VC's Introduction
It feels as though spring is at last arriving between the random snow showers of the last week. Hopefully the good weather will be more common and rain, wind, and occasional snow less so.
As our students commence their Easter break there is much happening across the University. In this bulletin I provide an update on our proposal for a Medical School as we enter the next stage of planning. You will also now have hopefully had the chance to read my message to all staff about the proposed London Campus. Last week the Board of Governors provided approval for us to move to the next stage of this exciting development for us.
Our research into tackling plastic pollution continues to grow and I’m delighted to share news of further funding we have received in support of this work. As well as tackling issues here on Earth we are also looking at the possibilities in space and I share more about our ‘Mission Space’ strategy which builds on world-leading astronomy research and innovation in space. I also provide a short update on REF with the outcomes being published next month.
We are now only just over a month away from the formal examination period and it’s a reminder of how quickly time passes. It is two years on from the start of the Covid pandemic and during that time many of the experiences our students value and enjoy were curtailed or cancelled. It has therefore been fantastic to see the return of two events in the last month, Global Week and Varsity. I share my reflections on these.
Spring is also a time when we continue our focus on recruitment for the next academic year and prepare for the critical summer open days. Through conversations with colleagues I know that how our campus looks is of great importance. We are working hard to address issues where we can and a body of remedial and restorative works is being planned for the estate.
Everyone continues to be extremely busy, but I hope you are able to take a break over the Easter period and spend some time with loved ones.
Resource planning 2022/23
As many of you will know, we are currently in the process of annual budget allocations. The University is in a relatively strong financial position but we will make a deficit this year and, with home recruitment challenges, and a declining real value of home fees - which will be fixed at £9,250 per annum until at least 2025 - difficult decisions are necessary. Some investment will be possible but only where there is compelling evidence that investment will make a significant contribution to address the four imperatives. It is essential that we focus on making more efficient and effective use of our existing resources.
Final decisions are still to be made but as this is a very busy time of year I want to thank everyone involved for their effort and their commitment in ensuring that our resources and energy are more closely focused on the four imperatives:
- Recruitment: Reverse the ongoing decline in applications and boost conversions
- Student experience: Pursue educational excellence, improve student experience and reduce variation in outcomes
- Graduate employment: Rapidly improve graduate employment
- Research and innovation: Increase our globally recognised research and innovation based on thematic areas, prioritising collaboration and international engagement.
Success in our Medical School stage 1 approval
The General Medical Council (GMC) informed us on 7 February that we can proceed to Stage 2 to develop our medical school. Stage 1 is the screening stage which required us to outline the proposed size and type of medical school, provide a summary of our programme and the plans to develop it, provide a financial overview, reassure the GMC that we have local support and placement partners, and outline academic quality here at Portsmouth.
Having successfully overcome that first hurdle, we are now working on Stages 2 and 3. Stage 2 requires us to develop financial models and reassure the GMC of the viability of our plans. We hope to submit documentation to the GMC for Stage 2 in May 2022. Stage 3 is similar to Stage 1, but calls for much more detail. We expect to submit this in summer 2022.
There are 8 stages which must be satisfied before we can be added to the list of bodies able to award a primary medical qualification or new programme. At Stage 6 approval we can start recruiting students. I will keep you updated on our progress.
Portfolio review and EQuIP
Last year the University commissioned PwC to independently review our course portfolio. While this has led to a small number of course closures, most of the focus is now on how to improve our current portfolio. Our approach to achieving this has been incorporated into this year’s EQuIP process for course quality improvement. This involves a lot of work for everyone involved, so I want to thank colleagues for their commitment and determination to ensure all of our portfolio is of the highest quality and to plan for improvements where required.
With the need to reverse the decline in home recruitment, with new Office for Students (OfS) minimum thresholds coming into force as well as a new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) exercise later this year, a relentless focus on improving what we offer to students is critical for our future - and our portfolio is a vital part of this.
Research Excellence Framework (REF)
The outcome of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) will be publicly released on 12 May. Our REF submission included 603 academic staff providing 1,331 outputs and 54 impact case studies across 16 subject disciplines or “Units of Assessment”.
As many of you know , preparing for the REF has been a huge amount of hard work but it is also extremely important to us as we grow and develop as a University. The results will benchmark our research and innovation (R&I) progress, will form the basis for future direct funding allocations by the Government and will be a strong statement of progress towards our ambitions. R&I not only attracts students and staff, it also enhances our global reach and reputation and gives us real world impact. Media coverage of our academics’ work shows that our research is enjoying the greatest profile it ever has. We hope the REF will build on this success.
