Outcome Agreement

University of Strathclyde and the Scottish Funding Council

Contents

Foreword 01-02

Strategy Context 03

Collaboration 04-07

Internationally Competitive Research 08-09

Responsive and Relevant Education Provision 10-11

Widening Access 12-13

Improving Retention and Efficiency 14-15

Diversity 16

Impact of Strategic Funds 16

SFC Capital Investment in the Built Environment 17

Professor Sir Jim McDonald

Foreword Securing excellent outcomes for students and society is fundamental to the University of Strathclyde. The University motto springs from the determination of our founder that we would be a “place of useful learning” operating for “the benefit of mankind”. This focus was wholly fitting in 1796 when our University was established and it remains entirely relevant today.

Strathclyde has been widening participation in higher education since the 18th century when we provided classes in natural philosophy to the working men and women of Glasgow. Our commitment to this agenda remains engrained – it is in our DNA. Many of our staff and students are the first generation of their families to go to university and they recognise the value of higher education. We are committed to recruitment based on merit and an individual’s ability to benefit from the education we have to offer. We have a multiplicity of routes to education – through schools and colleges, programmes targeted at children from less well-off backgrounds, prospective students from care backgrounds, and for mature students who may have missed the opportunity of university earlier in life. We seek to innovate how we can encourage higher levels of participation and achievement by under-represented groups in our society, such as through strategic engagement with the employer community for the benefit of our students.

Strathclyde recognises the universal benefit education delivers of itself but we also know the transformational impact there can be when learning is used to meet the challenges we face as a society. Today, as a leading international technological university, Strathclyde is working with a wide range of external partners on major projects which create wealth, harness the power of technology for human good and which give us a better understanding of how society works and how it can be improved.

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Strathclyde is increasingly being seen as a partner of choice to deliver solutions to major challenges in key themes, such as low-carbon power production, health technologies, drug discovery and innovative manufacturing techniques. Major initiatives include: the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), which is helping to re-establish Scotland’s credentials as a global leader in manufacturing technologies; the Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC), which will become a core component of Scotland’s determination to harness the benefits of low carbon energy through the new ‘smart grid’ and the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC), which positions us at the forefront of drug discovery, development and the manufacturing of medicines – and which is a cornerstone of our multi-disciplinary approach to health technologies. All of these initiatives are characterised by collaborative working with industry partners, other academic institutions and key public sector agencies, such as the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

In the past 12 months, our expertise in energy and renewables and high value manufacturing has seen us become a key partner in two of the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board ‘Catapult’ programmes, an initiative designed to create the industries of tomorrow and to reshape the UK economy. We are confident of securing a core role in the soon-to-be-confirmed Catapult in Satellite Applications. We have been selected to host the world-renowned Fraunhofer Institute’s first UK Centre – in advanced photonics – as well as its UK headquarters in Glasgow. Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre is already contributing to the positioning of Scotland as an international research and innovation hub that will connect world-class research to high-value industry sectors and will attract higher business expenditure on research and development.

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Strathclyde integrates excellent science and engineering capabilities with our strong humanities and social sciences – an approach that reflects the profile of the best international technological universities. For example, the Strathclyde Business School has cemented its position as one of the leading business schools in the UK. One of only a small number of business schools globally that has achieved the gold standard of triple accreditation, our academics are in the forefront of the drive to make Scotland a world centre for entrepreneurship – taking ideas to market and creating value for the wider economy.

August 2012 saw all of our humanities and social sciences provision brought together on our main campus. Not only will this enhance the experience of students from the School of Education who had been based at Jordanhill, but it also means tomorrow’s teachers will be trained alongside tomorrow’s leaders in business, engineering, technology, the humanities and social sciences and in subjects such as pharmacy, IT and the physical sciences. The networks we are creating will benefit future generations of pupils and ensure that they are taught by professionals who have a broadly-based view of the world.

The central role of humanities and social sciences at the University can be seen in this year’s decision by the Chinese Government to establish Scotland’s latest Confucius Institute at Strathclyde. China is a strategically important partner for Scotland and will remain a major force in economic development for the foreseeable future. This Confucius Institute’s focus on working with Scotland’s schools will ensure that future generations of Scottish students will be better placed to take advantage of the opportunities our relationship with China brings. This will also provide a bridge for Chinese investment in Scotland as well as better informing our business and industry partners about the essential nature and importance of the Chinese culture and language – we are well placed to offer such value.

