Strategic Plan 2006 - Swansea University

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Aim One – Research Excellence The University will, by the end of the planning period, be considered to be one of the top 30 institutions in the UK, with over 40% of its academic staff assessed to be producing research work of international quality and the remainder producing research work of national-level quality. Current Position The University has pursued a research strategy with two main elements: incremental growth through investing against business plans and diverting resources towards the most successful academic areas with the intention of developing interdisciplinary research activities, and quantum leap developments, based on large external investments, with the critical mass and level of funding to have significant impact on the University’s profile. Increasingly, the major scientific advances are being made at the boundaries between traditional disciplines, giving campus universities such as Swansea a distinct advantage. The move to a School structure has been effected, releasing resources for research, with the academic areas that have been disinvested in integrated into the new Schools. New, and enhanced existing, research teams are embedding and developing capacity for the challenges ahead. Encouragingly, results of the investment in the University’s research capacity are already being seen. Swansea University’s annual income from the Research Councils has increased significantly year-on-year: in 2004/05 it was £4.9m, whereas in the nine months from August 2005 it is already £7.5m. Overall research income has risen dramatically from £10.2m to in excess of £30m during the same time frame (reaching the University’s previous target two years early). Underlying these figures, the number of research grant applications submitted has increased to a level of at least 40 per month, from around 20 per month a year ago, which suggests a permanent increase in research income as well as the one-off increases gained from some of the large projects on campus. Within the Department of Research and Innovation, the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) is working to assist Schools in strengthening their research activities and in identifying opportunities for further funding support. The Department provides a single point of contact for academic staff within the University as well as for external partner organisations. This new, larger structure has been made possible by external funding and will ensure that Swansea stays firmly on course to become a University renowned for its focus not just on world-class research but also on using that research for wealth creation and, in particular, for the economic regeneration of South West Wales (Aim Six). Across the University there has been investment to strengthen many academic areas, including new research centres and specialisations. Some examples include: the Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (in collaboration with Cardiff University and UW Bangor) and the Wales International Centre for Childhood Studies, in Human Sciences; Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales, the Centre for Media History (with other universities) in the School of Arts; the Callaghan Centre for the Study of Conflict in Humanities; and investment in a new subject of Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Physical Sciences. The Research Committee has thoroughly reviewed the criteria for establishing, and the support for, interdisciplinary research centres. Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF) monies have been used to good effect to improve the infrastructure in, for example, Civil and Computational Engineering, the Institute of Environmental Sustainability, and the Biomolecular Analysis Mass Spectrometry Centre. In addition, Computer Science, Engineering and Medicine have successfully bid for eight Research Councils UK (RCUK) Fellowships, including four in Nanomedicine. The University’s Institute of Life Science (ILS) is under construction and on schedule to be ready for occupation by April 2007. It is a quantum leap project, a £50 million investment which represents a defining moment for the University, the largest research investment that has ever been made at Swansea. The ILS is designed to co-locate a number of life science related research centres of excellence in one highquality environment and draw on interdisciplinary research expertise from across the campus, enabling the School of Medicine to realise its full potential. The ILS will provide the highest quality scientific and computing facilities and will host IBM`s European Deep Computing Visualisation Centre for Medical Applications, with a new IBM supercomputer, ‘Blue C’, which is already on campus and in use. This is the fastest computer in the world dedicated to life science research, and the most powerful computer in any HEI in the UK. Objectives for the Planning Period In pursuing its aim of Research Excellence, the University will seek to: . double by 2007, relative to the 2001 RAE, the proportion of its research staff assessed to be producing research work of international quality. . reconfigure the University to achieve research critical mass in all academic areas, supporting this through infrastructure development. . only recruit staff that have achieved, or have the potential to achieve, international excellence in research. . proactively recruit distinguished scholars that can bring strong academic leadership to research teams in Swansea. . increase representation of Swansea University staff on Research Council panels and other funding agencies’ policy-making groups. . increase its income from Research Councils to £11.5m in 2008/09. . increase its research income from external sources other than the Research Councils to to £15.9m in 2008/09 The other major quantum leap project that is already underway is the Institute for Advanced Telecommunications (IAT), launched in May 2006. The IAT is a strategic project to create a world-class centre for telecommunications research in Wales, being a £17m