On results day Executive Deans will release the outcomes to their colleagues with Associate Deans of Research (ADRs) currently working with colleagues in Research and Innovation Services (RIS) and Marketing and Communications to prepare web pages and communications that will go live at the same time. Good luck to everyone involved and fingers crossed that we not only receive great results reflective of our hard work, but that these results also benchmark positively against others in the sector.
Plastics funding
We’ve recently received a substantial donation to expand our team and extend our research to tackle plastic pollution. The Flotilla Foundation donation is a significant investment for our Global Plastics Policy Centre that will give governments and industry groups the evidence needed to make better decisions around plastic policies.
Our Revolution Plastics team is working hard to assemble scientists, business leaders, campaigners and citizens who share our ambitions. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently enlisted the policy centre to inform negotiations for the possible adoption of an international agreement to tackle plastic pollution. It is exciting to see the University become a world leader in finding solutions to the world’s plastic problems, one of the biggest global challenges of our time.
Our ‘Mission Space’ Strategy
The global space industry is booming and the UK has strong ambitions to make its mark as a space nation. The University echoes this ambition and is working on an exciting strategy ‘Mission Space’ to bring together key players across the South of England and drive growth in the sector. Building on our world-leading astronomy research and innovation in space technology, our aim is to unite businesses and organisations across the region - giving them the chance to be part of an international market that has the power to solve universal problems on earth.
Mission Space kicks off later this month with an event to discuss the latest in space technology, exploration and innovation. University speakers will be joined by guest speakers from NASA and the UK Space Agency. This is an exciting time for the University to apply our world-leading expertise in space observation to realise the many benefits that satellites can bring to our world. Our commitment to play a key role in supporting and growing our region’s space industry will unlock growth in the UK space sector and ensure that the future of space is thriving.
The University already hosts the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications (SCCoE), created to help businesses and academics explore and exploit satellite technologies to truly realise the ‘possible’. The centre has recently been awarded funding from the UK Space Agency and Satellite Applications Catapult to continue for another year, enabling regional business investment and sector growth aligned with the national space strategy. Further details about our space research, the Solent area’s contribution to the space sector, from rockets to satellite data, is available in our Solent Space brochure.
End of free Covid testing
Free Covid tests in England ended last week (31 March) when we also were given formal notice of the closure of the Higher Education Testing Programme from the Department of Health and Social Care Universities Team. This marks a new phase with us now learning to live with Covid, which is only possible because of the excellent uptake of vaccination across the UK population.
We have now distributed the remaining stock of LFD tests to staff and students last week. Some of the remaining unused PPE have been donated to Ukrainian appeals to help support medical efforts there whilst the remaining equipment has been repurposed for use within our Faculties. One box of free lateral flow tests per month is still available to any Portsmouth household from Portsmouth City Council until June 2022 while stocks last.
I want to thank all those who have been involved in the University's highly successful testing programme over the last two years when we conducted over 34,000 tests on staff and students.
There have been so many individuals involved in supporting this from caretakers, cleaners, our estates project team, our staff and students who staffed and supported the testing centre as well as our communications team who kept everyone updated on developments. Our researchers played a vital role through RNA sequencing (Ribonucleic acid is a molecule similar to DNA) and through data collection and reporting by our Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) colleagues - all of which was in turn supported by our corporate Health and Safety team. This also includes all those involved in supporting the distribution of lateral flow testing kits through the library and the myport hubs.
It has really been a quite exceptional all-institution collaboration. It makes me immensely proud of the work that colleagues have done in supporting our staff and students to remain safe as we navigated the Covid-19 pandemic.
Building incredible bonds - Varsity and Global Week
We pride ourselves on providing a student experience which is about much more than just attaining a degree. The friendships, bonds and memories made through sports clubs, student societies and events are such an integral part of university life. Pre-Covid we may have taken for granted events like Varsity and Global Week, but their return last month reminded me how enriching and fulfilling these events are for our students and staff. I was particularly struck by an email from the president of the women’s volleyball team, which includes players from 11 different nationalities:
“When I moved from Portugal to England for Uni, it was quite a daunting experience since I knew absolutely no one. Volleyball had my heart from the moment I stepped into that sports hall - so many international people and such an amazing atmosphere, it felt like I belonged.
“It became my huge, amazing and dysfunctional family who I shared incredible moments and memories with. I truly believe that without it I wouldn’t have made it through these last 3 years and Covid revealed the incredible bond I have created with the people I met through the club.”
It fills me with pride and joy, to hear stories like this and I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to staff and students for having such a positive impact on the lives of others.