General Assembly is an opportunity for all staff to hear directly from the Vice-Chancellor about progress with the University strategy and other recent developments, with time allocated at the end to ask questions.  

Professor Nick Jennings talked to colleagues about some of our recent successes, and key Strategy updates, as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by the University and the higher education sector.

Staff were informed about the latest developments with our University Strategy, which included the following:

• An update on the progress of the Core Plans, with an aim for all to be completed by November 2023
• The appointment of 10 International Special Envoys to support our International Engagement and Impact Core Plan, in addition to six Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor roles which will lead our three strategic themes
• The development of our Carbon Action Planner, which will support the University’s pledge to reach Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035
• The establishment of a range of mini Centres for Doctoral Training
• A redesign of the PDR system to match the University’s values
• The recruitment of our first Pro Vice-Chancellor for Sport

Updates were also provided on the actions to be taken as a result of the Staff Experience Survey findings, and the exciting next steps the University plans to take to develop more international partnerships across the USA and the Middle East.

The Vice-Chancellor also mentioned the opportunity to hold the General Assembly more than once a year to keep colleagues updated on the work of the Strategy as well as other initiatives taking place – more information on this will be shared soon.