VC's introduction
We are now over half way through the main examination and assessment period. Our students are looking forward to successfully completing their academic year, and for many their degree. I’m sure they are thinking about a well earned break and enjoying the summer. While they think about taking a break, the hard work does continue for colleagues across the University. I think though we are all now looking forward to a well earned summer holiday!
Even though we are so incredibly busy it is important to take a few moments to reflect on our achievements, with some of those accomplishments included in this month’s bulletin.
Firstly I want to say again how pleased I am with our REF outcomes which are the result of the hard work of so many across the University. I also write about the opening of the new Centre for Enzyme Innovation's new Industrial Engagement Hub. This will enable us to take another step forward in our work to help solve the world’s plastic problem. Great research and innovation isn’t only happening on a global scale, there is much we do within our local region too. That’s why I was pleased to speak at events as part of the Portsmouth and South Coast Business Week and Mission Space and you can read more in this bulletin.
Returning to our students, we know that degrees with formal accreditations are important to them as they look to start their chosen career. We have more to do in this area but we are making progress and I share some examples of courses that have recently been accredited.
As well as accreditation our students are looking for first class facilities. In December I let you know that the University had secured £2million of funding to upgrade some of our health care facilities. I tell you more about where we focused the funding in this bulletin.
To finish this month I have one more final piece of positive news to share. I want to congratulate the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science on its renewal of the Athena SWAN bronze award.
UEB strategic away day
Last week the University Executive Board (UEB) held a strategic away day. It was a full but extremely valuable day with many important discussions and mutual-challenge about what we do and how we do it across all aspects of our activity.
This was acknowledged as a watershed moment for the University and we collectively agreed that we must not allow the University’s short-term challenges to deflect us from our long-term ambitions. This was recognised as an opportunity to reset many aspects of our operations and culture that will bring many benefits for the University, our people and students.
We reaffirmed our commitment to our 2030 Vision, the 2025 strategy, and the focus on the four imperatives. We also renewed our focus on you, our people. We need to do more to support you as we navigate the new world that now exists post-pandemic, to inspire you and to create the conditions that will enable you to achieve the very best that you can for the University. Our new Chief People Officer, Fiona Hnatow, presented the outlines of a new People Strategy which will be developed over the summer and published in early autumn. How we recruit, retain and inspire the best people will be central to our future success. I am very excited about this and feel confident that real tangible change will now start to happen.
How to address our financial challenges was rightly a focus for a good part of the day. There are sector-wide financial challenges faced by all universities, and we are expecting to make a deficit this year and for the next two years. UEB agreed to develop a three year plan that will return the University to a sustainable balanced budget by 2024/25. Inevitably this will mean doing things differently and being prepared to challenge ourselves on our systems, processes, ways of operation and even the span of our activities. With a fixed home undergraduate fee cap until at least the next Parliament and increasing costs, we will have to improve the quality of what we do with less financial resources.
This will mean diversifying our income base, significantly improving the efficiency of our operations, and stopping doing things that have no strategic rationale. This will mean being innovative and bold in challenging all aspects of the way we do things, which will require some decisions which may be difficult. But with decisive leadership and collective commitment, I am confident that we will be in a strong position to put the University’s finances on a sustainable basis in ways consistent with achieving our long-term Vision.
Reflecting on our REF results
As you would have read in my all-staff email last month, we have been ranked third of all modern post-92 UK universities for research power - which measures the quality and quantity of our research submitted to the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
In many ‘research intensive’ universities the REF can be all that matters, sometimes at the expense of students. For us, research is a core part of our identity and ambitions as a University and enhances our educational offer to our students. We will not become the top modern university nationally and one of the top 100 young universities globally by 2030 without world-leading research. This latest REF result is a very important milestone that confirms our excellent progress towards our long-term ambitions.
The results are being digested and understood in greater detail, but it will also be some time before we get any clarity on the financial implications of our REF results. After reflection, and a well-earned rest, our focus will move on to the next REF in 2028. We must aim to produce even more world-leading research and continue to grow our engagement with Research and Innovation activities - that is what will get us closer to our long-term ambitions - and we must continue to develop our research culture, and produce more research with impact.
While we still have a way to go, today we are much nearer to realising our long-term ambitions than we were a year ago. Well done!
Plastic-eating enzyme innovation centre opens
Last month saw another significant boost towards our world-leading research with the official opening of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation’s (CEI) new Industrial Engagement Hub. It will bring together researchers and businesses to develop enzyme-enabled technologies for the recycling and upcycling of plastic waste at an industrial scale.
