The Building a Great University update from the November 2017 Leadership Bulletin

Building a Great University – Richard Calvert

As I’ve said in previous bulletins, the programme of work to build a great university is really about getting our foundations right. There are some quick wins here, but much more important is putting in place the long term changes required to underpin the Transforming Lives strategy – whether in terms our ways of working, our infrastructure, our systems, and so on.

That means that much of our current focus is on moving from big picture to more detailed design.

In the case of PSOM, we had over 600 staff at the open sessions last month where we talked through the high level design, and we’ve now moved into detailed work on the new operating model in specific areas. We’re starting with student and academic services, as well as work on business and outward engagement, and use of data. We’ll be coming back to you early in the New Year with the proposals coming out in each of these areas.

Alongside this, the Hallam Deal – which Sally has said more about in her introduction – sets out our thinking on how we take forward our people agenda. As some of you will have heard me say, I think there are lots of ways in which we can improve the career offer for staff here at Hallam, though as Sally says there is also a bigger set of changes proposed, including clarity on the University’s expectations of its staff.

Other themes for the current term are the work on estates masterplanning, on which you can expect to hear more shortly; as well as continued work to ensure that our systems and IT work programme is responsive to the changing agenda here.

And of course, the day-to-day job of delivering goes on alongside this. Particular thanks, this month, to all the colleagues involved in graduation – one of our biggest and most important events of the year, and I’m pleased to say now my second time around!