Our record for ongoing contribution to social policy development and relevance is reflected in a cluster of strategic centres, including the Glasgow School of Social Work, the National Centre for Excellence for Looked-After

Children and the Scottish Autism Network. All of these centres affect Scotland at large as well as influencing our own approaches to addressing societal issues.

At Strathclyde, we have a clear vision of what we are about and what we deliver in education, research and knowledge exchange. We test ourselves and our performance against international benchmarks because we recognise that success in today’s world depends on the strength of connections with international partners – in our own sector, as well as in business, industry and government. We are recognised as a place where you can ‘get things done’. It is for this reason that, earlier this year, the South Korean Government selected us to act as its sole European partner for university commercialisation.

We acknowledge the significant public investment in higher education and in this University and the obligations which spring from that investment. We value our partnership with the Scottish Funding Council, with government and other relevant agencies and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our value through this Outcome Agreement.

Our performance shows that our return on investment is significant: a pipeline of highly skilled graduates who fuel the Scottish economy; expertise for business and the public sector – particularly in the field of policy development; a steady stream of ground-breaking research with direct applications to industry; an institution which is an international hub for Scotland. But we do very much more. More than 50 per cent of our income is from non-SFC sources. We are contributors to growth acceleration, generating income for Scotland – directly and indirectly – and enhancing our nation’s reputation on the international stage.

We are focused on producing high impact results – excellent graduates, leading research and highly effective knowledge exchange – and we constantly pursue improvements in our performance. Outcomes are what we have always been about; I commend this document to you.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice-Chancellor

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Strategy Context Reinforcing our position as a leading international technological university is the main driver for our ambitious Strategic Plan, which takes us through to 2015 and positions us for the next stage in our development. The significant external investment and the number and scope of partnerships established since the start of 2011 convinces us that our strategy is the right one for Strathclyde. The plan is delivering in spite of the major challenges and changes within our sector, and beyond.

We are now accelerating the delivery of our strategy, building on developments within the University and in the wider economic and political arena. We are in a strong position to take advantage of emerging national and international opportunities. We also believe it will help us further enhance the added value we provide to the economy and society at large.

Our key ambitions remain to:

strengthen our reputation as an international technological university, solving global challenges

engage world-leading international partners who are recognised for their global reach and success in higher education, industry, commerce and government

act as a sector role model for integrating our four core pillars of activity – research, education, knowledge exchange and internationalisation

be recognised for the flexible and innovative ways in which we collaborate with our external partners

provide an excellent education and opportunities for a broadly-based experience for all of our students

embed an enterprising, resourceful and productive culture within the organisation, focused on delivery, efficiency and effectiveness across all of our activities

reinforce strength in leadership within our academic and professional services community at all levels of the University

contribute to the economic development of Scotland and the UK and fulfil our obligation to work for ‘the benefit of mankind’ through research, education and knowledge exchange which is global in its impact

recognise – and invest in – our areas of success

Our response to the Outcome Agreement initiative is made in the context of a university which has been committed to delivery from its foundation. It provides a timely opportunity to focus on Strathclyde’s key priorities, to review how they align with and contribute to the higher education sector and how they impact on the wider economic, intellectual and societal life of Scotland, the UK and beyond.

This Outcome Agreement does not reflect the full range of the University’s activities and achievements. The Scottish Funding Council is introducing Outcome Agreements to the sector on an incremental basis and has asked us to focus our attention on the following key areas:

i) Knowledge exchange and collaboration with industry, business, government and the third sectorii) Internationally competitive researchiii) Responsive and relevant education provisioniv) Widening accessv) Improving retention and efficiencyvi) Promoting diversity

For 2013/14, it is expected that Outcome Agreements will cover the full range of SFC-funded activities.

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Collaboration with Industry, Business, Government and the Third Sector OUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to increasing collaboration with industry, business, government and the third sector, working with our partners to support sustainable economic growth and for wider societal benefit by fully exploiting the impact of our research.

Our PrioritiesPrimary Themes Promoting the exploitation of research in areas of

particular strength and relevance to support sustainable economic growth and for the wider benefit of society.

Delivering the aggregated, strategic, business plan targets that drive our major research and knowledge exchange initiatives in key themes, including low carbon energy, advanced manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, photonics and sensors and health technologies. We will broaden and deepen engagement with business and industry across the University by using the success of existing initiatives as exemplars of best practice. These include: the Technology and Innovation Centre; the Advanced Forming Research Centre; the Power Networks Demonstration Centre; the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation; Health Technologies at Strathclyde; and our partnership with Fraunhofer.