The CEI was established following research which re-engineered a naturally occurring enzyme that was able to digest the most common thermoplastic, used to make single-use drinks bottles, clothing and carpets which takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment.
These new state-of-the-art facilities will help us to bridge the gap between our current fundamental research, and the creation of practical and scalable enzyme-enabled technologies for recycling and upcycling plastic waste.
These are exciting times for our research and innovation following our REF results, and the recent launch of the Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality (CCIXR) and Mission Space strategy.
Showcasing our research and innovation
I am keen that we continue to support initiatives which facilitate the impact of our research within our local and international organisations.
In April, I gave presentations at two events within the Portsmouth and South Coast Business Week; a week-long festival of enterprise (that included Mission Space, Portsmouth Digital and The News Business Excellence Awards), which saw the University and organisations in our Civic Partnership Agreement coordinate a timetable of 24 events across the region which attracted a local and international audience of around 1,000.
I'd like to thank everyone involved and encourage anyone planning a large R&I-focussed event to contact bsro@port.ac.uk if they would like to include this as part of next year's Portsmouth and South Coast Business week (February 2023).
Furthermore, the Faculty of Business and Law are also running a collection of events called ‘Opening the Laboratory’ which are aimed at encouraging business to find out more about how our research and expertise could create solutions for business. Colleagues would be very welcome to attend any of the events, particularly the session on Wednesday 8 June which is aimed specifically at those involved in research.
Boosting our course accreditations
It’s become increasingly important for students that universities offer accredited courses, which have been approved by professional bodies. In a competitive market, students will often choose a course which counts towards professional qualifications or registration with a professional body to give them a career advantage. While we have many good accredited courses across the University, it’s fair to say that there is room for improvement in increasing their number.
As recent examples, I’m delighted to say the Department of Education has accredited the School of Education and Sociology to deliver initial teacher training (ITT) under the UK Government’s new framework. Portsmouth was one of only 80 providers to be approved in the first round and only 40 per cent of applications were successful.
Seven courses in the School of Creative Technologies have also successfully been accredited with the prestigious JAMES Integrated Learning Centre status which is a recognition of excellence in providing, encouraging and creating the atmosphere for students to collaborate and communicate across disciplines. The courses include:
- BA Animation
- BA Creative Music Technology (Top-up)
- BSc Computer Animation and Visual Effects
- BSc Creative Media Technologies
- BSc Creative Media Technologies (Top-up)
- BSc Interactive Technologies
- BSc Music Technology
I’d like to thank the staff involved for their hard work in achieving these external validations which should provide a significant boost for us achieving our four strategic imperatives, particularly student recruitment and experience.
Health facilities upgrade
As many of you will now know, the University was successful in securing £2million of funding from the Office for Students to develop a state of the art interprofessional learning hub, as well as furnishing our existing health simulation facilities with tools and equipment that will further enhance student experiences.
We have been able to procure a wide range of new medical manikins and healthcare equipment that will further enhance the realism of our existing simulation facilities. We were also able to obtain some new IT equipment with the support of IS and Ale Armellini and his team. This new IT equipment will enable us to develop and deliver a much higher quality of interprofessional learning through the use of new and innovative remote collaboration technologies. This will be installed in St Andrews Court and the library, so that it can be a resource for the wider University.
The School of Health & Care Professions (SHCP) is currently planning some showcase days in July so you can see the manikins and simulation equipment for yourself and learn how it can be used for teaching. I am sure many of you around the University will want to come and learn more about this exciting new equipment. If you are interested in finding out more, please email SHCPTechs@port.ac.uk.
Athena SWAN bronze award
Congratulations to the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences on renewing its Athena SWAN bronze award - a national charter recognising the advancement of gender equality in higher education, encompassing representation, progression and success for all. It is a significant achievement for the school, reflecting their good practice.
There are now 12 faculties, schools and departments who hold a bronze award. At an institutional level, the University retained its Athena SWAN bronze award in November 2017 and work is currently underway to prepare for our next submission to retain this.
Gender is a key aspect of our holistic ambition to build an inclusive culture that makes a positive difference to the lives and experiences of our students and staff. Our recent Staff Inclusive Culture Survey showed we have work to do, but there are encouraging signs, for example, more staff at the university feel like they belong and can bring their true selves to work, without fear of judgement, compared to the rest of the sector. We will keep you updated as the new EDI Steering Steering Group and the EDI Consultative Group, with senior leadership from across the university, drive forward the changes needed.