investment underpinned by £5.2m of EU Objective One funds. It develops upon the substantial research strengths at Swansea in Engineering, Computing, Physics and Mathematics. The Institute will become a centre of excellence in modern telecommunications, and subsume and develop the role of the Communications and Photonics research group and the CETIC Centre for Communications and Software Technologies (CAST). The University is determined to ensure that the increase in research activity is suitably acknowledged and rewarded in the next Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). To help in its preparations for the RAE, a Working Group (RAE-WG) has been established to co-ordinate the management of the University’s return. The RAE-WG is comprised of the Vice Chancellor, senior academic staff and officers of the University, with other staff being invited to join the group when their expertise is required. The Group will assist Schools in making strategic decisions regarding the University’s RAE submissions based on the most comprehensive information available. Data has already been collected and analysed to quantify in detail the characteristics of an international-class research unit. Swansea’s current position, and that in 2001, has been assessed on a submission-by-submission basis. The findings have been reviewed by Senate and Management Board. Already, two (of three) such status reports have been published by the RAE-WG, and comprehensive advice given to Schools on the format of the RAE, as part of the University’s ongoing preparations. . promote excellence through international collaboration to achieve critical mass in consortium projects. . build networks between research groups and research and development in industry to promote knowledge transfer and raise awareness of the cutting-edge application of developments. . engage in a dialogue with businesses in Wales, and elsewhere in the UK, to identify potential research projects. . continue to support the commercialisation of the University’s research outputs through the Department of Research and Innovation and through the Technium network. . continue to develop further research collaborations with Welsh institutions, through Welsh Centres of Excellence and other research links with Welsh HE Institutions. . continue to work with public bodies to enhance the University’s research profile. 04 05
Aim One – Research Excellence Aim Two – The Student Experience Approach In the next phase of EU Structural Funding (a Convergence Objective replacing the current Objective One) between 2007 and 2013, the UK is expected to receive €2.6 billion. The Member States are currently in the process of finalising the Structural Funds Regulations, which will establish the rules for delivering the funds during the 2007-2013 budgetary cycle. Following its success with ILS and IAT, the University is already preparing bids for Convergence Objective funds, to be submitted as early as possible in 2007. Potential projects include: • The National Centre for Aquatic Sciences: an educational, research and industrial facility (AquaTechnium-equivalent) based in the SA1 development. The current estimate for the value of the project is between £40m and £50m. • The Welsh Centre for Natural Product Research and Development: a sustainable integrated network which will enhance discovery of novel and diverse natural products and accelerate exploitation of compounds for agriculture and medicine. The total value of the project is estimated at between £25m and £35m. • Centre of Excellence in Bio-Refining: will explore sustainable biofuel sources such as ethanol, the plant genetics that are best suited for European climates and landforms to produce fuels, and the chemical processes that are required for efficient extraction. The project will further develop work at Technium Energy and Technium Sustainable Technologies. • Clinical Research Unit: the development of a Unit within the Swansea NHS Trust on the Singleton site. Should such a bid be successful this will further enhance the School’s position as a world-renowned centre of excellence for clinical research. Many other developments will be undertaken across campus to ‘fine-tune’ the University’s research capacity in the period approaching the RAE. A University-wide initiative in nanotechnology has evolved at Swansea over the last few years based on existing strengths in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Medicine. Recently the project has gathered momentum as funding of £2m has been secured to create a Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre (MNC) with a strategy to develop projects that bridge traditional disciplines to provide a step change in technology. The Centre was officially opened in 2005/06 by the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir David King. It is recognised as a growth area within the University that will lead nanotechnology activity in Wales. The EPSRC Mass Spectrometry Laboratory will be integrated into the School of Medicine in 2006/07. A new use of the laboratory is in Bioinformatics related to the analysis of Mass Spectrometry data in genomics, which will link Mass Spectrometry to the opportunity of ‘Blue C’. The University will seek to build on the strength of its ownership of the Richard Burton Collection by developing the Richard Burton Centre. The Centre will initiate world-class research into the cultural experience of south Wales, drawing on the expertise of the University’s researchers and its unique collections in the broad area of the south Wales cultural experience (Richard Burton Collection, South Wales Coalfield Collection, Welsh Writers in English). £1 million of SRIF money has already been identified for the Centre. In addition, the opening of a new dedicated postgraduate research facility in the James Callaghan Building in 2006/07, financed by SRIF funds, will also enhance the attractiveness of pursuing postgraduate research within the Humanities and Arts in Swansea. An Institute of Governance and Public Policy will be established in 2006 by the Schools of Humanities and Environment & Society. It will