University of Leeds Strategy Mapped Against Portal and Web CMS Features and Functionality

University of Leeds Strategy mapped against portal and web CMS features and functionality

Purpose / Definitions
This means that: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Portal and web CMS functionality
P1
The University of Leeds is a research intensive university which strives to develop outstanding graduates and scholars to make a major impact upon global society /

Our students will be developed to reach their full potential
Our graduates will be of high calibre and high quality. They will be confident, independent, analytically minded and effective
Some of our graduates will perform at the highest international level – they will become leaders of the future in their chosen field

Attracting the very best quality UG and PG students, particularly those with outstanding potential
Attracting students for whom we can add value and develop to their full potential
Developing a community of high performing graduates that are proud of the University of Leeds
Producing graduates that are highly sought after by high quality employers
Producing high quality PGR graduates and Post Doctoral staff that continue to succeed in research and in their academic careers
Successfully creating ‘leaders of the future’

P2
The University of Leeds is a research intensive university which strives to create, advance and disseminate knowledge to make a major impact upon global society /

The vast majority of our research will be of international quality, with a significant proportion at the very highest international level
The peaks of our research will shift paradigms and make a major difference to the way that the world’s societies think and function.
Research excellence will inform and underlie much of what we do and will develop in the future. It will inform much of our decision-making and strategic resource allocation

Held in the highest esteem by key research sponsors and opinion formers, including government(s), the funding council, research councils, major charities, the RDA and other organisations that matter
Acknowledged for the added value that the University brings as a whole to our society
Delivering research that shifts paradigms and that has a high impact on government, industry and international corporations
Delivering international quality research outputs widely across the University, e.g. publications in top international journals, highly acclaimed books from a broad base of excellence in research
Making the right choices for strategic investment of our resources
Making the right strategic decisions within faculties, schools and institutes

Customers
Research Sponsors / Definitions
This means that (we): / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
C1
I want high quality research, providing answers to major societal issues /

Must deliver international quality research of value to society.
Must create new knowledge that shifts the current paradigm and that alters the way that society think and functions.
Must focus on creating new knowledge and understanding that improves the quality of life, social capital and health and that creates increased wealth for our city, region and nation

Providing appropriate facilities and creating a research environment that is attractive to world class staff
Choosing to investigate research themes that are important to society
Creating clusters of high quality core discipline-based research, capable of providing innovative and inter-disciplinary research.
Focusing our resources on the right people and themes

C2
I want the best externally recognised experts in their field /

Our staff will be recognized by their peer group and their customers as being of high international quality
Many of our staff will have world-wide recognition and some will be world-leading in their field

Attracting and retaining world class staff
Providing the leadership and management processes that allows world class staff to be creative and excel
Effectively marketing our research profile and expertise

C3
I want to deal with a University with a reputation for delivery and professionalism /

Must have an established and enduring reputation for international quality research at the cutting edge and excellent RAE scores
Will understand what our research funding agencies and customers (industrial sponsors) expect from us and what their specific requirements are
Will communicate effectively with all research sponsors and that we deliver results and reports on time and on budget

A university of first choice and high credibility for research sponsors
Delivering excellence in research that will be reflected in the outcome of RAE 2008
Widely acknowledged for sustained delivery of international quality research
Acknowledged for ‘professionalism’ in the way in which we deal with research sponsors and that this is embedded in our culture
Delivering a return on investment and increased value for our research sponsors
Making ourselves readily accessible to new research sponsors and being responsive to their needs
Spreading our reputation into international research markets

Customers
Students / Definitions
This means that we will:: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
C4
I want to study at a first class University recognised for its strong, enduring reputation /

Have a reputation for the excellent and consistent quality of our educational provision over an extended time frame
Provide an excellent student experience in a learning environment that is challenging and flexible
Provide excellent facilities, support and administrative services for our students
Understand what our brand is and what our brand values mean to our students as ‘customers’

Acknowledged to have a reputation for excellence at secondary schools and to be a destination of first choice for their pupils
Achieving excellent results in all forms of external quality assurance of our educational provision
Constantly enhancing our research-led educational provision
Enhancing the quality of all of our learning and teaching facilities, bringing them up to a world class standard over the next 5-10 years.
Ensuring that all of our educational provision is well supported by library and IT
Winning competitions for new funding for learning and teaching (eg CETLs)
Hosting subject centres for the Higher Education Academy
Recognized widely for our brand and brand values
Improving our world and UK league table positions

C5
I want to learn from world leading academics /

Have our world class and our world leading academics involved in enhancing our educational provision and in delivering some of the teaching
Have a culture that values teaching alongside research and that we actively promote and value teaching within the University.

