Paul Preston: Education is important to me

As I begin the last month of my appointment to Council I wanted to thank each and every member of the university community for their good humour, hard work and dedication, and for responding to the issues and challenges of the past years with creativity and determination.

Education is important to me, it has helped to transform my life and it has opened up a world of new experiences and opportunity. That is why I feel privileged to have served on Council and, as President, in a small way to have helped to create an environment that supports the quest for knowledge, defends the right to freedom of speech and academic freedom, teaches our students, broadens their horizons and prepares them for their chosen field of employment. I am always delighted to attend Graduation ceremonies and witness the joy and happiness of parents and students as they celebrate their success and also to be able to meet some of the amazing individuals who receive Honorary Degrees from the university. It is easy to be in awe of some of their achievements. Past students have fond memories of their time at Reading, some now even bringing their own children back to Open Days with the thought of them studying here.

When I joined Council in 2010 few people would have predicted that we would face a devastating pandemic, the like of which has never been seen in modern times, and that we would be witnessing conflict in Europe. Then, things were very different. Council papers, literally up to 700 sheets of paper, would be delivered by post, or if you were not available to sign for them then it required a trip to the post office to collect them! Now with advances in technology our meetings are paperless, we can sign documents electronically and we can meet virtually. Then, it was a time of Student Numbers Control when the government would agree how many students and at what grades each university could recruit, if they exceeded this then they would face a financial penalty. Now of course we operate in an environment where universities are in competition for students and it has become important to find a point of differentiation so that students put us as their first choice rather than another university. Reputation becomes increasingly important, often expressed through league table positions or what our students say about us. So we must look forward knowing that change will be rapid and we must ensure that we are ready to compete in this new world.

I was asked recently what I considered to be my biggest achievement. Although I can take none of the credit I am particularly pleased that we have begun to form exciting partnerships with globally recognised institutions such as the British Museum and The Natural History Museum, that we have established a collaboration with Shinfield Studios and of course reaching an agreement to bring the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) onto the Whiteknights campus. Each of these will bring unrivalled opportunities for our academics to work in collaboration and offer our students a unique experience not available in any other university; a true point of differentiation that will set us apart from the competition.

I have fond memories of being able to attend the opening ceremony of our magnificent campus in Malaysia and also the launch of our School of Architecture. We have also been able to set a bold, visionary strategy for the future and colleagues are now busy working through the plans and embracing the many changes. As well as planned changes to the academic year, we have a new teaching and learning strategy and we are focussing on the size and shape of university that best meets the expectations of the future. Perhaps most ambitious is our commitment to be the greenest university and to be net carbon neutral by2030; a most fitting objective for a university that is a leader in climate science.

I am delighted that our work has received wider recognition with the university recently being awarded the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize and some of our colleagues being personally recognised for their outstanding contribution in the Honours List.

I am of course saddened to be leaving the university after such a long time, my time is served, but I know that I do so with the university being in good shape to meet the challenges of the future and I wish my successor, Helen Gordon, the very best in her new role. I am certain that the university will continue to go from strength to strength.

Finally, I would like to thank each of the colleagues who have given me help and support during the past years, you will be missed.