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AlAMyHere’stothe modernvintageWendyPurcell explainshowand whyuniversitynewcomers worldwideare offering bold newacademic flavoursOlder is better: well, that is whatthey say about wine –and whatthey used to say about universities,too. But not now,not since TimesHigher Education started shining thespotlight on excellence wherever it isfound, without regard to the datestamped on the university birthcertificate.The emergence of an ambitious andsomewhat precocious group of worldclassuniversities is worth celebrating,and it’s worth asking how we did it.Well, we have learned the secrets ofsuccess from our elders but not bettersto leapfrog into the future (and aheadof many of them). We can see thedangers of complacency, too.So how as auniversity doyou gofrom zero to hero? The key is excellence:there is simply no room formediocrity. Excellence in terms ofthe subject base for teaching, learningand research –and excellence in how22 Times Higher Education 1May 2014you do it –isamust. Youalso need toarticulate the distinctiveness of yourstudent experience and how you aretackling today’s grand challengesthrough research and its application.In addition, having asense of civicengagement andconnectedness to thecommunities you serve is vital.At Plymouth University, our academicand scholarly mission is to“advance knowledge and transformlives through education and research”–something most universities canidentify with. But it is our vision to be“theenterprise university”thatdistinguishesus.Enterprise –aspirit of boldness orreadiness in undertaking –infuses ourapproach to all our activities. We havesought to carveout adistinctive nichefor ourselves in acrowded market byviewing our teaching and researchthrough an enterprise lens. Adoptingthis pioneering perspective makes usunafraid to take risks.As aresult, we are making arealand sustainable difference to our students,staff, local community and thewider economy. This distinctivenesshas helped us emerge as part of aglobal elite ofnew universities –the100 Under 50.In the UK, we hear alot abouthigher education being disrupted as itis forced to evolve into amoremarketisedenvironment. But markets anddisruption have always been part ofour world, especially when we look atthe academy from an internationalperspective. To succeed, we need tobe clear about who we are –our brandproposition. Increasing demand forhigher education worldwide is acatalystfor universities with the agility andboldness that comes with youth tothink afresh about how to do things,because what we do as universitiesmatters to society.Strategy is about choice, and disruptionpresents choices. So, tosucceed at the highest level,leaders need to make decisions andembrace change. We must respondto the disruption applied to us andchoose to seek it for ourselves in lightof feedback from students, staff andstakeholders. In order to succeed, weneed to innovate while staying true toour purpose. Given the number ofmodern universities blazing atrail intothe global elite’s ranks, achieving inamatter of years what more establisheduniversities have takencenturiestoattain, it is clear weare doingjust that.Distinctiveness is achieved byfocusing on our purpose and deliveringwhat we are really good at. In afastmovinglandscape presenting myriadchallenges, there is heightened needfor strategic agility and asingularmarket presence, delivered throughthe university’s mission, leadershipand astrong, appropriately pricedacademic offering. Embracing andarticulating distinctiveness not onlyhelps individual universities to surviveand thrive in aglobalised marketplace,but it also adds richness to the sectoras awhole. We want amore heterogeneousand diversified academy –notvertically hierarchal, but horizontallystratified around excellence.Like Plymouth, many universitiesare formulating ways tostand out sothat they can succeed in an increasinglycompetitive global market. Andwe can already see how many are movingfrom self­interest to public service,becoming less “ivory tower” andmoreconnected, inclusive, distinct andsuccessful on the global stage.So you don’t need to be old; you justneed to be bold.Wendy Purcell is vice-chancellorand president of PlymouthUniversity.