Building on our existing successes in the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) Catapult programmes – in High Value Manufacturing, Offshore Renewable Energy and, prospectively, Satellite Applications – to develop internationally competitive industries through the exploitation of the UK’s research base.

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Our Approach Multiplying the benefits of the ‘triple helix’ approach

to collaborative research and knowledge exchange through joint strategic programmes and co-funding between the private, public and higher education sectors. Our experience in this domain is significant and we are developing effective models for such exchange.

Further developing our successful approach to open innovation and the creation of academic and industry clusters in key areas where business partners can collaborate with each other, create opportunities for innovative SME (small and medium enterprises) supply chain partners and co-invest within a university research centre or hub environment.

The ‘triple helix’ approachWorking with business, industry and the public sector has been part of the University’s core business since we were founded in 1796 for the pursuit of ‘useful learning’.

We believe universities have a key role to play in addressing the global challenges of competitiveness, innovation and sustainability. By adopting a ‘triple helix’ approach of collaboration between the University, industry and government, Strathclyde is in an ideal position to help the economy, develop solutions to global challenges, and develop the next generation of highly skilled professionals needed by today’s employers.

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Increasing the quality of our SME engagement through ‘clustering’ by:

– extending the established Encompass approach to innovation voucher allocation, so that vouchers are allocated where there is clear evidence that the relationship with the SME has the potential to be escalated

– extending the established approach of the Advanced Forming Research Centre into other programmes, so that our Tier One (usually large) company partners encourage their supply chain companies (often SMEs) to build their capabilities and skills by working meaningfully with the University

– using our innovative and externally recognised Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Research Exploitation Partnership mechanism to escalate Knowledge Transfer Partnership level engagement with the most fertile SMEs.

Engaging proactively with the consultation on the Scottish Government’s proposed Single Knowledge Exchange Office and supporting business engagement in sector/nationwide strategic research and knowledge exchange activity.

Working closely with the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and other partners to ensure support for business and industry engagement is aligned and maximises their return on investment.

Increasing strategic Intellectual Property (IP) access for key business and industry partners who engage with the University for strategic, commercial and R&D procurement purposes. We will also undertake a comprehensive review of our non-strategic IP with a view to making this available widely on an open platform.

Case study: Transforming chemical manufacturingStrathclyde researchers are working with industry to revolutionise the way pharmaceuticals and other chemicals are made. Its world-class EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation is developing quicker, more effective and more sustainable methods of manufacturing products such as medicines, foodstuffs, dyes and nanomaterials.

The chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are worth more than £100 billion to the UK economy in sales each year, and this national centre, supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), has already attracted investment from GSK, AstraZeneca and Novartis.

The Centre is an example of the University’s collaborative approach to research. Led by Strathclyde, research partners include the universities of Cambridge, Bath, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt and Loughborough. Since its establishment it has attracted further EPSRC research grants in the region of £5 million, the majority of which is dedicated to set up a Centre for Doctoral Training within the national centre.

Making significant contributions to wider society and public policy through projects including: our renowned Law Clinic, which provides legal advice for the disadvantaged; the government-supported National Centre for Excellence for Looked-After Children; the Fraser of Allander Institute; Scotland’s National Centre for Languages; the Centre for Public Policy; the Centre for Internet Law; and the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools.

Contributing significantly to Scotland’s social capital through our extensive engagements and collaborations with the third sector, professional organisations and social enterprises in all sectors, from social work to engineering.

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Collaboration with Industry, Business,

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Resourcing Providing strategic University funding such as the

Knowledge Exchange Development Fund, to incentivise staff to create new knowledge exchange initiatives and to support their successful delivery. Strathclyde Business School’s Centre for Corporate Connections is an innovative example, offering tailored senior management programmes for businesses.

Building the University’s investment in knowledge exchange. As well as the annual allocation of the SFC- funded knowledge transfer grant of £1.5 million, the University currently invests a further £2.5 million a year directly on knowledge exchange activities. This funding is used to support and incentivise strategic knowledge exchange projects, as well as providing dedicated human resource and training for knowledge exchange activity. This total direct annual investment of £4 million is dwarfed by the University’s indirect spend on KE. We will work to arrive at a fuller assessment of the University’s overall investment in knowledge exchange activities.