Ensuring that our students have contact with and are taught by our world class/leading academics for some of their course
Ensuring that the teaching content is leading -edge and informed by world class research-active staff
Creating a culture in which our academic staff really value imparting their knowledge and are motivated to teach
Creating a dynamic in which our students are stimulated to engage in asking research questions and want to learn about the creation of new knowledge
Teaching valued alongside research. – with this reflected in our promotion and reward structure

Customers
Students / Definitions
This means that we will:: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
C6
I want an education that creates excellent career opportunities /

Have a reputation for generating excellent/outstanding graduates with appropriate skills that they can adapt to a working environment
Have a strong coupling with industry, commerce and other agencies for student placements
Be able to provide students with routes to a fulfilling career

Equipping our students with the skills necessary to be able to follow their chosen career
Establishing excellent links and relationships with high profile and high quality employers
Renowned for high quality with professional regulatory bodies and excel in all external reviews
Working with our students to identify their future employment interests, being responsive to their expectations and helping to create graduate employment opportunities

C7
I want to study within a vibrant University environment /

Provide a total student experience where students continue to learn outside their immediate coursework
Provide a learning environment that is intellectually vibrant both within their coursework, but also more generally in the University
Provide a creative environment with a reputation for liberalism and intellectual freedom, that values, respects and encourages a richness of diversity and equality

Creating a learning environment that is just buzzing with ideas and creativity
Establishing a culture of learning within an intellectual community
Creating a balanced reputation for the quality of our education alongside being a ‘fun city’ in which to study and learn
Ensuring that students are safe and secure
Providing good facilities e.g. sport and accommodation
Responding to student expectation and providing value for money

Key Themes
Enhance our International Profile / Definitions
This means that we shall: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
K1
Develop, promote and publicise our international profile /

Create a reputed international profile/brand for the University of Leeds, increasing our international influence
Identify and publicise “leading edge” big impact outcomes from “peaks of excellence” and throughout the University
Identify influential conferences and target these, bringing a significant number to Leeds
Understand which of our outputs/people have international impact and that we promote and support them.
Publicise and communicate the impact of international teaching activities – with a particular focus on excellence in PGT and PGR provision.
Increase new research funding opportunities from local, national, and international sources
Attract high quality international staff
Attract high quality home/EU and international students.

Developing an ever-increasing international reputation and profile, becoming well known in leading HEI’s throughout the world
Establishing a core of staff that have a major international (top 10) reputation in their field and using our rising international profile to encourage all staff to “raise the game” in research
Increasing the number of international academic staff that we employ
Increasing the international esteem factors of our academic staff e.g. key note speakers at big conferences, international prizes, international editorial boards
Increasing the international esteem factors of our academic staff e.g. key note speakers at big conferences, international prizes, international editorial boards
Being invited to participate in more international collaborations
Identifying the motives that encourage researchers to publicise and promote internationally.
Taking our research to an international audience.

Key Themes
Enhance our International Profile / Definitions
This means that we shall: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
K2
Increase recruitment/participation of international students /

Substantially increase the number of international students
Enhance the geographic and cultural spread of their countries of origin in order to facilitate a diverse and creative learning environment for all our students
Selectively recruit high quality international students who graduate equipped to become strong ambassadors for Leeds.
Promote and strongly support international scholar exchange programmes (bidirectional)

Attracting and retaining high quality international UG, PGT and PGR students
Providing high quality accessible facilities for international students that are available all year round.
Increasing and improving support mechanisms for international students, that take account of cultural differences
Providing a safe and secure environment for our international students and helping them to integrate into UK society
Structuring our teaching to take account of the needs of international students and integrating this with additional support for their learning
Impressing our international students such that they become powerful advocates for Leeds, based on their excellent experience
Integrating international with home/EU students in balanced proportions, such that all students benefit from a diverse, creative, experience.
Analysing and understanding the markets, our proposition and our competitors

