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This week we are publishing our new strategy - »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ 2035: Creating Progressive Futures – flourishing, sustainability and progress for the whole world. In this article, we are looking back at how the core themes of the strategy – education and student life, research and innovation, and global and civic engagement – were developed. More than 900 people contributed their ideas at engagement events led by one of our Pro-Vice-Chancellors, ensuring the themes reflect the strengths and priorities of our whole University community.

Education and Student Life

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Kate O’Riordan led the development of the education and student life theme, hosting an open forum for staff to discuss how our strategy could help our students and staff flourish.

Goals

• We will create progressive futures through education and student life at »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ. Through our strategic actions, »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ will be a first-choice university for ambitious, creative, and forward-thinking students.
• We will support students from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences to flourish here and beyond, equipping them for life and work in a changing world.
• We will equip our students for global citizenship and for life and work in a changing world by embedding environmental sustainability, human flourishing, and digital and data futures in the curriculum.
• In partnership with our students, we will deliver improvement and excellence in all aspects of education and student life.

Research and Innovation

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Keith Jones oversaw the development of our second theme, inviting staff to a hybrid event where they were invited to think about how »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ 2035 can help us continue to grow our research infrastructure while attracting ambitious, creative and forward-thinking researchers from the UK and abroad.

Goals

• We will create progressive futures through our research and innovation. Through our strategic actions, »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ will be a first-choice university for ambitious, creative, and forward-thinking researchers. 
• We will contribute rigorous, impactful knowledge towards an environmentally sustainable, socially just, technologically empowered, healthy and economically vibrant world.
• We will broaden and deepen our research and innovation base and partnerships to promote global knowledge equity, supported by open research practices.  
• We will strengthen our research and innovation base to enhance excellence in research and innovation across all our disciplines and interdisciplinary fields.

Global and Civic Engagement

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Robin Banerjee led the development of the global and civic engagement theme, with an open forum to discuss how we should work with external partners locally and internationally to advance the wider goals of the University.

Goals

• We will create progressive futures through our global and civic engagement. We will strengthen our global reputation as a destination for international students and as a higher education partner-of-choice, building strong and equitable partnerships in education and research.
• We will optimise civic engagement to maximise the visibility and impact of our work, catalysing interdisciplinary teams in education and research to respond to the challenges of our local and regional stakeholders, particularly in relation to environmental sustainability, human flourishing, and digital and data futures.
• We will establish global and civic engagement as a core part of our institutional work, fostering a culture of public service and community engagement, building collaboration with external organisations into our taught programmes, and recognising contributions to global and civic engagement in our career pathways.

To read about how the core themes relate to the wider strategy, visit the »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ 2035 webpages or download a copy of the »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ 2035 pdf.