Staff development Promoting a wide range of knowledge exchange

training to academic staff. Initiatives include the Researcher Development Programme, the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Training programme, the EPSRC-backed Company Escalator Programme, the Enterprise Academy, the Strathclyde Solutions Exchange, Engage with Strathclyde programme and the recently awarded EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account.

Stimulating a strong spirit of enterprise within the University by building entrepreneurship capacity in the staff and student community, with benefits for business, industry and the wider economy.

Specific Deliverables Double the value of both consultancy and continuing

professional development income over five years, as a proxy for closer engagement.

Secure our position in the UK top five for Knowledge Transfer Partnership involvement.

Increase licensing agreements from 20 (£0.5 million) to 40 (£2 million) in five years.

Develop a new Commercialisation and Investment Strategy with an initial focus on energy and renewables and health technologies – with a view to creating more high-prospect spin-outs and other commercial activities which have the potential for significant growth, economic impact and commercial returns to the University, its partners and Scotland. We expect to develop strategic partnerships with professional fund managers and investor communities to support this work.

Work with the Research Pools to better understand and specify how investment in them can translate high quality research to exploitation by business, industry, health and public policy departments.

Embrace and respond quickly to enquiries from business and industry, including the provision of a central SME outreach programme which is co-managed with our Knowledge Transfer Account (and the EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account) and coordinated as part of the ERDF-funded Encompass project led by the University of Glasgow. We will use standard Scotland-wide documentation whenever feasible.

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Case study: Corporate ConnectionsThe benefits of business-university links are well-known – but for many companies, the perceived cultural divide between academia and industry means partnership can be a leap too far.

Strathclyde Business School has developed a joined-up approach to understanding the needs of businesses and delivering solutions which fit. Its new Centre for Corporate Connections delivers bespoke, client-centred research, teaching and consultancy.

The success of the approach is such that it has already attracted a wide range of industry partners and has developed a number of bespoke programmes. These include an MBA with William Grant and Sons, a business transformation programme with Senergy, a new Executive Masters in Hospitality and Tourism Leadership for the sector, a management development programme with Standard Life and an emergent leaders programme with Alliance Trust. In addition, Babcock International Group has extended its multimillion pound contract with the School to support its management training.

Host and play a leading role in sectoral organisations like the Energy Technology Partnership and the Scottish Environmental Technology Network that have SME outreach capabilities and SME targets. We will work more closely with trade organisations that act as conduits to large groups of SMEs for the purposes of connecting them to knowledge exchange links to Strathclyde, for example Scottish Renewables, Scottish Engineering and the Independent Power Association.

Work with the Scottish Funding Council to define appropriate methodologies to baseline and set an appropriate high level target for measuring the impact of each of these activities by June 2013.

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Global impactWe are committed to working with leading universities and businesses around the globe to tackle the major research challenges of the 21st century.

With more than 200 collaborative agreements with institutions in over 50 countries – and an estimated 2000 informal links around the world – the University makes major contributions in Scotland, in the UK and internationally.

Our academic staff collaborate with a wide range of leading universities including Stanford, MIT, and Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Tsinghua, Harbin and Shanghai Universities in China.

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Internationally Competitive ResearchOUR COMMITMENTIn keeping with our ambitions as a leading international technological university, we are committed to enhancing the international competitiveness of our research by focusing on innovative approaches to connect high-quality research to outcomes that have impact in contemporary global society and industry. Our PrioritiesInternational partnerships

Securing the active involvement of our industrial partners in major institutional initiatives, levering funding and ensuring our research activity is influenced by an understanding of industry needs. The majority of our major industrial sponsors are global corporations and through their networks, we are strengthening our research partnerships with globally-leading universities.

Building high-value, strategic, academic partnerships in North America, Asia and Europe and establishing funded collaborations on activities that are relevant to our respective and complementary academic missions. These collaborations will address ‘grand challenge’ questions of global significance in areas including Smart Grid, sustainable energy, drug discovery, health technologies, law and public policy, economics and regulation, industrial strategy and the digital economy.

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Rolling out our EPSRC-funded Global Engagement initiative, which is aimed at putting the best with the best, escalating the strategic engagement of key research themes across photonics, power and energy, advanced engineering and manufacturing and bio-nanotechnology. The themes selected feature internationally leading groups of researchers at Strathclyde, headed by a recognised pioneer in their field, with a group of associated world-class researchers who will work jointly with high-profile international partners.

