LONDON IS OUR CAMPUSBuilding institutional resilience

Professor Geoff PettsVice-Chancellor

LONDON IS OUR CAMPUS

Changing HE landscapeBuilding the resilient universityCollaborations – reinforcing academic identities

evolving business efficiencies

CELEBRATING HE UK

• British degrees highly regarded globally for quality, integrity and developing the individual

• Research in our universities respected globally - high citations relative to gross expenditure on R&D

• Investment in graduates and research has direct link to general UK economy and GDP growth

CELEBRATING LONDON

• A Global city• 8.17 million people, 300 languages• Business hub, knowledge hub….• Concentration of creative classes• Magnet for international visitors• 8 x larger than next UK city

CELEBRATING HE LONDON

London offers 45% of all graduate jobs

39 HEIs: • 402,400 students (2011-12) including 46% Londoners

28% from rest of the UK

and 103,000 international (25% UK)• Create 131,982 jobs in London, • Generate £5.8 billion for London’s GVA (2.8%) -

and £2 billion for rest of UK.• 48.4% graduates stay in London.

HE UK 2014: 35 years of change

A journey from ‘being funded to deliver’ to ‘delivering to earn’.• 1979: Universities, Polytechnics, HE Institutes,

Teacher Training Colleges….• 1986: first Research Assessment Exercise• 1992: Further and Higher Education Act• 2012: Completion of funding change from general

taxation to target those who benefit

Westminster: more than 30% of academic staff share same journey

UK to 2014: global change

• Restless, mobile market forces in disruptive global economy;

• Labour market moved from pyramid to hour-glass;• Employers seek agile graduates who can adapt to

rapidly changing conditions;• Society has become more fluid and competitive,

but success still measured by esteem and status as well as material wealth.

UK to 2014: societal change• Opportunity and the possibility of success has

been held out to more and more people,

but so too has it become easier to fail;• Rise of status anxiety; increase in loneliness and

withering of trust in fellow citizens.• Young people need ‘place’ to develop as

independent, responsible, free-thinking, community-contributing members of society.

Universities roles in nurturing capabilities

HE to 2020 (?2017!)

• 2012: Fees (up to) £9,000 supported by student

loans• 2013 Autumn Statement:

• restrictions on recruitment lifted from 2015-16,• commitment to invest in science to 2021,• expansion of industry-related Catapult centres

and University Enterprise Zones.

• £9k fee 2012 will be devalued to ca £7.5 k• Increasing cost of the student loan system –

currently cost to tax payer 43p in £ (5% saving on old system).

• Successful graduates will pay off loan in less than 10 years.

• Labour suggesting fee reduction to £6k……+ graduate tax?

Need for efficiency gains is now part of everyday life.

HE UK to 2020: student demand

• 21% of HEIs reported recruitment fell by more than 10% since 2010-11.

• Declining PG by 8% (to 26%) since 2005-6 • Declining UG PT, foundation degrees, HNDs etc..

since 2007-8 • Declining population of men in HE • 30% potential Home UG consider studying abroad

especially USA and Australia (up from 20%)

Are we moving to situation where capacity exceeds demand so the market will regulate itself?

2020: skills shortage

• UK 2020 shortages: STEM and school teachers• McKinsey Global Institute 2012 – forecast shortfall of

85 million high and middle skilled workers• Technician ‘black hole’• New recognition of ‘facilitating’ subjects: mathematics,

physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, English literature, languages………

• Global increase in number of universities: who will be the next generation of academics?

HE CHALLENGE: building institutional

resilience in the middle ground

Investment in PLACE• The Distinctive University• The Physical University• The Connected University

Research intensives

Branded & niche

institutions

Teaching dominated

THE DISTINCTIVE UNIVERSITY

•A strong institution has confidence in its identity, values and history;

• identity signifies a special relationship; • its story is a useful tool for integrating

newcomers.

Westminster ‘2015’: our Corporate Strategy

MISSION: To be the leading practice-informed teaching and research university in the UK.

A vibrant learning environment - fostering innovation and creativity, and developing entrepreneurs;

Known for research excellence inspired by engagement with practice, interdisciplinarity and internationalism;

Focusing on the globally relevant areas in which we excel.

THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSITYa sense of place Paul Temple, 2014

People flourish through relationships and mutual support networks.

“We make buildings, and afterwards they make people” Churchill, 1924

“Institutions are the places where we interact with people sufficiently for mutual trust to emerge” Willetts, 2014

The University as ‘place’ provides the physical and emotional space for individuals to develop their sense of curiosity and experience the thrill of discovery.

THE UNIVERSITY AS PLACEStudents do best in an active learning environment, often in small teams, with creative moments of interaction in face-to-face situations led by motivational academics.

THE CONNECTED UNIVERSITY

LONDON networks

London Higher (39 members + 11 partners)

London partnerships include -• London Universities Purchasing Consortium• Kingston Group Internal Audit• Linking London• International Student House

LONDON COLLEGE networks

The Westminster Group* – 6 FE Colleges and new UTC• Academic portfolio planning• Student progression• LA education planning• Interaction with Linking London, LEP…• Coordination of submissions to Government and

Funding Agencies.

*City of Westminster; NW London; Ealing, Hammersmith and West London; Kensington and

Chelsea; Hackney Community; Harrow; Uxbridge; Sir Simon Milton UTC.

Westminster Global

Thematic networks founded on excellence:-

Media, QS World Top 50, linked with other leading institutions in Beijing and Delhi.

Architecture, Architecture Journal UK No. 2, LATITUDES global network.

Biomedical Sciences, Tempus Award Winner, Postgraduate training for hospital technicians in the Caucasus

THE RESILIENT, CONNECTED UNIVERSITY

Autonomous institutions • Well networked with active, mutually beneficial

partnerships, promotingbusiness efficiencystrong, distinctive academic identity

• Advancing distinctive as well as excellent research, innovation, creativity and exploration;

Led by staff who are adaptable and responsive to evolving student and stakeholder needs.

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER OF CONNECTED UNIVERSITIES

• Providing PLACES for individuals to develop within a global community context;

• Providing opportunities to combine adaptability with special knowledge/skills;

• Promoting social cohesion and mutual understanding

In a changing world, adaptability and resilience build confidence and psychological comfort (Fieschi, 2014).