Loughborough University (abbreviated as Lough or Lboro for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when Loughborough Technical Institute began with a focus on skills directly applicable in the wider world. In March 2013, the university announced it had bought the former broadcast centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as a second campus. It belonged to the 1994 Group of smaller research universities until the group dissolved in November 2013. Its annual income for 2020–2021 was £308.9 million, of which £35.5 million was from research grants and contracts.