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Doctoral training Investing in a new multidisciplinary Centre for Doctoral

Training (CDT). We already lead, or are a partner in, 12 Centres for Doctoral Training for themes in science, social sciences, engineering and technology and we are currently engaged in the RCUK (Research Councils UK) consultation on the next thematic areas for CDT investment. This approach will support our strategy to enhance the researcher experience, attracting greater international collaboration in a high-quality environment.

Working with the Scottish, UK and European Governments Playing an influential role in supporting the

development of the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council’s Horizon 2020 strategy, aligning Scotland’s key academic research strengths with the emerging focus in this programme.

Engaging in the development and roll-out of Horizon 2020. We are already playing a key role in the energy domain, where we are the lead representatives for the European Energy Research Alliances (EERA) in both Wind and Grid. This positions us as a leading actor in the European landscape and brings us significant opportunity and influence.

Using our connections with Fraunhofer to enhance our prospects, and those of our other higher education partners in Scotland, for successful bids to European Union programmes.

Specific Deliverables Grow strategic alliances with world-class academic

institutions and organisations, especially in Asia and the USA, establishing five new relationships in areas where Strathclyde has research strengths and developing three existing relationships to a higher strategic level.

Case study: International researchAs a leading international technological university, Strathclyde has a growing portfolio of international research contracts. These include three European Research Council grants awarded to scientists in 2011, worth approximately £3.85 million, to support improvements in the fields of medicine, energy, the environment and physics.

More recently, the University was selected as the exclusive European partner university for South Korea’s global research and commercialisation programme after a competitive process. The Global Industry-Academia Cooperation Programme, funded by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economics, is enabling Strathclyde academics to work with technology companies in South Korea, providing leading-edge research and creating business opportunities in areas including health, electrics and electronics and new materials. The partnership follows the establishment of the Georgia Institute of Technology as Korea’s sole university partner in the USA.

Increase the value of our international research portfolio from outside the European Union. Our target will be to secure at least five new grants with a collective total value in excess of £5 million.

Increase our success in EU Framework 7 by winning five additional grants during 2013.

Increase our postgraduate research student population from approximately 1000 to 1600 by 2016.

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Responsive and Relevant Education ProvisionOUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to ensuring that its education provision challenges students to realise their potential, provides them with essential skills for life and is appropriate and responsive to both the needs of the learner and the needs of the employment market.

Our Priorities Taking forward our programme of curriculum renewal to

develop our undergraduate and postgraduate educational provision, seeking synergy with research and knowledge exchange activities and supporting the institutional strategy as a leading international technological university. For example, our Vertically Integrated Projects initiative enables students from all undergraduate years to work together in multi disciplinary teams with postgraduate students, PhDs, doctoral researchers and academics on significant research or knowledge exchange programmes.

Working with business, industry, professional bodies and other external partners such as Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to ensure our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are relevant to the world of work, giving our students the opportunity to enhance their skills through extra-curricular activity including volunteering, internships and experience in the workplace.

Enhancing student employability through a focus on our four key graduate attributes (engaged, enquiring, enterprising, and ethically-aware) across the curriculum:

– through programmes such as Strathclyde Business School’s innovative Management Development Programme and the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

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– in extra-curricular activities such as the award-winning Strathclyde Law Clinic and the Engineering Faculty’s Formula Student team – through leveraging educational benefits from key strategic collaborations such as our long-standing partnership with leading pharmaceutical and healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which was recognised as an exemplar in Sir Tim Wilson’s Review of Business-Industry Collaboration, commissioned by the UK Government.

Case study: Strengthening teaching to support the economyThe University of Strathclyde and pharmaceutical firm GSK have joined forces in a series of innovative chemistry teaching collaborations.

The programmes began with an MPhil degree, exclusively for GSK staff, offering them the chance to develop new research approaches for treatments in areas such as respiratory and inflammatory diseases, while at the same time pursuing their pharmaceutical sector careers.

The collaborations have since been expanded, with 25 students on the MPhil and PhD programmes. The overall number of collaborative MPhil and PhD studentships is expected to exceed 70 over the next two years. The programme’s success was highlighted in the Review of Business-Industry Collaboration, published by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, as an example of how partnerships between higher education and industry can strengthen the economy.

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Engaging with employers in Scotland, the UK and internationally, to develop activities which allow our students to expand their knowledge and skills.

Improving opportunities for our students at all levels to benefit from an external placement through our network of collaborative partners.

Enhancing our Virtual Learning Environment for on- campus students and to provide more flexible opportunities for off-campus and part-time students.

