Strategic Plan 2020-2025

STRATEGIC PLAN 2020 - 2025

Transforming lives

Professor Quintin McKellar CBE

Whatever your background, wherever you are from, higher education can be a transformational experience. And whoever you are, the application of University research can impact your life. We are committed to having a positive transformational impact on every member of our University community, and to sharing our successes with the community around us.

The development of our strategic plan began with engagement with staff, students and governors at the University. And transforming lives grew out of that. It reflects the ambition and inspiration that are central to the University of Hertfordshire. Our three key themes of opportunity, community and flexibility also grew out of this engagement. They reflect both what is important to the University, but also how we must approach the challenges of the coming years.

The 2020-2025 strategy will build on our strengths developed as a business-facing University, and it will embed our focus on employability, enterprise and business partnerships into our plans. It also looks to future challenges. In 2018, we asked some students to present to our Board of Governors on the challenges that they anticipated they would encounter in the future. They focused on new technologies, the changing world of work, the challenges of climate change and increasing interconnectivity across the globe. They were excited about the future, but they recognised that they needed to be ready for it.

Our strategy will develop graduates who are capable and professional, building on the engagement of employers and professional bodies who contribute to the development of our curriculum. We will encourage students to be creative and enterprising, as one of only 20 University Enterprise Zones. We will build their social and global awareness, increasing the proportion of international students on campus, and the number of UK students who have an international experience. And we will be compassionate and inclusive, supporting students in their learning and their living.

OUR VISION

We transform lives by finding and powering potential, giving people the opportunity to succeed with us whatever their background.

OUR STRATEGY Offering opportunity

Building community Embracing flexibility OUR VALUES

We use our links with industry, research expertise, and global outlook to provide opportunities for all.

We are diverse and welcoming, positively impacting the world by sharing our knowledge, research and resources.

We will develop flexibility, offering a greater range of opportunities to our students and those we work with.

Friendly, ambitious, collegiate, enterprising and student-focused

OUR STRANDS OF ACTIVITY

Education and student experience

– We provide opportunities to develop students’ skills for life.

– We work in partnership with our student community.

– We deliver flexible education with clear career pathways.

Global engagement

– We provide international opportunities for staff and students.

– We will build a global community on our campus.

– We will increase flexible programme delivery for the international market.

PEOPLE

We provide opportunities to attract, retain and develop individuals. We are building a diverse and inclusive community and we respond with flexibility to the challenges of the changing world.

Research

– We offer research opportunities for staff and students.

– We engage the community in impactful research.

– We flexibly adapt to research partnerships.

Enterprise

– We provide opportunities for students and graduates to pursue entrepreneurship.

– We welcome businesses to our community in the University Enterprise Zone.

– We offer flexible ways for businesses to work with us.

Our Strategy

Students, businesses and the local community are all motivated by the same thing. Finding ways to make the most of the opportunities in front of them, by tapping into their individual or collective potential. Powering Potential is embedded in our philosophy. This means – to transform lives, we not only find potential, we harness it and drive it.

Offering opportunity

We offer every student the opportunity to succeed, with varied and well-signposted routes into University and clear pathways through study. We support students to achieve to the best of their ability, and will support

them in preparing for global opportunities after graduation. We will use our links in business, our research expertise, and our global outlook, to transform lives.

With strong, established links in business, industry, public sector and professional organisations, we aim to equip our students with the skills and attributes for successful professional lives. Each School works closely with experienced business people to plan their teaching

programme and all our courses are underpinned by industry insight and powerful research. This helps our students stay one step ahead in the job market, and our business partners get the highly skilled graduates they are looking for.

Building community

We are a diverse and welcoming community with a global reach and a common purpose, to transform lives, which we will work together to achieve. Through communities of learning, exploration and knowledge, we celebrate diversity and share our passions. We want all our students and staff to find

their communities here. We are engaged as a Civic University in our region, supporting schools, colleges and students. We will share our knowledge, culture, research and resources with businesses, the professions and the wider community.

In October 2019, the University opened the Hertfordshire Law Clinic, a pro-bono service that provides vital legal advice to families and individuals who could not otherwise afford to hire solicitors. Our team of

second and third-year Student Advisers, under the supervision of qualified lawyers, offer a free and confidential professional service in cases relating to family, employment and commercial law as well as intellectual property. The

clinic is also one of the few that advises and prepares Powers of Attorney. Our satellite clinic, based at domestic abuse charity Future Living Hertford, further aids the wider community in a safe and trusted space.

Embracing flexibility

We will respond flexibly to the challenges and opportunities ahead. Flexible modes of study will support our students to succeed and allow them to engage with a greater range of opportunities in education, extra-curricular activities and work experience.

We want our students to follow their interests and passions to transform their lives, and to be empowered by a choice of pathways that take them to the next stage and open doors to the future.

“Hertfordshire County Council has an excellent working relationship with the University of Hertfordshire. It is vital for Hertfordshire County Council to develop our staff, so they have the right skills to strengthen our organisation and progress in their career pathways. By completing degree apprenticeships at the University of Hertfordshire, our staff will be able to demonstrate

the key skills, knowledge and behaviours required of them to excel on an individual level as well as to contribute to Hertfordshire County Council delivering our vision and priorities. We have found the University of Hertfordshire to be understanding of our needs and flexible in their approach.”