Key Themes
Raise our game in Research / Definitions
This means that: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
K3
Develop selected peaks of excellence that deliver world leading performance /

We will identify/build and strategically support world-leading peaks of research excellence in the University of Leeds.
There will be no fixed model for a ‘peak’. A peak may exist within a school or faculty or may cross schools, faculties or even institutions
The Peaks will :

-Rank amongst the top 10 in the world/ top 3 in UK in their field and will be characterized by critical mass, sustained track record and paradigm-shifting research, often (but not exclusively) of a thematic interdisciplinary nature.
-Be forward looking, dynamic and capable of gaining high levels of research funding (relative to their own field)
-Participate in major international collaborative research activity of high repute /

Creating some peaks of research excellence that are in the top 3 in their field in the world and that are renowned for influential research with major global impact
Receiving international recognition for these ‘peaks of excellence’. They will be known in other world class universities. Some may become well known in the popular media around the world
Receiving a higher number of major international and national research prizes, fellowships and awards, e.g. FRS/FBA etc
Receiving a higher number of major high level (>£1M) grants from national and international funding agencies
Attracting Nobel prize winners / FRS/FBAs as collaborators
Growing and sustaining the recognition of our ‘peaks’ through multiplicity of activities and awards
Acknowledged by the media for having expertise (the gurus) to whom they turn (invited publicity)

Key Themes
Raise our game in Research / Definitions
This means that: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
K4
Deliver world-class excellence in all our areas of research / This means that every school, institute and faculty will work towards:

Achieving international quality in a significant majority of research outputs
Achieving research activity that will be judged as having significant international excellence (3* and 4*) in RAE 2008
Creating a positive research culture and ‘buzz’ in which international quality research is valued and rewarded
Ensuring that a high proportion (85%) of academic staff are actively engaged in research, alongside their teaching
Ensuring that there is a culture of mentoring and helping all (particularly new) members of academic staff to gain research funding and develop their research profile
Creating an international research profile/brand for the University of Leeds

Known for having a world class research ethos and culture
Ensuring that every school/ institute/faculty has international quality research set as its norm
Delivering research outputs that shift paradigms and make a difference
Doing the research the world wants us to do – responding to the global agendas by developing new research.
Creating new research themes with international impact and application
Growing, changing, improving and taking advantage of new interdisciplinary and other opportunities
Attractive to world class researchers, such that they wish to come to Leeds
Renowned for the excellence of our PGR programmes, our research training and the high quality of our doctoral graduates
Able to attract the very best postdoctoral staff and renowned for helping them to develop their research careers
Delivering excellent outcomes in RAE 2008, with a quality profile that has a heavy skew towards 3* and 4* ; a much improved performance upon RAE 2001
Growing what we are good at and disinvesting in areas of research activity that are not delivering international quality
Heavily involved in international collaboration and taking the lead role in major programs of research
Retaining/ recruiting world class staff and attracting important international visitors
In the top echelon (top 6) of UK universities for research income

Key Themes
Raise our game in Research / Definitions
This means that: / Do-wells
If we are doing this well, what are we doing? / Functionality
K5
Translate research excellence into learning opportunities for students /

Underpin the University’s strong international academic reputation
Provide the intellectual platform for all teaching programmes and cutting-edge challenge at higher levels, allowing us to attract and develop high calibre students
Provide the opportunity for our students to learn about the research process and understand how new knowledge is created
Create opportunities for our students to participate in ‘front-line’ international quality research projects

Using our excellence in research to help attract the very best students to Leeds
Redesigning and refreshing our teaching programmes to reflect research, with increased research material and methodology in the curriculum
Thinking of research and learning/ teaching as being part of one spectrum of academic activity, not two separate activities.
Creating opportunities for more students to do research-based projects.
Linking student projects with current research themes of staff.
Arranging more student work placements in a research environment, where appropriate

K6
Create time for academic development /

Ensure that academics have more time to focus on their academic work
Rebalance the volume (with maintained quality) of teaching and research to create time for improved research performance
Decrease the administrative and bureaucratic load on academic staff to create more time for research and teaching

Improving our research performance whilst maintaining the quality of our learning and teaching
Finding the time to enhance our academic provision
Reviewing and decreasing the burden of unnecessary or reduplicated bureaucracy
Finding the time for more internal communication and collegiality
Improving the work-life balance and morale of our workforce