A commitment to join the city of Nottingham in its ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2028 and work in China and Malaysia to improve sustainability is just one of the stretching ambitions in the new University Strategy published today.

You can read more about the Strategy in a new blog by Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Andy Long who has led the work on its consultation and development.

In the first of a series of blogs on “what the Strategy means to me,” Director of Development and Sustainability Andy Nolan writes about the Strategy’s carbon-neutral aims and how we might achieve them.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West said:

“I am delighted that this University Strategy is one that has been constructed from the views of the staff and students that make our University what it is. Together we can achieve its goals to build an institution that is as sustainable in its environmental impact as it is in the excellence of its research, teaching and contributions to society.

“In a complex and rapidly changing world, our vision is to be a university without borders, where we use our mission, values, relationships and expertise to benefit communities at home and across the globe.”

Built from more than 26,000 items of feedback from staff and students across our campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia, the Strategy articulates a core vision and set of values that are shared across our global community.

In summary, the Strategy sets out seven strategic goals to guide the work of our faculties, schools, professional service and support areas:

• solving problems and improving lives through education, research and knowledge exchange of the highest quality;

• supporting potential by recruiting students and staff with the highest potential and desire to succeed and support them to achieve their goals;

• developing the campus experience by cherishing the natural environment, providing spaces that support the wellbeing of the community, and developing online resources, continuing professional development and lifelong learning; 

• cultivating a global mindset by providing an international experience for everyone, deepening our international partnerships, and mobility opportunities for students;

• fostering creativity, discovery and experiment by equipping our students to be innovators, and developing incentives to ensure people are empowered to experiment without fear of failure;

• contributing to United Nations sustainable development goals through our research, education and engagement with partners, and supporting Nottingham’s desire to be zero carbon by 2028; 

• embedding collaboration in all that we do to become a university without borders, reaching out to our civic partners, industry and governments and collaborating across internal boundaries.

The new University Strategy will replace Global Strategy 2020 when it concludes at the end of the current academic year 2019/20. Supporting delivery plans in key areas such as our research, teaching, people and estate will be published across the remaining year to support our community in implementing the Strategy and reflecting its aims in team business plans and individual objectives.