Hertfordshire County Council

People and values

Objectives

– Excite and inspire our students by investing in and developing the best staff – Encourage a culture of respect, integrity and belonging – Strengthen and value the diversity and inclusivity of our community – Support the health and wellbeing of our staff – Expand our lifetime offer to University Alumni

We will foster a supportive and friendly environment to support staff and students to transform lives by:

Providing opportunities to attract, retain and develop individuals

Building a diverse and inclusive community

Responding with flexibility to the challenges of the changing world.

Case study

Our people sit at the heart of our strategic plan, as transforming lives begins with our own staff. The University of Hertfordshire’s Vice-Chancellor’s Awards is an annual celebration of the commitments and accomplishments of our staff. Staff and students can nominate outstanding colleagues and alumni in a total of 19 categories, culminating in an awards ceremony attended by the winners, along with their colleagues, friends and family.

“ Pfavai is one of the most dedicated and well-respected lecturers, whose hands-on approach and innovative delivery style helps students understand complex theoretical concepts.

Excerpt from ‘Teaching Roll of Honour’ nomination for Pfavai Nyajeka. Principal Lecturer, Hertfordshire Business School

Case study

Part-time, full-time, apprenticeships, CPD, online or foundation courses are just some of the study options provided to give students the opportunity to study in a way that suits them. We offer flexible study across many disciplines, industries and sectors.

Our Degree Apprenticeships give students the opportunity to

achieve a degree qualification while gaining valuable employment experience. They allow students to apply their learning directly in the workplace, enhancing their skills and knowledge with tangible benefits for the employer. We provide Degree Apprenticeships alongside a number of employers, including the NHS, TUI and Hertfordshire County Council.

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Education and student experience

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– Delivering flexible education with clear career pathways.

Objectives

– Develop employability, global perspectives, digital capability and learning skills for life in our students

– Create inclusive curricula, informed by industry and professional engagement

– Cultivate active learning and critical thinking through teaching excellence

– Adopt a whole University and personalised approach to students’ learning and wellbeing

– Work in partnership with students to design and evaluate educational opportunities

– Introduce more flexible options for study in mode and subject and offer well-defined exit qualifications at levels 4 and 5

– Increase the range and quality of extracurricular and sporting activity and reward participation

– Encourage lifelong learning by engaging alumni in study opportunities

– Create a vibrant campus community

We will deliver high-quality and distinctive education that transforms lives by:

Providing opportunities to develop students’ skills for life

Working in partnership with our student community

Research

We will carry out research that transforms lives, addressing fundamental global and societal challenges by:

Offering research opportunities for staff and students

Engaging the community in impactful research

Adapting flexibly to research partnerships.

Objectives

– Develop a diverse community of research-engaged staff, students and innovators

– Deliver teaching enriched by research

– Develop a multi-disciplinary whole community research-rich culture that fosters intellectual curiosity

– Develop sustainable global partnerships that address societal and industrial priorities and grow our global research profile

– Encourage research outcomes that are impactful, accessible and widely communicated

– Champion a community of learning, thought and knowledge

Case study

The University is developing techniques and technologies that will assist our society, protect our environment and power the future economy. Our Robot House is equipped with the latest generation of robotic platforms, sensor systems and cameras that provide new insights on how robots can support and interact with people living in a real home. In leading a £2.2 million National Institute for Health Research funded collaboration, the University is driving forward research to improve healthcare for people living in care homes. Technologies pioneered by our Microfluidics and Microengineering Research Group are being applied to food security challenges, including

improving the selection and timing of fungicides. Additionally, as one of two universities in the VALUMICS consortium, a major new Europe and Asian research partnership, we are focused on the resilience and sustainability of the food journey from farmer to consumer.

Global engagement

We will be a globally engaged University, transforming lives by:

“ The countries I visited were incredible and travelling to third world countries was a real eye-opener. I met amazing students from all over the world, and also many significant individuals from various international companies. The places I visited, people I met and the things I experienced were out of this world. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

”

– Providing international opportunities for staff and students – Building a global community on our campus – Increasing flexible programme delivery for the international market.

Objectives

– Deliver collaborations that have impact with business, public and third-sector organisations

– Create value for society and business by applying our research and expertise

– Nurture the enterprising ambitions of our students, graduates and staff

– Make our assets available to the broader community

– Reward colleagues who deliver innovative ideas and solutions

Case study

The University plays a vital role in the regional economy and we offer a wide range of services available to those starting a business for the first time, organisations on the lookout for talent, or organisations needing extra support to take their business to the next level.

The University is an open-campus business incubator, giving startups and small enterprises access

to hundreds of academic experts and their research as well as seminars, mentors, networking events and flexible workspaces. Working in this unique environment helps foster creativity organically and provides new opportunities for growth and innovation. The University of Hertfordshire’s new Enterprise Hub, due to open in 2020, will tangibly link education, entrepreneurship, apprenticeships and social facilities at our de Havilland campus.

University of Hertfordshire Hatfield, UK AL10 9AB herts.ac.uk