Context
This strategy has been developed in the context of a time of significant transition and change for higher education. 2022 sees us – as individuals, a community, and society in the process of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with global political unrest and economic challenges a constant feature in our news feeds, and military action taking place on Europe’s doorstep. Worry and uncertainty have been a feature of our everyday lives for some time. However, we also see, with tremendous optimism, the positive impact that universities can have during these troubling times. The students and staff of the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences have exemplified this and pulled together, ensuring the continued running of academic programmes, conducting research to support the national public health effort, and contributing in highly practical ways. For example, setting up and running a virtual contact tracing hub, a field hospital, providing training in infection prevention and control, and supporting education and health sciences students in placements that contributed to the continued running of our schools, hospitals and health settings. These contributions, amongst many others, have been widely acknowledged as important evidence of universities’ positive impact on society. 14 | Knowledge with Impact
Similarly, Impact 2030 is Ireland’s research and innovation strategy, and explicitly recognises that universities must be at the heart of addressing ‘societal, economic and environmental challenges’. This strategy contains a strong commitment from government, including building capacity and supporting talent, emphasising inclusion, international perspective, and governance. The National Development Plan (NDP, 2021-2030) also acknowledges the importance of Universities, in addressing the challenges and opportunities of significant population increases, changes in how we work, travel, learn and live, the need for connectivity and partnership, and critically, that we must prioritise action related to the emergency of climate change. The University of Limerick, with the UL@50 strategy (2019-2024), and the UL Sustainability Framework 2030, is entirely consistent with this approach. UL has embraced the UN sustainable development goals to guide our thinking. Specifically, we aspire to become a ‘truly sustainable university’ and the UL sustainability framework will act as ‘a bedrock’ to guide our decisions and actions, being cognisant of the need to be regenerative in our approach and act in partnership with our communities. This framework has united the UL community and will stand us in good stead regarding the challenges we face.
