Author: Yvonne Hawkins, Executive Director of Governance, Legal Service, Risk and Resilience.
UEB were pleased to hear that the new term had started smoothly for our students, with significantly increased attendance at welcome events. Thanks were expressed to SUSU and all colleagues involved in organising the start of term.
UEB noted the Times Higher Education coverage of the latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) results, with its analysis that we are the strongest performing university. It is pleasing that our analysis of the KEF outcomes has independently been arrived at by a third party. UEB welcomed the news that the Science Park has been shortlisted for Science Park of the Year.
Universities UK (UUK) published ‘Opportunity, growth, and partnership: a blueprint for change from the UK’s Universities’ on 1 October. It calls for the Government to increase funding for teaching, to reverse the decline in quality related funding for research, to reinstate maintenance grants for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, and for maintenance loans to be increased in line with inflation. We will be undertaking a full analysis of the report, together with the Government’s response, to assess any potential impacts for our Strategy.
UEB welcomed and endorsed a Talent Plan which sets out targeted support for staff. Key elements of the Plan include developing a resourcing plan, employer branding, talent development, candidate attraction, new employee pipelines including apprenticeships to support our Civic agenda, career advice to staff, and targeted recruitment support for line managers, underpinned by a focus on improving diversity. Initial priorities for the 2024/25 academic year are succession planning and a review of the Super Recruiter programme to ensure our commitment in that area meets our Athena Swan and Race Equality Charter Ambitions.
UEB were presented with an overview of principles of the University Economic Model (UEM). This is an integrated model that tests financial sustainability, facilitates business planning through target setting, and provides us with financial forecasts.
Finally, UEB noted a paper on the Review of the Academic Calendar that will be considered by Senate later this month. It sets out options to address pressure points that impact staff and students’ wellbeing.