Annual Report 2017/18 and Financial Statements to 31 July 2018 Contents 2 Chair’s Foreword 11-25 How we performed: 3 The year in pictures – Knowledge: teaching and learning – Knowledge: research and impact 5 Our Mission, Vision, Values and Strategy – People 7 How we create value – Relationships – Physical resources 7 Value for money – Finances 9 Vice-Chancellor’s Introduction 26 What do our students think? 28 Risk 31-93 Financial Statements to 31 July 2018 94 Five Year Summary Accounts Annual Report 2017/18 and Financial Statements to 31 July 2018 1 2 Chair’s Foreword Welcome to our first integrated Annual Report. I am delighted to be able to present to you this new style of reporting. While financial facts and figures are an important part of the University they only tell a small part of its story. By reporting on a broader set of measures and providing illustrative examples about the contribution made by our students, staff and alumni, coupled with the impact of our outstanding teaching and research, we are presenting a more rounded picture of the University’s performance over the last year. There have undoubtedly been some challenges in There continues to be significant investment in our facilities 2017/18; both internally (which the Vice-Chancellor and campuses. This year saw the opening of our pioneering outlines within his report on page 9) and externally, £1.77m Renewable Energy Engineering Facility (REEF) on most notably with both Brexit and the Post-18 Review our Penryn campus. commissioned by the Government on the near horizon creating uncertainty within the sector. This is set against We continue to recruit exceptional staff and our own are a backdrop of increasing global competition to attract also sought after; this year we have said a fond farewell the very best staff and students. to Professor Nick Talbot FRS, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Impact) who left to take up the role of Despite these challenges, I am pleased to reflect on Executive Director of the prestigious Sainsbury Laboratory. another successful year for the University. We welcome Professor Neil Gow FRS who joined us in October 2018 to take on the role of leading our research Our ‘Making the Exceptional Happen’ campaign raised and impact strategy. over £15 million of philanthropic income during the year, the best fundraising performance in the University’s Our diverse community remains at the heart of a 63 year history. This included a £10 million donation from prosperous city and region. An analysis of economic impact the Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation to create a found that in 2015-16 we injected £1.17 billion into the neuroimaging facility for University scientists. Situated at economy, supporting 11,400 jobs. Our community is also the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, the Mireille Gillings of enormous cultural value, engaging with local residents Neuroimaging Centre will accelerate clinical trials for in Devon and Cornwall with celebrations such as Diwali, dementia treatments. Lunar New Year, Bioblitz, Science in the Square and our Community Days. We’ve performed well in a number of influential rankings. We’re placed amongst the best in the UK according to There is such a huge range of activity taking place at the the Complete University Guide, with 26 subjects ranked University and it is always difficult to select just a few in top-ten positions. In October 2017 the Times Higher highlights and as a graduate myself, I am very proud of the Education placed us in the top 100 institutions in the world considerable progress that has been made, some of which to study a range of Social Sciences subjects, whilst Science has been captured in the following pages. Within this report and Humanities were recognised as amongst the world’s you will also be able to review our financial statements, best in the QS World Subject Rankings. In May, we rose to highlighting our continued financial strength. 35th place in the world, and ninth in Europe, in the CWTS Leiden Ranking. We also saw a rise in the QS World As we look to the immediate future we must recognise Rankings, published in June, up to 154th place overall, the challenges facing the sector. We remain concerned by and 109th place for employer reputation. Furthermore, the impact of Brexit on staff, prospective students, and our we’re recognised as one of the world’s most international international research collaborations. We are concerned universities, ranking 48th in the Times Higher Education’s about the growing cost and sustainability of continuing table of global 200 international universities. to provide defined benefit pensions and we await the Augar report on Post-18 education and the Government’s International activity this year included the launch of a joint response to it. The Vice-Chancellor, his executive team and PhD degree programme with Tsinghua University, and a all our staff are working hard to ensure that whatever the renewal of our agreement to collaborate in education and outcome, Exeter is well-placed to adapt to these changes, research with the University of South Florida. We have to continue to flourish and make a valuable contribution to continued to build upon our new partnership with the our region and the world. University of Queensland, Australia, with the development of our joint multi-million pound QUEX Institute. Sarah Turvill Chair of Council and Pro-Chancellor Luke Oliver (Drama with Spanish) Meeting the community was a volunteer at the at the Royal Cornwall Show Commonwealth Youth Forum With Tsinghua University we launched a jointly-awarded PhD degree programme Our Formula Student team achieved their best ever competition finish in climate and environmental sciences at Silverstone YEAR IN Celebrating Lunar New Year Our Halloween video was viewed over 65,000 times 4,500 students celebrated success at our summer graduation Annual Report 2017/18 and Financial Statements to 31 July 2018 3 4 4,500 students took part in the Cornwall School Games in June - sponsored by the University Our snowy Streatham campus in March We opened our Streatham campus to the community in March The new ‘Exeter stone’ on our Cornwall campus PICTURES Students helping to beach clean at the Falmouth Spring Festival Our Renewable Energy Engineering Facility (REEF) was opened in Cornwall We pledged to become a Flagship Employer of the Plastic Free Exeter campaign The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP visited the Cornwall campus. The Exeter graduate went on to become Home Secretary Our Mission, Vision, Values and Strategy Our Mission Our Strategy Our Mission is to make the exceptional happen by Making the Exceptional Happen challenging traditional thinking and defying conventional In 2016 we launched our new Strategy, which sets boundaries. Our Strategy establishes how we will work out how we will achieve our vision and mission. towards achieving this, laying the foundations for our Our strategy is built around five goals: future success as a Global 100 research leader. Building research power to tackle global challenges: We will generate research power Our Vision 1 and build on our already strong teams so that they can meet the challenges facing our world. Our driving ambition is to be a Global 100 research leader and create graduates of distinction, within a Delivering an internationally excellent community of the most talented and creative minds. education: We will provide an education that 2 makes our talented students stand out, giving them Our Values the ability to make a difference in the world. Creating an impact regionally, national We have a core set of values, which are central to and globally: We play an important role locally everything we do. These values are important to us and globally. We realise that engaging with because they describe our defining characteristics and 3 communities strengthens us and increases what makes Exeter different. They are shared by our the benefits to society. students, colleagues, graduates, stakeholders and supporters, and guide us in our day-to-day decisions: Supporting our people to make the exceptional happen: We must attract, develop Ambition: Ambition has driven us to where we are 4 and retain outstanding individuals, fostering a diverse today and will help us to sustain a position within the community which is unified by our values. Global 100 Making the most of our resources: We must Collaboration: We work at our best in active manage our resources properly, investing so that collaboration between students, colleagues and our infrastructure is ready for the next generation, external partners 5 whilst ensuring we are environmentally responsible. Challenge: We relish challenge and reach for the previously unachievable Community: We support and inspire each other to be the best that we can be Impact: Making the exceptional happen requires disruptive thinking, fresh ways of working and solutions with impact Rigour: We strive to reach the highest standards of scholarships and service Annual Report 2017/18 and Financial Statements to 31 July 2018 5 6 Chair’s Foreword Welcome to our first integrated Annual Report. I am delighted to be able to present to you this new style of reporting. While financial facts and figures are an important part of the University they only tell a small part of its story. By reporting on a broader set of measures and providing illustrative examples about the contribution made by our students, staff and alumni, coupled with the impact of our outstanding teaching and research, we are presenting a Ourmore rounded Mission, picture of the University’s Vision,performance over the last year. Values and Strategy There have undoubtedly been some challenges in There continues to be significant investment in our facilities 2017/18; both internally (which the Vice-Chancellor and campuses.