Aston University partners with Birmingham 2022

10th February 2022

Aston University has been announced as an official university to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will take place between 28 July and 8 August this year. 

The university’s School of Optometry will be loaning equipment and providing eye care expertise to athletes and team officials requiring medical assessment and treatment throughout the Games. The university will also be supporting the event’s aim to create a carbon neutral legacy, by providing parking space on campus and hosting temporary electric vehicle charging facilities for the organising team’s fleet.

Birmingham 2022 has also provided this year’s business challenge for postgraduate Business and Management students at Aston Business School, who have been tasked with developing ideas for how the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games can create a lasting sustainability legacy for the city. The best ideas from the challenge will be reviewed by the Birmingham 2022 team and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

This partnership is a great example of how the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is nurturing local talent, by providing opportunities for students in the Midlands to develop their skills, gain experience working with a major international event, and contribute to the region’s carbon neutral ambitions.

Dr Pam Venning, head of medical services at Birmingham 2022, said: “We are delighted to have Aston University on board as an official university. Birmingham 2022 wouldn’t be possible without teams of volunteers, and we are looking forward to working with the optometrists, opticians and ophthalmologists assembled by the university to support the athletes and officials attending the Games.”

Saskia Loer Hansen, Interim Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, said: “At Aston University, we take an holistic approach that embeds sustainability through all our external activities at local, national and international level. We are proud to support the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in its aim to be the first Games to create a carbon neutral legacy.”