Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director of Engagement and Advancement
Professor Mark Spearing introduced his final UEB meeting as President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim) by thanking everyone involved in last Friday’s Maritime & Rail Futures event on our Boldrewood Innovation Campus. The event saw the official opening of the new National Infrastructure Laboratory by the Chief Executive of Network Rail, and the official signing of a gift agreement with Shell, confirming the largest ever corporate donation in our University’s history.
Mark also said how fantastic it had been this morning to see the brand new Centenary Building ready for its first lectures and seminars, with students now able to take advantage of the superb new common learning and independent study spaces. He urged everyone to drop in to have a look around.
On the main agenda today:
- There was a regular Finance and planning update led by Sarah Pook, Executive Director, Finance and Planning, covering all aspects of organisation monitoring and management, and including an update on efficiency and compliance improvements. A couple of interesting factoids from our travel management company: in the last financial year, travel to 127 countries was arranged, totalling 26.7 million miles, 20,300 nights of accommodation were booked, and over 14,000 online bookings made. UEB heard that a new, more user-friendly online interface is being introduced shortly, which should deliver an improved user experience. UEB also formally approved publication of the Q4 UEB expenses, which will be available here in the near future.
- As part of regular reporting by Vice-Presidents to UEB, Professor Mark Spearing, this time wearing his Vice-President (Research & Enterprise) hat, updated UEB on progress against strategic objectives in his portfolio. He said research funding remains a concern, with a significant decrease in awards in 2018-19. Plans for a new mentoring scheme for academics engaged in research are being developed. He said we’re making good progress on our Enterprise Strategy, but we need to keep upping our game, especially in the context of the proposed Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF).
- Next, Professor Alex Neill, Vice-President (Education) updated UEB on progress against his strategic objectives. He said solid progress is being made, but there is still considerable uncertainty about the scope and potential impact of the subject-level Teaching and Excellence Framework (TEF), and that everyone is awaiting the results of the Pearce review. Overall, Alex said we had decent National Student Survey (NSS) results, but are still not on the trajectory we need to be. It appears that the current government is backing away from the recommendations of the Augur post-18 review, but with a general election likely soon, manifesto commitments would need to be watched carefully. Student recruitment at UG and PGT level has been successful, and we have maintained tariff.
- UEB formally noted a paper outlining the proposed process for delivering the 2020 business plan, and approved a paper outlining a new approach to Student Resource Planning, which proposed a move from three to five-year planning for student recruitment and tuition fee income, coupled with increased market analysis to support longer-term portfolio planning. This was welcomed by UEB, and further discussions with faculties will now take place.
- UEB members provided feedback on a draft self-assessment and two-year action plan produced by the Technician Commitment Steering Group, aimed at addressing key issues affecting the technical community in academia and research, particularly around visibility, recognition, development, sustainability, and impact. The final document will return for approval at UEB in November.
- As part of UEB’s regular reporting on progress against Staff Engagement Survey action plans, Professor Paul Whittaker, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, updated UEB on his faculty’s progress against action plans, particularly around engagement and faculty leadership, developing a workload framework, focusing on reward and recognition, and how the actions contribute to the wider University Commitments.
Finally, Mark Spearing revealed that two members of UEB were the next day due to mark 20 years at Southampton (an anniversary that seemed to come as a surprise to at least one of them!). Both Alex Neill and Bashir Al Hashimi joined our University on the same day in October 1999.
The meeting closed with a heartfelt vote of thanks by all UEB members to Mark Spearing for his wise and careful stewardship of the University during his six month period as President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim). Mark said it had been a huge honour, and that he was looking forward to re-engaging full-time with his substantive role as Vice-President.