develop theoretical, comparative and applied understanding of the nature of contemporary governance and address issues in contemporary public policy, particularly at the sub-state regional level, engaging with the WAG and other public, private and voluntary sector actors in Welsh governance. The Institute will have strong UK-wide and international links and will develop an international research profile. Modern technology is to a large extent mathematical technology and a new Interdisciplinary Research Centre ‘Partial Differential Equations : Analysis, Modelling and Numerics’ will build capacity in Maths, Geography, Medicine and Engineering. Strategic developments in Biological Sciences include the Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research (CSAR) and the embryonic Institute of Environmental Sustainability (IES). Major ongoing grants in Geography include the NERC Climate and Land-Surface Systems Interaction Centre (CLASSIC) (£2.5m), and the EU Millennium Project (€13m; Swansea share, €1.5m). The School of Law has made several bids for Research Council funding, including a substantial bid to establish a Centre for Global Justice. A Chair in the Law of Children’s Rights attached to the School is contained in the successful bid to the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) to establish an Interdisciplinary Centre for Child Research. During the period to 2007, the RAE-WG will further develop its database of measures of research output and esteem, being cognisant of the evolving criteria and working methods of the RAE panels as they are made public. The RAE-WG will advise the Senior Management Team and Schools of the optimal approach to the exercise, and assist in the management and preparation of individual submissions. In addition, the University will contribute to the debates regarding the Science Policy for Wales, and the future of research funding in the post-RAE era. Swansea University will provide an outstanding student experience, with teaching, informed by research work, of the highest quality, equipping students for distinguished personal and professional achievement. Current Position In 2005, Swansea University won the Times Higher Education Supplement's award for the UK's ‘Best Student Experience’. More than 10,000 undergraduates assessed their HEIs in an online survey, and Swansea emerged, from 170 institutions, as the overall winner, with outstanding ratings for its facilities, graduate employment prospects, social life and course satisfaction. In addition, in the inaugural National Student Survey (NSS), the Funding Council-sponsored poll where final year undergraduates feedback on their academic experience, students have assessed Swansea as being in the top twenty HE Institutions (HEIs) in the UK. The Funding Councils have a statutory role in ensuring the quality of teaching in HE is assessed, and consider that students' views form an important part of this assessment. The strong upward trend in applications to study at Swansea over the last five years has continued. The popularity of the University as a place to study is reflected in the volume of applications to study undergraduate full-time degrees at Swansea University. There has been a year-on-year increase of 10.4% in the number of students applying to Swansea, compared with a national decrease of 3.2%. The University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy was reviewed in autumn 2005 and agreed by the Learning and Teaching Committee in October 2005. The Strategy has been restructured in line with the preferred HEFCW format, though the basic thrust remains consistent with the University’s long-term strategy. The HE Academy has provided very positive feedback on the Strategy. As part of the application for University title status, the scholarship and pedagogical effectiveness of academic staff (one of the requisite categories), has been thoroughly reviewed. What emerged from the associated data collection was the very high number of academic staff acting as external examiners in other institutions (over 53%) and the high proportion of these who have acted in this capacity for research degrees (76%). These statistics evidence the research-led approach of the academic staff at Swansea. Statistics are increasingly important in reviewing student performance and diagnosing areas where improvements to student support mechanisms might be introduced or changes to teaching or assessment approaches made. The use of performance measurement statistics is now widespread and forms part of the annual activity of Faculties, the Learning and Teaching Committee, and the Admissions Committee. Continuous improvements in the quality of provision are also prompted by the opinions of end-users to our services in the Annual Student Omnibus Survey, Library and Information Services (LIS) and Careers Centre annual surveys, staff development opportunities and the introduction of the Blackboard e-learning platform. During 2005/06, student performance statistics were presented according to the new School structure and their use, in light of the TQI requirements, will be further promoted. The University has already invested significantly in recent years in improved student facilities and services for students (as detailed in previous Strategic Plans), and is continuing to invest. In summer 2005, a modernisation of the main thoroughfare of the Library and Information Centre (LIC) was undertaken to improve service to the library’s customers (who make 1.1m visits a year to the building). Advanced self-issue and self-return systems were installed as part of this refurbishment, providing 06 07
Page 1 and 2: swansea university strategic plan 2
Page 3: Strategic Directions Introduction V
Page 7 and 8: Aim Two - The Student Experience Ai
Page 9 and 10: Aim Four - Management and Leadershi
Page 11 and 12: Aim Six - Consultancy/Knowledge Exp
Page 13 and 14: Aim Seven - Quality of Life Aim Eig
Page 15 and 16: Cross-cutting Themes academic staff
Page 17 and 18: Cross-cutting Themes Key Assumption

Strategic Plan 2006 - Swansea University

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