As I share my first blog post today, I am very proud and excited to share with you our new strategy.
It’s a celebration of a global conversation inspired by hundreds of hours of engagement with our entire multi-campus community throughout 2018. I want to thank every staff member, student, alumni and partner who played such an important part in shaping and refining our thinking. We should feel energised by our strategy and inspired to work, innovate and learn together in order to shape the future.
Our long-term strategy is emerging during times of immense change, not only in our sector but also politically, socially and economically. Uncertainty is all around us and we cannot avoid its impact. This creates challenges but also many opportunities for us to realise our ambitions. To succeed, we need to be able to change and adapt to the global environment. Our vision is to be world-leading within all our areas of specialism. Not just leading, but world-leading, with the freedom to explore new areas of specialism while building on those areas in which we are already excelling.
Heriot-Watt University has almost two centuries of experience and history behind us laying the foundations for the next two hundred years. It’s important that we reflect on our heritage, taking the time to celebrate our past. We are rooted in the ideal of self-improvement through education to raise the skills of our community and foster social and economic well-being. From the very start, we were providing access to technical and scientific skills to men and women who could not afford advanced education. This belief in the connections between practical skills and intellectual endeavour, between self-improvement and intellectual advancement, and between business and academia are still at the core of our mission – to create and exchange knowledge that benefits society. We created the first ever Mechanics Institute and led a pioneering approach to widening access, welcoming students of many cultures and faiths.
Which brings me to our shared ethos: Our community of students, staff and alumni are at the heart of everything we do. Our distinctive strengths will continue to build a global University that pioneers innovation in education, research and enterprise.
A University is its people and that is why ensuring that we are ourselves a flourishing community of staff, students and alumni is critical to our future. Together we have the opportunity to shape ourselves this way and to decide to bring this about.
I believe that we are a University like no other and we must continue to be even more compelling, growing our international presence and making the most of our distinctiveness. We are a global university with a modern outlook. One that takes pride in our achievements and strives to make a difference in the world, starting with our global community.
Our values reflect who we are and what we do. We must be values led if we are to achieve the ambitious growth plans outlined in our strategy. We will need to be more focused on an interdisciplinary approach to research. We will embrace a positive education model to inspire our students to not only learn but also learn how to live positively. We will explore how we can be even more ‘digital first’ than we already are by accelerating what we can offer online. We will increase connections with business and create a hive for entrepreneurial activity. We will need to do things differently and work together in different ways. This is where our values can help us shape our thinking, inform our decisions and guide our behaviours.
The next six years will bring unprecedented change and we have the purpose, ambition and confidence in our strengths to accomplish our goals. I look forward to updating you on our progress and achievements in the months and years to come.
Celebrations to launch our new strategy are being planned at each of our five campuses. It’s a chance for students, staff, partners and alumni to join together and celebrate what it means to be part of our global Heriot-Watt community and look ahead to a future where we can shape tomorrow together. Watch out for details.
Please take the time to read about our new strategy and let me know what you think. How are you going to shape tomorrow? Leave a comment and let me know.
Professor Richard A. Williams
Principal and Vice-Chancellor