Dear Colleague,
Update on Council meeting and our strategy development
The latest University meeting with Council, UEA’s governing body, took place on Monday. During the session members of the Executive Team shared high-level plans for our three core strategic priorities of Research and Innovation, Student Education and Experience,
and Organisation Development.
Members of Council also had the opportunity to hear more about the Implementation Plan for
Strategy 2030, outlining the steps we will take as a community to realise our strategic ambitions. A first draft of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) template was also presented, which will be pivotal in determining
how we measure our success.
I am pleased to report that overall Council is happy with the progress that has been made to date. Development of some of our thematic strategies – People, Digital, Estate, Finance, Environmental Sustainability, and International – has also begun and there
will be opportunities to share your knowledge and insight, so please get involved with these.
You can hear the very latest updates and provide feedback on all these and other live issues at the next all-staff forum on Wednesday 17 April –
please take a few moments to register, as there is an opportunity to ask your questions beforehand and during the live Q&A session.
Ongoing challenges with international student recruitment
As I have mentioned in previous messages and has been covered recently by the media, there continues to be a challenge for the Higher Education sector to recruit students from overseas.
Changes in Government policy, such as restrictions on visas and post-study work, continue to have an impact and last December the Government announced its intention to change the general salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa from £26,200 to £38,700,
signalling further intent to control immigration.
Earlier this month, the Government asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a
rapid review into the Graduate Route. The Government is concerned about potential immigration abuse or visa exploitation. The Graduate Route allows international students to stay in the UK for two years (or three years
for PhD students) after graduation; they do not have to have a job offer to apply for it.
We welcome international students to UEA because they enrich our culture and add new perspectives to our learning experiences. They also contribute towards our financial sustainability and cross subsidise our home teaching and research. This is why we will
continue to advocate for the Graduate Route, alongside organisations such as Universities UK (UUK), and international recruitment continues to
be a strategic priority for UEA.
Support for improved dental provision in our region
As you may have already seen, the University has been
engaging with MPs in our region on our proposal to establish a Dental School here in Norwich. The east of England is the only region of the country that does not have a dental school and we think this is one of the reasons
why recruitment and retention of dentistry staff across East Anglia is notoriously challenging.
Further encouragement was given to these plans earlier this week by the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves,
who pledged the Labour Party’s support for a new Dental School at UEA. Dentistry Minister, Dame Andrea Leadsom MP also acknowledged that dental graduates tend to work in the areas they train in and confirmed the Government
will consider a new dental school as part of a wider consultation on dentistry policy later this year.
There’s still a long way to go to realise our plans, but it is pleasing to see further steps in the right direction.
|