Strategic Plan 2013–18

Strategic Plan 2013–18 Vision Priorities Core strategies Enabling strategies University of Oxford Strategic Plan 2013–18 Vision 1 The University of Oxford aims to lead the world financial or other barriers and that no student’s in research and education. We seek to do this success should be hampered by financial in ways which benefit society on a national and difficulties. a global scale. Over the period of this Plan we e. To ensure, through a commitment to the will build on the University’s long traditions of personal education of each student, a quality independent scholarship and academic freedom of education and experience which enables while fostering a culture in which innovation students to apply the values, skills, and plays an important role. intellectual discipline they have acquired 2 The University of Oxford’s distinctive structure, in their future lives and careers, and which born of its history, is a source of strength. generates a lifelong sense of connection with Its colleges offer environments which are Oxford. both supportive to individual scholars and f. To contribute effectively to the cultural, social, characterised by a defining and enduring sense of community. The personal sense of academic and economic life of the city of Oxford and the identity that they provide is life-long. Oxfordshire region. g. To recruit and retain the best academic staff 3 This Plan covers the period 2013-2018. It sets a high-level agenda for the University. We and ensure that under-represented groups have shaped the Plan to meet the following have equality of opportunity in recruitment, aspirations: personal development, and career progression in all areas of employment in the University. a. To develop our capacity to generate and share knowledge in the UK, Europe, and globally, 4 We will monitor progress against our priorities, ensuring significant contributions to public commitments, and aims using relevant policy-making and economic growth. performance indicators, benchmarks, and targets. Through this we will maintain focus b. To work effectively with other institutions and on the Strategic Plan, ensuring that it continues organisations, where such partnerships can to meet academic needs, enables us to respond lead to outstanding research and teaching. to the external environment, and is updated as c. To enhance structures for collaboration across appropriate. departments, colleges, and the University. 5 The annual planning and budgeting process will d. To fulfil the aims that no potential student provide the framework for making the Strategic should be deterred from applying to Oxford by Plan operational at divisional and service level. © University of Oxford 2 University of Oxford Strategic Plan 2013–18 Priorities 6 We have identified two overarching priorities for development over the period of this Plan. These priorities span our core strategies and open up the potential for new and enhanced activity on the part of staff and students, departments and colleges. Priority 1: Global reach To develop the University’s position as a global forum for intellectual engagement, through the proactive communication of ideas generated at Oxford and through openness to new ideas generated elsewhere. 7 The University of Oxford is active worldwide 10 The University’s extensive network of libraries across the broadest range of disciplines and, with and museums offers unique opportunities to learn Oxford University Press, our global involvement and engage with resources. We will continue to in education from pre-school level onwards puts enhance our collections to the benefit of future us in a unique position to influence and engage generations. Access to the University’s collections with the world. This global reach in itself draws will be improved through programmatic students and staff of the highest international digitisation, extending appreciation of the calibre to the University, taking Oxford’s way of role Oxford plays in preserving and sharing engaging with the world with them when they the record of human existence and cultural depart. We will seek opportunities to co-ordinate achievement. Access to our museums, galleries, the University’s activities more effectively, and and scientific collections contributes significantly we will build upon Oxford’s excellence in, and to our public engagement on regional, national commitment to, the delivery of education for all. and global scales, and we will continue to promote this through programmes of events 8 A great university both conveys the knowledge and exhibitions and by fully exploiting the created by its community and is open to new opportunities offered by the web, social media, ideas generated elsewhere. We will maintain the and other innovative modes of transmission. freedom for individuals and research groups to decide what to research, while making it clear 11 ‘Oxford Open Access’ will enhance the Oxford where and how to access Oxford expertise. We Research Archive (ORA) as a permanent and will seek to develop external collaborations, secure online archive of research materials noting that these may be most effective in those produced by members of the University. areas where research and teaching strengths are Copyright permitting, these materials will be complementary, while supporting connections made freely accessible by the Bodleian Libraries. between research groups at the level of individual 12 Oxford is both a national and an international projects. resource for education. A mix of home and 9 An enhanced online presence will form part of international students at both undergraduate this strategy. Digital technology is revolutionising and postgraduate level enriches the academic the manner in which knowledge is created, environment and best serves our vision of collected, and communicated across the globe. the University as a global hub for intellectual The University will position itself so that it engagement. Working closely with the colleges, can engage speedily and effectively with digital we will develop our approaches to the initiatives generated by our staff, students, recruitment and support of undergraduate and alumni, and those outside the University. We will postgraduate international students and we create a strong and coherent online presence in will continue to develop scholarship schemes order to direct those seeking knowledge about to support overseas students. We will also any area of academic study to relevant work develop opportunities for staff and students to carried out at Oxford. We will further develop gain international experience while working or our globally available teaching resources and studying at Oxford. collections for our own community, for our distance-taught students across the world, and for learners everywhere. 3 University of Oxford Strategic Plan 2013–18 Priorities continued Priority 2: Networking, communication, and interdisciplinarity To build on Oxford’s multiple disciplinary strengths and enable collaborations in new and developing areas. 13 Many of today’s research questions cut across and postgraduates. We will develop policy to traditional subject boundaries. Examples include support interdisciplinary study where the case is biomedicine, philosophy of mind, energy, the made for it. environment, information, and the issues of our 16 Sharing resources, advanced facilities, and origins. Strong core disciplines therefore need collections is a useful way of developing research to be combined with mechanisms to promote interdisciplinarity through bringing individuals collaboration. We will build upon our current together who have common interests. We disciplinary strengths to encourage intellectual will explore opportunities to join forces with cross-fertilisation. institutions and organisations internationally 14 The opportunities for major discoveries are where such collaboration will enable us to found quite commonly at the interfaces between address issues of global significance that traditionally distinct subject areas. We will require large scale as well as interdisciplinary enable opportunities for research in novel areas collaboration. that sit between traditionally distinct subjects 17 The natural interactions that colleges afford by promoting activity across departmental and academics and students ensure Oxford an divisional boundaries. advantage in promoting interdisciplinary 15 Oxford has long pioneered multidisciplinary working. Our strategy to build on this advantage degrees. The depth of expertise at Oxford will include working to establish college across the broadest range of subject areas, and associations for research academics without our college communities, which bring together college affiliation and arranging research scholars across many disciplines and at different conferences and international events through stages of their academic careers, make the colleges. We will also partner with colleges to University the natural place of study for those establish ways of building academic clusters in who wish to learn across subject boundaries. selected subject areas. Divisional doctoral centres New thematic research collaborations will lead and colleges will work together where facilities to new study opportunities for undergraduates can be shared. © PSUnlimited/Oxford University Images © PSUnlimited/Oxford University Images Smolonski/Oxford © Greg 4 University of Oxford Strategic Plan 2013–18 Core strategies 18 Our core strategies set out how we propose to build upon Oxford’s existing strengths and share

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