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A first update from our new university Leadership Forum

TLDRoffon

The group, whose inaugural meeting took place at the end of September, includes leaders from across our Academic departments and Professional Services directorates.

The aims of the Leadership Forum are: 

  • For briefing and discussion regarding important strategic matters facing the university.
  • To provide the opportunity for senior staff to ask the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, and other senior leaders questions.
  • To allow senior staff from across the university to network and discuss opportunities for collaboration.

The forum began with updates from the Vice-Chancellor David Maguire, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Karen Bryan, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Javier Bonet. The headline points from these include: 

  • The recent programme of restructures has been completed. The university leadership recognises that this was a difficult time for many colleagues and hope that academic departments and professional services directorates are now ready to look towards the future. 
  • The university is on a secure financial footing as a result of the restructure and an improved performance in student recruitment. However, there are many factors outside the university's control that might affect our long-term financial position, including the impact of Brexit, uncertainty regarding our obligations to pay and pension contributions, and the current government review of post-18 education funding.
  • Looking ahead to 2018-19, the priority areas for us all to address are the student experience, student progression and retention, graduate employment, and preparations for the REF census in 2020. There continue to be factors outside the university's control, including the impact of Brexit and the current government review of post-18 education funding which we will continue to keep under review and plan for accordingly.
  • The university will continue preparations for REF 2021 and TEF 2020 through the GREAT research assessment exercise and an internal subject-TEF assessment respective. We have also applied to participate in the government's ongoing subject-TEF pilot programme. 
  • We are pleased by several recent developments including the opening of the Dreadnought building, the first intake of students to the University of Greenwich International College, and the £22 million of research income we secured over the 2017-18 academic year. 

Karen Bryan also introduced our new Academic and Student Experience Strategy, which will lead our efforts to improve learning and teaching and students' experiences at the university over the next four years. 

The four pillars of this strategy are:

  • Excellent, innovative and sustainable programmes and curricula
  • Assessment for success and development
  • Personalised learning, support and enrichment
  • A welcome, inclusive, and engaging community

The forum also discussed updates to the university website and plans to continue effective communication with graduates in preparation for the new national Graduate Outcomes Survey.

The next Leadership Forum will take place on 25 January at Medway campus and we will provide an update for all staff after that meeting. If you would like to know more about these or the other subjects covered here please speak to the senior staff in your faculty or directorate.