Strategic Plan 2008-2012
Brunel's new Strategic Plan aims to carry us forward to 2012 with academic confidence, financial security and a growing national and international reputation. It attempts to bring together:
- Our Strategic Imperatives: the practical actions and activities we need to undertake;
- Our Values: the ethical guidelines that will inform how we achieve our objectives;
- Our Vision: what we hope to be as a consequence.
- Our Mission: To advance knowledge and understanding, and provide society with confident, talented and versatile graduates.
Foreword
Our Heritage: 40 Years of Progress
The history of our University is a story of growth and evolution. From our origins in the Acton Technical College to the cosmopolitan institution we know today, Brunel has always been a dynamic place to work and study. Constantly re-inventing itself, the University has managed to both remain true to its origins and relevant to the needs of wider society.
Brunel University is now home to around 16,000 people, both staff and students, from over 100 countries. With a turnover of over £130 million, the University is a complex organisation with considerable intellectual, financial and social resources and makes a major contribution to the economy and community of the West London region. It also plays a significant role in the higher education scene nationally and has numerous international links and partnerships.
In our research, our academics strive not only to push the boundaries of knowledge and understanding but also to be of benefit to society at large. This expertise and experience is brought to bear in our teaching so that our students as well as our staff are able to contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of communities around the world.
The confidence, sense of purpose and agility that created today's Brunel can be found within our latest Strategic Plan. There is no doubt that such qualities will be essential in tomorrow's increasingly global and competitive world.
The National Context
The context for the new Strategic Plan is one of continuing change. Social, political and economic factors are likely to present challenges and opportunities to higher education in the coming years, and we shall have to face important issues such as an increasingly global marketplace, demographic change and the move towards a more market-driven sector. These will require Brunel to remain committed to its traditional roots in academic rigour and quality while maintaining a flexible and responsive approach to an evolving market.
In the competition for students and for research funding, employer engagement will become increasingly important. Brunel's distinctive combination of quality research and teaching with a practical and creative approach has always ensured that our collaboration with industry is extensive and fruitful, and we continue to build on this strength. Of necessity, we must also be responsive to the constraints placed on us by external factors, and Brunel's Mission and Vision will therefore allow us to address HEFCE's priorities while ensuring that our own values and goals are sustained.
The Brunel Context
During the life of the 2002 to 2007 Strategic Plan, the University rationalised its estate and moved all its operations to the Uxbridge Campus. The £215 million we have since spent on new and upgraded facilities on the Uxbridge site has ensured that our campus is one of our major assets. Further investment in the form of new accommodation, teaching space and an on-going programme of re-conditioning work on our older buildings will ensure that this continues to be the case. In particular, our new sports facilities make Brunel well placed to benefit from, and contribute to, the Olympic Games which take place in London in the final year of this new Plan.
Another important feature of the 2002 to 2007 Strategic Plan was the decision to develop a broader research base throughout the University to complement the areas of excellence achieved in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). As a result, we have made a significant investment in both research-active academic staff and support facilities, leading to a major rise in the number and proportion of academic staff submitted for the 2008 RAE. Our new Strategic Plan seeks to build on this progress and to ensure that a research-intensive culture underpins all Brunel's activities.
Other factors remain critical to the achievement of our Vision and therefore the success of our Strategic Plan. In particular, we must maintain a sustainable financial position, develop a clear and distinctive brand for the University and recruit and retain talented and innovative staff. This last area points to probably the most important element of the Plan, which is the recognition that all our endeavours are built on our most valuable asset, our staff. Their development and wellbeing are central to our success.
The Next Five Years and Beyond: The Strategic Plan 2008 to 2012
Brunel's latest Strategic Plan, published in early 2008, focuses on the next five years but looks beyond that to the middle of the 21 st century. It embodies a substantial review of the University and its aims and objectives, and reflects a broad consultation on the effectiveness of the previous Plan, the current position of Brunel and the future direction the University should take.
This review has led us to define a set of value statements to guide us, and five strategic imperatives that will help to crystallise and assess our progress towards our Vision of being a world-class creative community .
The Plan also acts as a reference map to guide everyone within the Brunel community about their role and priorities in contributing to the future of our University.
