Since my arrival last August\u00a0I have been meeting colleagues from across the whole of the University,\u00a0in school and department meetings and open forums to discuss current issues facing us and aspirations for the future. You have told me what you think works well about the University, what does not work as well as you would like and what you would like to see done differently.<\/p>\n
My first impressions have been reinforced by these discussions and my experience of being here at Kent\u00a0over the last nine months.\u00a0We have enormous strengths in education and research. We have a cooperative and collegial spirit. We have fantastic assets:\u00a0our staff, our students, our campuses in Canterbury and Medway; our European footprint and brand; and our proximity to London.\u00a0I believe we also have an incredible opportunity to further contribute to our region with the green light we have recently been given to establish the Kent and Medway Medical School in collaboration with Canterbury Christ\u00a0Church University and NHS partners.<\/p>\n
But there are also areas where\u00a0you tell me we\u00a0could do better. Many of you have told me that\u00a0our leadership is too distant,\u00a0we are too risk averse, our decisions take too long, we operate in silos and we can be overly\u00a0bureaucratic. As an institution, our research\u00a0and innovation income does not reflect the quality of the work we do\u00a0and our external profile does not reflect the excellence and innovation of our research and education activity. Our finances are being increasingly squeezed, competition for the best staff and students is increasing and there is growing pressure from other universities in national and international league tables.<\/p>\n
In addition, over the last year or so, there have been some major changes externally. There\u00a0is a new regulatory environment. \u00a0Brexit is casting\u00a0a shadow\u00a0of uncertainty.\u00a0Future funding arrangements for Higher Education\u00a0are now being examined\u00a0in a major government review, pensions are in the spotlight, public perceptions of universities and their role is changing and the university sector as a whole has been receiving almost unprecedented\u00a0negative media coverage.<\/p>\n
So now is a good time to think about\u00a0how\u00a0the strategy set out in the 2015-2020\u00a0institutional plan\u00a0might be refreshed to enable us\u00a0to\u00a0meet the\u00a0challenges\u00a0and opportunities\u00a0that lie ahead.\u00a0This is not about \u2018ripping up\u2019 the old plan. Rather it is\u00a0about re-engaging with some of the original ambitions, mission and values on which our University was founded,\u00a0building\u00a0on\u00a0our\u00a0current\u00a0achievements\u00a0in Education, Research and Innovation, and Engagement,\u00a0focussing\u00a0our activity and investment\u00a0in these areas\u00a0and\u00a0working together\u00a0to re-imagine what we could be\u00a0and how we want to do things. I want to use\u00a0our 60th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary, in 2025,\u00a0as a focus.<\/p>\n Against this back drop people tell me they want\u00a0our University to be:<\/p>\n In\u00a0order to achieve this vision\u00a0we need to review our strategy and renew\u00a0our\u00a0ambitions\u00a0for our research, education and engagement activities. Each\u00a0enhances the other and we need to balance investment across these activities.<\/p>\n On\u00a0Education<\/strong>, we must focus\u00a0on continuing to offer\u00a0one of the best education and student experiences in the UK. It is an area where we have done well. There is no reason why we cannot be a\u00a0\u2018top 10\u2019\u00a0UK university\u00a0in this regard.\u00a0We have TEF Gold, we can be more agile if we choose to be and we have many assets to draw on.<\/p>\n On\u00a0Research and Innovation,<\/strong>\u00a0we\u00a0need to raise our\u00a0research\u00a0profile and can do this through\u00a0promoting\u00a0and investing in\u00a0our\u00a0high quality, world leading\u00a0areas of\u00a0research that Kent is known for and create a \u2018Halo effect\u2019 for the University. We should do more to turn our ideas into the products and services on which our economy and society depends.<\/p>\n On\u00a0Engagement<\/strong>, we need a renewed focus on our role as an anchor institution, understanding\u00a0how we deliver outstanding academic, social, intellectual, public and economic benefits for our region.<\/p>\n Alongside\u00a0focussing on\u00a0what we want to achieve in terms of Education, Research and Engagement, there has to be attention to what we need to do to enable this to\u00a0happen. We need to look at some of the ways we do things, how we work and make decisions, how we engage and communicate across the university.<\/p>\n We need clear strategies for supporting, rewarding and developing\u00a0our staff, targeted investment in\u00a0our physical\u00a0and the\u00a0digital environment,\u00a0so that this aligns with our academic plans; appropriate\u00a0international and European policies;\u00a0and we will need to ensure\u00a0that we have the resources to do all this.<\/p>\n Your\u00a0Feedback<\/strong><\/p>\n Reviewing our University strategy is an iterative process and the renewed ambitions I set out above, and the actions needed to achieve them,\u00a0of course\u00a0require further\u00a0input. While this will\u00a0take place through existing University mechanisms such as Education Board, Research and Innovation Board and Senate I would like to hear from you directly.<\/p>\n The new Strategy Refresh Website<\/a> contains a consultation document. I would like your views on our future, our ambitions and the actions we need to be taking now to ensure the University of Kent is successful over the next fifty years and beyond.\u00a0I would like your thoughts, your ideas and your feedback.<\/p>\n The website will be open for comments until Friday 1st June.<\/p>\n Next Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n I will be\u00a0updating\u00a0the\u00a0University Council\u00a0on\u00a0progress\u00a0at the end of the summer term and will include a summary of staff views. These\u00a0will also be available on the Strategy Refresh Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the autumn term there will be further\u00a0work to refine and develop these ideas.<\/p>\n I look forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor and President<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n