VC Bulletin April 2024

Vice-Chancellor’s introduction

I am acutely aware that this is a very challenging time for everyone at the University and I am very grateful for the professional manner in which all colleagues are approaching the difficult changes that are taking place. We are facing below expected student recruitment, a reduction of real term funding, increased costs and a Government which doesn’t appear to value the sector. We believe we have a good plan to navigate through this difficult period, but it won’t be easy to overcome these financial pressures. It seems every proposal and associated decision faced by UEB is difficult and not without consequences. But it is critical that we act responsibly and are prepared to make the very difficult choices that will ensure a positive future for our University. We need as UEB to show leadership in deciding collectively what is a priority, what needs to change and what needs to stop. These are tough decisions which are not taken lightly but must  be done now if we are to secure our long-term sustainability.

The Bulletin has updates on our recent Reset proposals, the Estates Masterplan consultation, our first medical degree students and why we must close the awarding gap. In these difficult times it is important to remember to celebrate the great work colleagues are doing with positive news on major funding boosts from the Office for Students for degree apprenticeships and The UK Space Agency for our Space Mission Incubator. There are also updates on your Reset improvement ideas which are very much appreciated alongside a number of research and innovation achievements in the faculties. 

Reset Update

You will all now have had the opportunity to read and absorb the organisational changes that we are making across both academic and professional service areas of the University, and the important consultation processes with colleagues and Unions on a number of proposed redundancies.

I understand that presenting the possibility of redundancies is extremely difficult and distressing for everyone and we are not undertaking these consultations lightly.

The challenges that we, and the whole HE sector, face are well documented. I have covered them in my previous communications and during our all staff Q&As. I won’t go over the same ground again here.  Some changes we are proposing are the right thing to do as part of the normal course of business enhancement, but ideally implemented over a much longer time frame and in line with natural attrition and changes as colleagues retire and leave the University for other roles. However, the significant financial pressures we face have removed that luxury and we have had to accelerate our timings and act now.

Some will question the wisdom of opening consultations across a number of areas of the University at the same time. When discussing the proposals ahead of consultation myself and the UEB Team were clear that we did not want a protracted process or a sustained period of uncertainty for colleagues. That is why we elected to begin the consultations across the University close together.

The consultation period is an opportunity to ask questions, gain clarity on the proposed changes and provide suggestions for amendments to these. Please do take the opportunity to engage with the process.

I know this is an extremely challenging time for everyone whether you are directly impacted or not. There is support available to you through your line manager but also through the University’s Staff Wellness Hub and our Employee Assistance Programme. Do make use of them.

Estates Masterplan update

Following the Public Consultation on our revised Estates Masterplan, I can now share an overview of the responses received.

The consultation ran from Monday 12 February 2024 to Sunday 3 March 2024 and attracted a good level of public engagement, which included:

• Over 2,500 visitors to the Estates Masterplan web page.
• 156 survey responses from students (57%), staff (24%) and the wider Portsmouth community (19%).
• 764 attendees at the staff online briefing and Q&A.
• 126 attendees at the public event at Eldon Building.

There were several themes identified based on comments in the survey responses: 

• Most agreed the masterplan was a positive investment by the University and is required to keep up with our competitors and will be good for future students.
• In particular, people were pleased with the revised design of the Victoria Park building.
• The renovation of Wiltshire Building was welcomed, with people agreeing it should be a much more vibrant space.
• The design of the Student Hub was also favoured. 
• Students were concerned about the temporary closure of the Students’ Union building, which we are actively addressing. We continue to work with the Students’ Union to find appropriate solutions and more details will follow when they can be shared. 
• Many would like to see a detailed timeline for construction works including the potential disruption to students and the impact on local residents. 
• Questions were raised about car parking and sustainability.

Overall, the feedback has been generally supportive towards our development proposals. Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to engage with us and share their views on plans. It was particularly pleasing to hear from so many students.

We are now addressing comments, where appropriate, prior to the submission of planning applications to Portsmouth City Council. We will continue to engage with you as detailed designs are developed for each individual building.

Our first medical degree students

Preparations are underway to welcome the first medical degree students this year as part of our partnership with King’s College London.

54 students are due to start in Portsmouth on 19 August as part of a branch campus of King’s College London. 

Ahead of this, building work is almost complete, preparing teaching spaces in the Rosalind Franklin Building before prospective medical students attend an offer holder experience day on Saturday 25 May.

The aim is to educate more doctors in response to national shortages and in particular to help address the severe shortage of doctors in our region. A 2022 Nuffield Trust analysis highlighted Portsmouth was one of the most challenged cities in Britain for GP shortages.

The branch campus forms part of our strategic plan to eventually award our own medical degrees and play our part in supporting the health of our community in a school that will support local students to train and remain in the local workforce.

Why we must close the awarding gap

It was heartening to see the thoughtful questions and compelling comments from colleagues on this topic at the recent All-Staff Q&A with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Anne Murphy and Director of Race and Equality Yvonne Howard - with many clearly wanting to play their part in solving this complex problem.

I support them in feeling empowered to talk more openly about this challenge and be creative in determining solutions at local discussions within departments which are starting this month. We all have a part to play and there will be actions we each can individually take that are within our local control. 

Awarding gaps between groups of students at Portsmouth who graduated with a 1st or 2:1 are significant, particularly between students from a White background and students from a People of the Global Majority (PGM) background.

