It feels good to be gearing up for the start of another academic year and the surge of energy that comes from new and returning students coming onto campus. Although I know it probably feels far away already, I hope many of you managed to get a break over the summer. We got away for a bit in late July, and along with some lovely long swims and walks, I was finally able to read some novels (and a bit of philosophy) that have been sitting on my bedside table, untouched, since January.
Amazingly – at least for me – we are already approaching one year since the launch of our strategy, From Manchester for the World, last October. Since then, we have been focusing closely on implementing our first three-year work package and the initiatives prioritised within it. What has been encouraging is seeing how many of you are engaged in this process and helping us get off to a great start.
For some colleagues, the delivery of our strategy is already changing your day-to-day work. New initiatives around AI, Innovation,Teaching & Learning, and our volunteering and fund-raising campaign, Challenge accepted have hit the ground running. These involve a combination of both foundational work – focusing on providing the better systems and processes you told us to focus on – and laying the groundwork for our Leaps, which are aimed at setting us up to flourish in a rapidly changing higher education landscape in the UK and globally.
For others, the strategy may still feel a little distant or abstract. That will change from this fall when we begin to implement some of our major initiatives, such as Future Foundations, which is our new Finance and People system, bringing these two vital aspects of our organisation together for the first time in one modern digital platform.
As we move into year two of strategy delivery, we will launch delivery plans for several priority areas, including International, Research, Innovation, and Teaching & Learning. These plans are part of our commitment to implementing the strategy as transparently and efficiently as possible. They are the next layer down: helping us turn strategic ambition into practical action, with tangible activity and opportunities for colleagues and students to get involved.
I’m pleased to share the first of these today - our International Delivery Plan – with the rest coming soon.
Angie Wilson, Associate Vice-President International, and Colette Fagan, Vice-President Research, set out more about the plan, what it means for colleagues and how you can get involved, in this Viewpoint blog.
One important aspect of universities is our ability to reach and connect across borders. They help keep international collaboration, openness, understanding and – I hope – international and intercultural respect, alive. When the world can feel disconnected and uncertain, universities need to continue to engage.
I’ve talked a lot about the importance of place, and when I do, I often focus on Manchester and our city region. But our sense of place has always had a global dimension. Our community, partnerships and impact reach far beyond our campus – from our international students and colleagues, to our centres in Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore, to our many research and education partnerships around the world.
Of course, geopolitics shapes life on our campus in a range of ways - the consequences of which can generate deep disagreements and concerns for many in our community. This needs to inform our thinking about our international partnerships and how we stay true to our mission as a university as well as support our students and colleagues as best we can.
Over the last year, the International Committee has had extensive discussions about how best to align our international activities, on a principled basis, with our strategic ambitions, taking into consideration a wide range of views from colleagues and students. As you'll see, we have developed a new and more dynamic approach to the way we'll support colleagues in their international collaborations, and greater clarity about the criteria for and expectations around the investments we'll make.
I am grateful to everyone who has helped develop our new International Plan. You'll see similar detailed and careful work in the other delivery plans we'll be releasing in the coming weeks.
As we begin the second year of our strategy – only 8 more years to go :-) – our goal is to keep building the University we want and need to be – together.
There will continue to be opportunities for you to get involved, so please keep an eye out for those. And, as always (and as so many of you do!), please continue get in touch with your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. I really do value them.
Best wishes, D
