The vision for the University: Where are we going?
The vision for the University Strategic Plan is to create an institution of which we can all be proud:
- a diverse and supported colleague and student community,
- research with real impact economically, socially and culturally,
- broader student experience among the best in the country,
- the greenest university in the UK and a global leader in environmental sustainability, and
- seen by our local community as a positive contributor to Reading and the Thames Valley region
- a valued partner of the local councils and major businesses in the region.
- a globally connected university that makes a positive contribution to the world
We will remain a broad–based research–intensive university known for the excellence of both our education and our research. We will be in the top 200 world universities and the top 25 UK universities in THE rankings.
This will be achieved through:
- allowing strong distributed leadership with people empowered to make decisions in their own sphere of responsibility,
- achieving financially sustainability, generating operational surpluses for investment in people, infrastructure and systems through efficient working throughout all we do
- creating thriving academic disciplines with no academic unit in fourth quartile and all being research–active,
- providing a distinctive offering for students based on research-led/informed education and with opportunities created through local, national and international partnerships,
- ensuring students are successfully prepared for graduate–level jobs and can develop as young adults through extra-curricular offering,
- preparing students – home and international – for global citizenship,
- embedding smart working with a hybrid learning and working model that makes efficient use of our estate and our technology,
- building commercial activity into the University academic operation as an integrated part of our day-to-day work: income generation and potential to improve the student experience and employability and extend and broaden the impact of our research.
The future size of the University to be a consequence of this desired shape, not an objective in its own right. We will need to increase student numbers, up to 20,000 in the UK by 2025. This cannot be at the expense of our entry tariff and our ability to delivery a quality experience, and so we will look to growth of PGT and international students and expansion of transnational education based on a variety of models.