Dear Colleague,
I begin this message by saying how delighted and humbled I am to have been appointed as UEA’s substantive Vice-Chancellor. This is a great honour, and I will do my
utmost to advance the University’s best interests. It is coming up to a year since I joined the University and during that time, I have continued
to be impressed by the many incredible successes at UEA. From its outstanding education delivered to tens of thousands of students, to world-leading research across a wide portfolio of disciplines.
This is all possible because of your continued hard work and dedication, so I thank you sincerely. I am committed to driving the future success of UEA over the long term and I am proud of the progress we have already made as a community. There is still a very
long way to go, but I believe that we have a strong plan to re-establish ourselves as a top-class university.
UEA Doctoral College
Earlier this week, alongside the Senior Leadership Team, I had the opportunity to hear more
about UEA’s Doctoral College
from Prof Samuel Fountain, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the college. Founded in 2019, UEA’s Doctoral College works with staff and students across the University to ensure our diverse community of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) have the best experience
while at UEA.
The college currently has over 1,600 PGRs and provides practical support for research and career plans, advice on best practice, as well as organising training and events. Between 2021 and 2023, PGRs brought in 9% of the total R&I income and the community also
have an important impact on the University’s REF submission.
Prof Fountain also highlighted the new UKRI funding model and the work UEA has been doing to enhance the process we use to submit bids. Our new approach means that all four of our faculties can influence and collaborate on submissions to stay competitive, which
is important when certain awards require a quick turnaround. You can find out more about this on the
UKRI webpage.
The Doctoral College is also leading on improving business links with postgraduate research at UEA. Check out the
new webpage, which provides
information on how businesses can benefit from involvement in postgraduate research and showcases some recent partnerships.
Protecting our research integrity
You may have seen in the news recently that Russell Group universities have been briefed by the security services and Government on the threat of
foreign states targeting British universities.
The deputy prime minister has also announced a consultation on measures to protect UK universities with a focus on academic research that could potentially bolster foreign state’s military and economy.
UEA takes the integrity of its research seriously and already has stringent measures in place to ensure that funders and partners meet strict criteria. Collaboration with partners from abroad brings many benefits to UEA’s research and by working across organisations,
disciplines, and cultural boundaries, extends the possibility of discovery.
We will continue to monitor the situation and share the findings from the Government consultation once available.
World at One interview
On Wednesday I appeared on Radio 4 World at One where I was asked to comment on the terrible events in the USA on university campuses around the Gaza protests. I made the point that freedom of speech and academic freedom are crucial to the success of universities,
and that is the price we pay for this is peaceful protest.
However, when certain thresholds are crossed then law enforcement agencies must become involved. It is not easy from thousands of miles away to assess these specific issues and determine the best actions, but my experience suggests that a nuanced and sophisticated
approach is often best, as issues are seldom simple or easily seen in ‘black and white.’
As I have said before, we must balance freedom of speech and the right to protest, with our responsibilities to avoid hate crime, harassment, and bullying.
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