Shaping our future, refreshing our Strategy

Strategy refresh timeline

Work has already begun to ensure our refreshed strategy is in place by the start of the academic year 2026/27.

From March until May, we'll be talking to our community, gathering your ideas and feedback. These will be reviewed by University Council in May, and conversations will continue in June and July as we plan priorities and delivery. University Council will be asked to approve the refreshed strategy at its summer meeting.

Hearing from you

From March to May 2026, we are organising a series of discussion forums.

We will be engaging with our established networks and committees, as well as setting up opportunities to hear your thoughts. We want everyone in our community to have the chance to reflect on these evolved Strategic Aims and share what they mean for you.

Engagement sessions

Across a series of engagement sessions we will prompt discussion around the community questions. We will delve into the topics that matter most to you, and consider one or two questions to help us imagine the kind of university we might be in 2035.

1. Joining your conversations

Executive Board members will be leading strategy discussions in established groups and committees during March, April and May.

2. Opening up the conversation

Not everyone will be part of one of the established groups and committees discussing the Strategy, so we’ve created a variety of opportunities for you to get involved in the conversation and give us your ideas, views and feedback on our community questions and what the future of the University should look like. 

Option A: Strategy dialogue sessions

A series of listening sessions with Professor Kiran Trehan on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 April are open for anyone to attend. 

You can join a session individually or sign up as part of your departmental team or network, and you can attend either in person or over zoom. All are welcome.

Sign up to attend a Strategy Dialogue Session

Option B: Digital booth feedback

If you can’t get along to one of Professor Kiran Trehan’s dialogue sessions but would still like to provide feedback on our community questions, you can use the University’s touch screen digital booth to take part in a short survey and even record an optional video message with your feedback. 

The digital booth will be stationed at various open locations across Campus East and West until Friday 24 April. It provides simple on screen instructions on how to provide your feedback.

Find the digital booth at:

• Ron Cooke Hub atrium - Monday 13 to Friday 17 April (to be confirmed)
• Church Lane ground floor - Monday 20 to Friday 24 April

Option C: Art trail walks: strategy in motion

Join our Art Curator, Helena Cox, for a guided walk through of the creative landscape of our sculptures and art on campus. Whilst exploring the artistic landscape, we’ll chat about the future of the University and capture your insights and ideas in response to some of our community questions, helping fuel our strategy refresh. Let the art inspire your vision for what’s next.

Dates and times:

• Monday 20 April, 3pm to 4.30pm
• Tuesday 21 April, 11am to 12.30pm
• Wednesday 22 April, 2pm to 3.30pm
• Monday 27 April, 3pm to 4.30pm

Bookings will close 24 hours before each event.

Keep coming back to this page to find more opportunities to get involved.

Your voice in the Strategy refresh

What happens to the notes taken during these sessions?

Themed notes will be synthesised into a summary engagement report. This report identifies key themes, recurring "pain points" and "big ideas" that surfaced across all sessions.

Who actually sees this feedback?

Feedback will be reviewed and analysed by the Strategy Refresh Project Data Analysis Team. 
Their synthesised report will be submitted directly to our University Council and will be used to help inform how we shape our strategic projects. This will ensure leadership sees a clear, unfiltered picture of our community’s sentiment, all names will be redacted for anonymity.

How will my ideas influence the Strategic Aims?

Think of your feedback as how we understand your motivation for our high-level goals and how inspiring and ambitious the Aims are. It will ensure our refreshed Aims resonate with the people supporting and delivering the work. If specific themes come up repeatedly they may lead to a shift in how we shape strategic projects, as well as identify areas where our current strategy might not speak to the issues you find critical.

Is my feedback anonymous?

Whilst notes taken at sessions may include names of participants, and electronic transcripts may identify content with particular contributors, these notes will be restricted to staff involved in data analysis. All identifying details will be redacted during analysis, and any quotes included in reports will not be attributed to specific people. 
We may reach out to participants for follow-up activities, but please note that no individuals will be identifiable in any reports or materials produced from this data, without prior consent.

Is my video footage anonymous?

If you choose to record a video at the Video Booth, you will be given the option to record your name, department or job title at the start of the video, or you can choose to record a video without your details. Videos will be transcribed and synthesised into the summary engagement report and your feedback will be treated in line with step 4 above.
Once you have recorded your video, you can choose to leave your contact details. If you leave contact details, we may contact you to ask whether you would be happy for your video to be used in other ways with your permission.

Privacy notice

We will keep data secure and it will only be accessed by relevant staff. Please see our Data Protection Policy for further information on how we meet our legal obligations.

Questions for our community

At the engagement sessions, we will prompt discussion around this set of questions. We can select the topics that matter most to you, and consider one or two questions to help us imagine the kind of University we might be in 2035.