Extending our language provision, through the new Confucius Institute within Scotland’s National Centre for Languages and through the first Fraunhofer Centre to be established in the UK.

Working with the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association (USSA) and the wider student body to enable and encourage engagement in the development and delivery of educational initiatives, including peer- supported personal development planning, and co- design of a new class in social and community entrepreneurship.

Broadening and deepening students’ internationalisation experience through a range of initiatives and teaching programmes including:

– the long established BA in International Business and Modern Languages and the more recently launched BA in International Business, through which one-in-three students in Strathclyde Business School undertake a period of study abroad – offering international scholarships through schemes such as the Neil Hood Memorial Fund – active participation in the Saltire Foundation Internship Scheme, which has provided students with an important and valuable opportunity to gain professional experience with global companies around the world

– encouraging student mobility through our ERASMUS and TEMPUS links and through bespoke exchange programmes particularly with universities in the USA and Canada – continuing to work with Georgia Institute of Technology to transfer the learning advancements developed by them in their Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) programme by creating similar projects at Strathclyde. We are developing international interactions between VIP teams at Strathclyde and those at Georgia Tech through student exchanges, closer co-operation between academic staff leading projects and the development of collaborations in technical and education research.

Specific Deliverables Strathclyde will at least maintain 2011/12 levels for

Scottish domiciled and EU students. The SFC will be informed at an early stage of any plans to restrict or withdraw teaching provision or to rationalise it through teaching pooling.

Baseline our activity in this area and set appropriate targets that enable us to evaluate the impact of these initiatives, both for the student and for our partners.

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Widening AccessOUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to providing access to people from the widest possible range of backgrounds.

Our Priorities Building sustainable, broadly-based and student/

business-focused partnerships with regional colleges, through the development of strategic partnerships that provide pathways to our degree courses in areas where there is strong external demand and where there is scope to attract external funding.

Developing and launching a new Engineering Academy in partnership with the Glasgow and Clyde college regions and industry to increase the number of engineering and applied sciences graduates. Sponsorship is being sought from Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, the SFC and industry partners. The Academy takes its inspiration from the Advanced Manufacturing Institute Skills Academy coordinated by one of our strategic partners, the AMRC of Sheffield University. Pipelines of well-educated, highly-skilled people ranging from Modern Apprentices through to PhDs, will be created to meet the needs of industrial partners in the energy, manufacturing, defence, aerospace and marine sectors.

Working with colleges over the coming year to:

– rationalise current college agreements – develop strategic partnerships with college groupings – increase numbers of college entrants. – develop curriculum matching and entry qualifications – construct an industrial programme of placements and graduate apprenticeships.

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Developing a new model to support our widening access strategy, taking account of contextual data already available, the common basket of data from UCAS and recommendations from the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions programme relating to the comparison of schools’ performance against national average.

Delivering enhanced support, tailored to the individual student’s needs, for students from ‘widening access’ backgrounds to help them maximise their potential and smooth progression through their chosen programme. Specific initiatives include: Transition points; bridging support; the needs of care leavers students from a looked-after background; and our Summer School provision.

Supporting lifelong learning, opening routes to higher education, particularly within the regional community, through the delivery of a broad range of successful programmes delivered by the University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning.

Sustaining our solid performance in recruitment from under-represented groups (MD20%) relative to our peers, including in high demand subjects, such as Pharmacy and Law. Overall, the percentage from MD20 neighbourhoods is around the national average at 12 per cent. In the period 2008/9 to 2011/12, the intake from MD20 neighbourhoods to the LLB Law (Hons) has increased from eight per cent to 18 per cent and in MPharm from 5.8 per cent to 6.6 per cent.

Building on our existing outreach activity, through partner agencies such as FOCUSWest and Go4Set. Applicants from FOCUS West schools are given priority places at our Summer School. In 2011, 171 applications were received for Summer School. Of the 113 students who attended, 27 were from FOCUSWest Schools and 25 were from schools within the Glasgow City Council boundary. Sixty are now studying at the University.

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Engaging with school leavers, particularly from low progression schools, to raise aspirations and awareness of the benefits of higher education. We will continue our active contribution to the ‘Top Up’ programme that facilitates progression to higher education for school pupils from areas of low participation.

