future Sustainable Skills.

“This will put Penryn on the map as an international hub for net zero, clean growth and nature recovery research and teaching.”

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If you thought the swimming pool at Penryn Campus was merely the stuff of myth and legend, you are mistaken. When the campus was bought in 1999, there was an old swimming pool located where you would now find the Masters Suite and Students’ Union. Sadly, it had to be filled in so that the Daphne Du Maurier building – the first university building on campus – could be built. 

What you will still find, though, is a pond in the shape of a five-pointed star in a beautiful grotto, just off the old lane. It was made by members of American Forces stationed at Tremough Convent during the Second World War.

This photograph was taken in January 2004 by Paul Jordan at Penryn Museum. It shows the building of Glasney Parc student residences in the foreground with an unfinished Daphne Du Maurier building further back.

Costing £17.4m, the residences were built by local building contractor, Midas with architects Percy Thomas Partnership. The 150-strong workforce was led by Penryn-born Keith Hosen and where possible local suppliers were used. The project was completed in August 2004.

Richard joined in 2000 and remembers being inspired to come by David Bryant in a room upstairs in the Hatherly Labs at Streatham Campus when the campus in Cornwall did not even exist.

With just the DDM building at Penryn, his first cohort in 2004 consisted of 6 students and 6 staff, which grew to 260 students and 60 staff. He is proud of this growth but also in the autonomy which has allowed Ecology and Conservation at Penryn to be able to thrive, for example being able to invest millions of pounds into the first molecular lab, which is now one of many. He finds it very special for students to be learning about biodiversity here in Cornwall, where there is an abundance of biodiversity.

As for the future, Richard would like the Penryn Campus to be known for the Environment, and to continue to invest and grow its capabilities for even more impact.

In May 2018, a pioneering new renewable energy teaching and research centre was officially opened on the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

The £1.77m Renewable Energy Engineering Facility (REEF) provides dedicated workshop and laboratory space for individual and small group student research projects in Renewable Energy.

Part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and match funded by the University of Exeter capital investment, the REEF facility enhances the University’s teaching facilities for clean energy technologies.

It is designed to give students the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge gained in lectures for a number of clean energy technologies, such as measuring a real wind speed as is required for a wind energy project development, measuring how well an engine runs on bio-diesel or to see the electrical output of a solar panel under actual sunlight.

The facility was officially opened at a recent ceremony, attended by the Mayor of Falmouth and Deputy Mayor of Penryn, as well as VIPs, staff and students.  Martyn Haywood, a retired University of Exeter lecturer in Renewable Engineering, who named the building, cut the ribbon to officially open the building.

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Brendan joined in 2003 as a Lecturer and, as the campus was still a building site, he gave hard hat campus tours, ran open days from the Falmouth Beach Hotel (that has since sadly burned down) and enjoyed working from home – long before it became a thing! As a small campus, we were sometimes forgotten but this would often work to our advantage as we could just get on with getting things done, and thrived because of it.

Brendan fondly remembers their first external seminar in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation was delivered by local environmental champion Colin Speedie in DDM Seminar A on the topic of basking sharks. Every single person in the department attended!

He is proud of the fact that the University has become an engine to help prosperity in the county. While it is not without its challenges, the growth of the campus has, undoubtedly been a great force for good. People very much choose to work and study here in Cornwall, which makes for a joyous place to work. Additionally, as we have grown, we have started to become a destination for overseas students, particularly for MSc training. Appointing academic staff that have trained with us as undergraduate and masters students has also been a highlight for Brendan.

Of the future, Brendan thinks the University of Exeter, Cornwall will continue to thrive as long as we continue to adapt and the academic departments work ever more closely together. We should continue to drive forward with environment and sustainability being our major focus.

At the University of Exeter, Cornwall, we deliver the excellence in teaching and research that goes hand in hand with being a top Russell Group University, in a cosier, more relaxed location by the sea.  

Penryn Campus is a modern, coastal campus near Falmouth, where environment and sustainability are embedded into our core.  This unique and beautiful location has a vibrant cultural scene, in part from sharing facilities with Falmouth University. You’ll be part of a close-knit community of around 6000 students, where you’ll have great access to your lecturers and facilities.

Facilities include a library that is open 24/7, Sports Centre including gym, sports hall and fitness classes, catered or self-catered on-campus accommodation, specialist teaching spaces and a variety of modern study spaces.

The Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union is central to student life; home to more than 150 societies and clubs. The team is also on hand to provide support and advice, champion the student voice, and help make your university experience the best it can be.

There’s plenty to do here all year round, either on-campus or in the local towns of Penryn and Falmouth, where you’ll find a wide range of eateries, bars, live music, cinema and open mic nights.  We’re close to the beach, where you can enjoy a variety of watersports, walk the coastal path or meet friends. Falmouth plays host to a calendar of events, such as the Sea Shanty Festival and Oyster Festival. The county’s capital, Truro and all it has to offer from shops and markets to theatre and dining, is only 15 minutes away by train.

Find out more about our programmes and come and see for yourself at an open day for postgraduates or undegraduates.

In September 2023, the Universities of Exeter and Falmouth signed a Civic University Agreement with Cornwall Council, the Council of the Isles of Scilly and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board.

This civic strategy brings the two universities together with the councils and the ICB to work in collaboration to support the region’s growth and prosperity.

Through the Agreement, the universities will explore with local partners how their facilities and specialist resources, teaching and skills, and research and knowledge exchange can be leveraged for the benefit of the region’s businesses and communities.
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An independent economic study by Oxford Economics, based upon the University’s activities during the 2020/21 academic year found that our work has a profound impact on the regional and local economies where our Exeter and Cornwall campuses and research sites are situated. Through our own expenditure, and by attracting students and visitors who in turn spend money, we stimulate thousands of local jobs and support economic activity.

In the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (CIOS) local partnership area our Gross Value-Added (GVA) contribution, the amount of value that the University adds to the Gross Domestic Product of the Cornwall economy, was £73.5m and we supported 1900 jobs in 2020/21. Read more