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Dear Colleague,
Earlier this week, I shared news with you about recent
financial decisions made by the University. Understandably this was difficult news to deliver and receive. I apologise for this, but it is the right decision to take care of our long-term financial sustainability,
the essential platform for continued success for UEA.
A huge amount of progress has already been made to improve our financial position from last year, and this is testimony to the hard and challenging work undertaken across our community. I thank you all sincerely for your ongoing support.
I am confident that through further collaboration and hard work, UEA will continue to be known for what it does best – excellent teaching and research.
Celebrating teaching excellence at UEA
Last week I had the pleasure of attending my first Transforming Education Awards ceremony
– and the first time the event has been held in-person since 2019, making it extra special. It was a great evening, attended by over 150 staff and students, who gathered to recognise the exceptional impact our staff have had on our students over the past year.
It was an honour to present the Vice-Chancellor's award to Julia Robathan from the School of Education and Lifelong Learning. Reading the many brilliant submissions in this category, it was clear that Julia excels at not only teaching but
in providing support and coaching to her students. Julia also won the Blended Learning Award, so a huge achievement and many congratulations once again.
This year’s winners for the School of the Year went to the School of Psychology, recognised for building a strong and welcoming community for their students, as well as listening to student feedback to improve their course offering.
The Professional Services Award went to the Library Team for their ongoing dedication in supporting students, highlighting the educational displays created to mark awareness months such as Black History and Disability History.
A huge congratulations to all this year’s winners,
it was truly a wonderful evening celebrating the people that make UEA such an excellent place to study and work. And of course, thank you to the Students’ Union for the great deal of planning and organisation that went into the event.
Update on our strategy to 2030 development
There has been pleasing progress in the development of our three
core strategies of Student Education and Experience, Research and Innovation, and Organisation Development. These sit alongside our Implementation Plan, which outlines the steps we will be taking to deliver our overarching strategy
and measure our success.
Prof Julian Blow,
our new Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, who joins us officially in June, has also had the opportunity to feed into the core R&I strategy.
A final draft of all three core strategies will be published soon, so please look out for these and a further update on our strategic programme in your next Future UEA bulletin.
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![](https://mcusercontent.com/913315f4a07ef8f2eaba9616b/images/78bbb80c-5006-5001-0e57-03f050b63a07.jpg)
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Picture:
Prof David Maguire,
presenting Julia Robathan from the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, the Vice-Chancellor's Award at this year’s Transforming Education Awards.
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Success in the Complete University Guide 2025 rankings
I am very pleased to report that UEA has improved on its position in the Complete University
Guide (CUG) 2025 rankings, rising from 23rd to 21st –
our
highest position since 2020. This is a great achievement and signifies UEA’s place amongst the very best universities in the UK.
Announced earlier this week, the annual table assesses 130 universities across the UK on
the full package of services higher educational institutions have to offer, including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality, and graduate prospects.
Rankings such as CUG are an important measure of our progress as an institution and an important indicator of our future success. A big thank you to everyone across our Faculties and Professional Services for your hard work and dedication
in pushing us forward.
Review in favour of Graduate Route for international students
On Tuesday this week, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published results from its
rapid review into the Graduate Route, which allows international students to stay in the UK for two years (or
three years for PhD students) post study. The route is a positive determining factor in students from abroad choosing to study in the UK.
It is pleasing to see the report recommend that the Government maintains the Graduate Route
in its current form, as we look to strengthen our position in the current international recruitment round.
It concludes that the Graduate Route is not undermining the integrity and quality of the
UK higher education system and overall is helping universities expand the range of courses offered, while offsetting the financial losses from domestic students and research.
Recommendations are made to HEs to ensure continued good practice in the use of agents and
increasing resilience, and we agree with the view of sector bodies including
Universities UK and BUILA (British Universities International Liaison) that
these are sensible steps. In fact, UEA was one of the first universities to sign up to the new
UK Agent Quality Framework
in 2023.
We understand that the Government plans to respond next week, but this is a better-than-expected
outcome so far, with many potential students awaiting the outcome of this review. We hope that the publication of the report –
assuming that
the Government accepts it – will encourage more international students to apply to UEA and accept our offers.
Finally, I am looking forward to attending UEA’s Scholarship Reception on campus tomorrow
evening. Over the years, our donor-funded scholarships scheme has benefited hundreds of less advantaged students who may not have had the opportunity to pursue their studies. It has also meant that we have welcomed some tremendously talented individuals to
study here.
The event will be the perfect opportunity to thank our scholarship donors for their generosity, as well as celebrate the achievements of our scholars. I look forward to updating you further next week.
Best wishes,
Professor David Maguire
Vice-Chancellor and President
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