Continuing to develop the Engineering Education Scheme in conjunction with the Engineering Development Trust and the Royal Academy of Engineering, providing opportunities for S5/S6 students to work on real, scientific, engineering and technological problems through six-month industry/ university projects. Through this scheme, the University is given early access to students with high academic potential, including those from schools that historically have not sent large numbers of pupils into higher education. For example, 16 schools were involved in the Engineering Education Scheme in 2011/12, with Strathclyde supporting projects for three of these – Belmont Academy in Ayr, Govan High School and Springburn Academy. We are the lead higher education partner in the highly successful Scottish Space School (in partnership with NASA and SDS) offering around 110 competitively won places to predominantly state school fifth year pupils with an interest in STEM subjects – with a conversion of approximately 80 per cent of those participating joining such degree courses.

Continuing to develop programmes such as the part- time LLB law degree, designed for adult returners who wish to study law while maintaining their existing work and family commitments. Entry qualifications include HNDs, Open University credits, and a mature entry test for exceptional candidates who do not have recent qualifications. As part of the Strathclyde Pre-Entry Certificate, the Law School also considers applicants whose qualifications do not conform to the norm but who present other evidence that indicates that they have the capacity and commitment to pursue the course of study, for example Police Sergeant Exams, relevant Paralegal courses or other professional qualifications obtained in employment.

Case study: IET Power AcademyStrathclyde is a founding member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Power Academy, one of only seven university members in the UK, and the only university member in Scotland. It was established to address the skills shortage in power engineering and aims to deliver world-class professionals to the power industries of tomorrow.

The programme is open to students on any of the University’s renowned Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering undergraduate courses, and with 129 of our students benefiting from scholarships and summer placements with industry, we are the most successful member of the Academy to date. Students have enjoyed placements with a wide rangeof the 25 partner companies including Areva, Atkins, E.On, the National Grid, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, ScottishPower and SSE.

Continuing to work collaboratively and constructively with the Students’ Association on the range of widening access initiatives outlined above. The University and the Students’ Association are committed to working in partnership to improve still further our solid and successful performance on wider access.

Specific Deliverables Launch the Engineering Academy in September 2013.

Guarantee to increase the number of college entrants by 30 per cent over three years, subject to agreement being reached with individual colleges.

Building on our very solid performance, we will carry out a review by the end of December 2012 in collaboration with the SFC and the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association aimed at setting ambitious but realistic targets for participation rates for under-represented groups from 2013/14. This will include the number of young and mature entrants from MD20 per cent and MD40 per cent, those from low progression schools and those who were or are looked-after.

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The Maths Skills Support CentreStudents on courses which included a mathematics component and who had not undertaken mathematics in the year immediately preceding entry were twice as likely to fail to be retained beyond first year than those who had studied mathematics immediately prior to university.

In response the University created the Maths Skills Support Centre to support undergraduate students in all disciplines with their mathematical studies. Our main focus is to support first- and second-year students with basic maths. The centre operates a drop-in service where students can obtain one-to-one assistance on mathematical problems from experienced staff.

Currently based in the Faculty of Science, in the next year we plan to bring the Maths Skills and Study Skills centres together under our support and wellbeing strategy.

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Improving Retention and EfficiencyOUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to delivering efficiency in the learner journey and improving retention.

Our Priorities Developing our widening access strategy including

objectives for transition and continuing support, such as a new approach to the provision of study skills for all students.

Delivering transition support as a key priority with the focus on the transition to the first year of university study and retention into the second year. Building upon the success of the Transition Framework, a new approach to the management and communication of feedback from students through external and internal student surveys was introduced in 2010/11 focusing on the first year experience and National Student Survey outcomes.

Extending the programme of internal surveys across all years of study from 2012/13, ensuring we obtain and respond to feedback on the full student lifecycle.

Following a pilot study, implementing a more integrated approach to enhancing the learning skills of our students as part of our wider support and wellbeing initiative. In tandem with a targeted approach to data collection, tracking and monitoring, this will ensure appropriate and effective support mechanisms are implemented.

In partnership with the Students’ Association, delivering a project to enhance the experience of students from a looked-after background while at university, gaining an insight into their experiences,

Improving Retention

and Efficiency

Outcome

Agreement

needs and aspirations and how best the University can support them to achieve their full potential. Strathclyde is proud to be one of the first Scottish universities to gain the Buttle UK Quality Mark in recognition of its willingness to offer additional support to applicants from a looked-after background. This year’s achievements have included the award of the first University scholarship to a student from a looked-after background and hosting of a seminar for other universities.

