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All-staff session on global engagement – video available

01 July 2021

The University’s global engagement strategy and how colleagues in Malaysia and South Africa are helping deliver this was the focus of the all-staff briefing on Wednesday 30 June.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Paul Inman, University of Reading Malaysia Provost Wing Lam and Director of Henley Business School Africa Jon Foster-Pedley joined Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort for this session.

It is the first time that colleagues in Malaysia, South Africa and the UK came together for an all-staff session.

Introducing the session, Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort said the University of Reading is a global university that exists for the betterment of others. “Throughout our history, this obligation to give back and deliver equality and fairness to others has been achieved through our global connections and it seems really appropriate from Wing and Jon how colleagues in Malaysia and South Africa deliver that betterment of others in their own way and their own countries.”

In his presentation, Paul Inman updated colleagues on the 10 strategic priorities he outlined in his talk last December. He said the changing axis of the world from West to East created opportunities that our University could benefit from.

Wing Lam spoke about the competitive environment in Malaysia (there are nearly 500 higher education institutions in the country) and the challenge of intake planning with school results being declared at three different times. He said that University of Reading Malaysia was delivering on the engaged university principle as part of the Educity campus and as an institution that received 75% of its students from local area.

Jon Foster-Pedley spoke about the journey of Henley Business School Africa from “tiny little office of a few people in a room” to the thriving institution it is now. Between 2011 and 2021, its student numbers grew from 800 to 4500 and it exceeded the budgeted profit in 2021. During the same time, it has made rapid strides in diversifying its student population – attracting more women and Black students on its courses.

Participants said they appreciated hearing from Wing and Jon, asked a range of questions – around opportunities and risks involved in our global engagement strategy, whether British education was still prized in Asia and how to balance sustainability with growing global ambitions.

 

A video recording of the event can be accessed below:  

You can access the video directly on Microsoft Stream. 

The next all-staff session is on Monday 12 July at 11:00 and will provide an update on the Disability and Neurodiversity Review. All colleagues will be sent an Outlook Calendar invite ahead of the session. If you have any queries, please contact communications@reading.ac.uk. 

Videos of recent all-staff sessions 

Here are links to some of our other recent all-staff briefing sessions:

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