We know that the data is not and will never be complete but there are important facts which are important to share as we collectively recognise our role in creating an inclusive campus:

• The biggest gap in Portsmouth - between UK White students and Black students - stands at more than 25% in many areas
• The awarding gap impacts a large number of our students. More than a quarter (28%) are from a PGM background

It is clear that there is no perfect and single solution. However, we do know that evidence suggests that actions such as changing assessment practices can make a difference and that small changes we make in departments can really add up across the University. During Covid the awarding gap was almost completely eliminated and so there must be some practices operating at that time that we can learn from.

By playing your part in this change, you will be helping us to address a significant problem. I appreciate colleagues’ time and dedication in helping close our awarding gap.

Growing our degree apprenticeship offer

A decade ago we were predominantly a campus-based home undergraduate university with a smaller number of international and postgraduate students. While this remains at our core, it’s become increasingly clear through changes in the market, Government attitudes and our own challenges that we must diversify student recruitment into other areas. While the London Campus and medical degree branch campus are new additions to this strategic imperative, one of our most successful areas for sustained growth over a number of years has been degree apprenticeships. 

Since 2016, the number of enrolled apprentices has grown from 7 to over 700 at Portsmouth across 17 different apprenticeships in our portfolio, which demonstrates the appeal of undertaking a degree apprenticeship programme. 

This growth is reflected nationally. Driven by the Government and growing demand from employers, the number of higher apprenticeships has risen by 10 per cent from 38,230 in 2021/22 to 42,060 in 2022/23.

I’m delighted that over the past four months we’ve attracted nearly £1m in funding from the Office for Students (OfS) to launch 7 new degree apprenticeships over the next two years which will help to increase our apprenticeship starters by 25%. Congratulations to Mike Punt and the team for their endeavours in securing this important funding which will help us ensure we meet demand through growth in apprenticeship students and develop to become a leading HE provider of degree apprenticeships. 

UK Space Agency funding boost

The University has received a funding boost from the UK Space Agency, after the success of a pilot project to develop a space mission that will place a small satellite in orbit around the Moon.

The pilot study focused on CosmoCube, a radio-cosmology mission that will explore the so-called Dark Ages of the Universe from a Moon-orbiting satellite. It was the first study in the University’s Space Mission Incubator, which saw science and engineering experts working together in real time to rapidly develop a design for the space mission.

The Portsmouth team will build on the mission architecture developed in the pilot study and work towards designing each part of the mission’s system in meticulous detail.

They will also team up with experts at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to make improvements to the design, and to explore whether additional payloads could be added to CosmoCube to increase the value of the mission. This partnership will also ensure that the system design is compatible with future lunar constellations of smallsats currently under consideration by JPL.
 

Your Reset improvement ideas

A process for you to contribute your Reset improvement ideas was launched last month. We have received 20 ideas to date with suggestions ranging from the systems we use such as CONCUR and workload planning, driving more value from our third party suppliers, through to aspects of our student offer. It has been really encouraging to see these and the consideration and thought that has gone into them. Thank you, it is appreciated as excellent ideas can emerge from anywhere in the University. 

The Reset Team are reviewing all the suggestions received and delegating them to an appropriate senior leader for consideration and to respond and consult directly with colleagues.

Across the University we have immense knowledge and experience. It is important that we tap into that capability as we look to drive improvements in the efficiency of our processes and ensure we are focusing on the right activities as part of our Reset programme. I would like to encourage colleagues to continue to submit your ideas to the programme and I look forward to seeing these as they come through, eventually to implementation. 

Positive news from our Faculties

There have been a number of positive developments in our Faculties. While a full list of achievements would be very long indeed, I wanted to highlight the following as examples of how we are successfully engaging and working with donors, policy makers, students and the public to deliver research-focussed and innovative solutions to improve society: 

• A multiyear gift has been secured to support the University's research, in conjunction with The GB Row Challenge. Now in its 3rd year, GB Row sees rowers race around the circumference of the UK. Competitors collect samples en route which are then analysed at the university to create a unique picture of pollution levels across UK coastal waters. The donor has pledged £26,500 every year for 3 years, to fund a PhD student who will spearhead the policy and engagement elements of the work, ensuring our research has the biggest possible impact.
• In the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Prof Paul Smith and colleagues are busy preparing for a new Festival of Crime on 4 May, while students were very successful in the recent Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge competition held in London.
• Over 30 policymakers, academics and think tank representatives attended a conference at the Royal United Services Institute in London organised by Dr Ed Stoddard, Dr Melita Lazell and Prof Tony Chafer. The conference was the final event of their British Academy-Global Challenges Research Fund project on the security crisis in the West African Sahel.
• Dr Gulsah Kutuk was successful in her application with the project UK-Kenya University Partnerships: Learning and Design Labs, which was funded by the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships grant. In this project, our students will collaborate with students from Rongo University on a specific climate resistance challenge faced by the industry partner in Kenya.
• And congratulations to colleagues in the School of Education, Languages and Linguistics whose provision of secondary education teaching has been awarded ‘outstanding’ in all categories in a recent Ofsted report which rated it an ‘exceptional training programme’.

Upcoming staff events

There are two upcoming opportunities this month to speak to me and members of the University Executive Board:

• Cafe Conversations - Wednesday 17 April from 2.00pm to 3.00pm with myself, Sherria Hoskins and Jeremy Howells at The Hub, Dennis Sciama
• All-Staff Q&A - Tuesday 23 April 2024 at 1.00pm, Zoom link