The Chinese Ministry of Education gave official approval shortly after, making UNNC the first joint-venture university to obtain legal status as an independent campus in China.

[4] Construction on a purpose-built 144-acre campus began in April 2004 and was completed in time for the second intake of students in September 2005.

[9] In December 2007, founding Provost Ian Gow OBE published an article in a discussion paper titled ‘British Universities in China: The Reality Beyond the Rhetoric’.

[1] The article, drawing on his experience as founding Provost of UNNC, cautioned British universities that they must acquire a more thorough understanding of Chinese higher education policy if they were to succeed in building successful strategic alliances over the long-term, especially in light of China's growing presence as a major educational hub and research and development power.

[11] In 2018, Stephen Morgan, who served as Nottingham Ningbo's associate provost since 2016, was removed from its management board for criticizing the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and being a critic of broader Chinese Communist Party-backed initiatives in the university, but remained on the faculty.