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Other plans for 2012-13 include:

– progressing scholarship awards – continuing to support individual students and to provide support for UCAS applicants who declare a care background – collaborating with local Buttle Quality Mark universities and relevant agencies in awareness- raising activities among looked-after young people and carers – reviewing retention among students from a care background and uptake of year-round accommodation – holding a summer school for looked-after young people in 2013.

Continuing to work closely with the Students’ Association on the full range of activities outlined above, building on the very proactive and practical work already undertaken by USSA on retention, especially in securing resources to provide comprehensive support to students to encourage and ease progression.

Specific Deliverables Establish baseline performance for those target groups

identified as part of the broader analysis, in order to set future disaggregated targets.

Move into the upper half of performance across Scottish universities by improving our retention by one per cent year-on-year from our baseline of 90 per cent over the next three years.

Work closely with the Students’ Association to narrow the gap in non-continuation rates between Scottish domiciled students generally (9.1 per cent) and MD20 students (14.5 per cent) by improving MD20 non- continuation figures.

Surveys of our student experienceBuilding on our first-year experience survey, we are extending our internal surveys to second and third year students and any exchange students visiting Strathclyde.

From 2012-13, first-year students will be asked to complete a modified version of the first-year experience survey early in the first semeter, which will explore perceptions of the University among prospective students. First- to third-year students will have an individual year survey timed to run around the start of the National Student Survey (NSS) for honours year. This will allow promotion activity to happen once a year for all undergraduates, with a coordinated, focused effort to ensure a high return rate.

The surveys and their results will link to the student-staff liaison process and activities, quality monitoring and retention support.

Improving Retention

and Efficiency

Outcome

Agreement

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Promoting DiversityOUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to fairness, to encouraging diversity among its staff and students and to ensuring it provides an environment where diversity is respected.

Our Priorities Completing and reviewing our annual Equalities

Monitoring Report, which establishes equalities and diversity trends, focusing on gender, ethnicity and disability data.

Building on management’s strong support and commitment to equality and diversity – underpinned by a comprehensive policy framework – to increase substantially our communication, awareness and promotion of equality and diversity matters, with the associated resources made available to pursue follow-on activities.

Promoting Diversity/

Impact of Strategic Funds

Outcome

Agreement

Broadening the scope of our monitoring from gender, ethnicity and disability data to include comprehensive information on diversity within our student population for publication by April 2013.

Building on our Bronze Athena Swan award by working towards the Silver Award level for our STEM departments initially, before extending the Athena Swan principles to all departments. Plans will be put in place for each relevant department during 2012/13.

Specific Deliverables Publish comprehensive information on diversity of our

student population by April 2013.

Work towards the Silver Award level for our STEM departments, then extending the Athena Swan principles to all departments.

Impact of Strategic FundsOUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to enhancing the impact of programme specific strategic funds allocated by the SFC in 2012/13, including £162,000 for leadership in hospitality and tourism, £253,000 for disabled student premium, £1,419,000 for Knowledge Transfer Grant and £2,989,641 for research pools and programmes.

Our Priorities Maximising the impact of programme activity in line

with the conditions of grant and reporting on progress to the SFC timeously in accordance with agreed protocols.

Specific Deliverables Maximise the impact of programme activity in line with

the conditions of grant and report on progress to the SFC timeously in accordance with agreed protocols.

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SFC Capital Investment in the University’s Built EnvironmentOUR COMMITMENTThe University of Strathclyde is committed to delivering its estate strategy in support of its strategic priorities and maximising the strategic impact from capital investment.

Our Priorities Delivering major estates development projects within

time and within budget, including the Technology and Innovation Centre, the Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC), phase two of the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), upgrading Strathclyde Business School and redeveloping the James Weir building.

Delivering the milestones for business engagement in the University’s Technology and Innovation Centre. We are ahead of the business plan, with seven Tier One partners already committed and strategic discussion underway with a further 35 potential industry and business partners from across the low carbon and manufacturing sectors.

Continuing to strengthen our core collaborative investment proposition. We have been successful in building strong industrial collaborations in the energy, renewables and enabling technologies sectors in particular, as well as building our own expertise in this domain. We will continue to enhance the value proposition to attract more partners and strengthen prospects for strategic partnerships. The involvement of other institutions remains a priority objective.

Specific Deliverables Deliver major estates development projects within time

and within budget.

SFC Capital

Investment

Outcome

Agreement

University of Strathclyde Glasgow G1 1XQwww.strath.ac.uk

The University of Strathclyde is a charitable body, registeredin Scotland, with registration number SC015263