Author: Professor Michael Butler, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (FEPS)
- UEB noted that Lord Wharton had resigned as the Chair of the Office for Student (OfS), and awaited details of his successor.
- The University’s India Centre celebrated its fifth anniversary last week. The Vice-Chancellor updated UEB on the celebrations that were joined by our newly appointed joint-Chancellor Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, patron of the India Centre, and H.E. Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair at the event, that will support a visiting professor at the University on an annual basis.
- UEB received an update on the 2024/25 pay negotiations. UCU and Unison have now rejected the formal pay offer, so the dispute resolution process has been invoked.
- The Vice-Chancellor presented slides on our 2021/22 Graduate Outcomes. UEB were pleased by the significant improvement in our position to joint-tenth in the Russell Group rankings and noted that work would continue to improve employment opportunities for our graduates. UEB also reviewed the National Student Survey (NSS) results published last Wednesday and noted the improvement in all metrics. A more detailed paper on NSS would be considered by UEB in the autumn after in-depth programme-level analysis had taken place. UEB noted analysis on the Complete University Guide 2025 rankings and the work to improve our position.
- Vice-President (International and Engagement), Professor Andrew Atherton presented the proposal for our Digital Strategic Plan. Our University Strategy can only be realised by ensuring we have the very best digital infrastructure and capabilities to enable our activities. The Digital Strategic Plan outlines our vision to be a University fit for the digital age, that is agile and able to operate in an increasingly digital environment whilst enhancing the experience and interactions for students, staff and our wider stakeholders. UEB warmly endorsed the proposal and thanked the colleagues involved in putting it together. The Digital Strategic Plan will now move forward for consideration by our Council.
- Vice-President (Education and Student Experience), Professor Deborah Gill introduced the proposals following from an extensive review of the Academic Calendar. The review was requested by our Senate with the aim to alleviate the pressure points that arise at times during the assessment periods that impact the wellbeing of staff and students. Further consultation will take place with stakeholders on the proposed options so that we fully understand the preferences and any impacts to staff and students.
- Finally, UEB were pleased to hear that the Global Recruitment Admissions and Marketing team was awarded a Gold Award at the Heist Awards on Thursday 11 July in the Best Use of Data Insight or Marketing Research category.