...the objects of the University shall be to advance and diffuse knowledge, wisdom and understanding by teaching and research and by the example and influence of its corporate life. University Charter 1967
The mission of the University is clear but the context in which we are operating is constantly changing. To succeed we need to do more than simply react - we need to think ahead of change.
This plan sets a course for 2007. It is developing at a time of significant change in higher education characterised by a highly competitive research environment, the quest for higher levels of participation and the possibility that the beneficiaries of higher education will be asked to meet more of the costs. For the majority of students, three or four year programmes will remain the norm but there will be continued convergence of part-time and full-time study and while face to face, on campus teaching will also continue as now, it is likely to be supplemented by the rapid development of technology assisted learning.
To be successful the University of Dundee will work with other universities in Scotland to match the internationally competitive standards of the top four research universities in the UK, establish a distinctive reputation for the relevance and quality of our teaching and build on existing good practice to support the economic, social and cultural development of the City, the surrounding region and Scotland as a whole. The proposed programme of change will support the achievement of these objectives and the immediate realisation of practical benefits for students, staff and the wider community. The aim is to deliver change in a coherent way that respects the interests and contributions of the whole university community.
The financial environment is likely to be tough. There will be a marked decline in the number of 18 year olds and no significant real terms increases in public funding for teaching. Searching out new income streams will be a key challenge and this means increasing the number of overseas students, taught post graduate programmes and continuing professional development. It also puts a premium on overhead recovery on research and the development of new sources of research income.
There will therefore be intense competition not only for the RAE element of the SHEFC grant and for research council and other peer reviewed grants, but also for commercial projects. SHEFC's knowledge transfer and strategic research grants, SRIF allocations and the emergence of the Scottish Enterprise Intermediary Technology Institutes will produce new income only at the cost of additional competitive effort. The University will position itself to meet these challenges, to cope with any changes following the conclusion of the Roberts Review of the RAE and to influence the review of the 'dual support system' currently being conducted by the Office of Science and Technology.
The continued pressures on cost and price will lead universities to collaborate more with each other both in teaching and research, and the strong local partnerships that are developing with the University of St Andrews and the Scottish Crop Research Institute will continue. It is likely that preparation for the 2007 RAE and the work of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee will drive wider alliances with the other research universities in Scotland.
The University of Dundee contributes to wealth creation and social well-being by improving health and tackling disease, fostering creativity, promoting regeneration and enterprise and contributing to lifelong learning. The aim is to build on these successes continuing to:
This document is not a blueprint. The aim is to way mark the direction in which the University is heading and to help unlock the creative potential and professionalism of all our staff to devise the ideas, initiatives and partnerships to power us on our way.
Towards 2007 Presentations
Historic context
The University's origins go back well over 100 years to the founding of University College Dundee in 1881. The driving force was a rising demand for the extension of liberal education and the advancement of technical instruction. The means were delivered by a local family of wealth and foresight, distant cousins Dr John Boyd Baxter and Miss Mary Ann Baxter of Balgavies.
The institution launched in four handsome, detached houses along the Nethergate where a total of 373 students were enrolled for the first session including 75 women - 20% of the student body.
Optimism, energy and the courage and confidence to vigorously pursue a shared vision for the future drove the young institution past a series of early milestones.
In 1897 University College became a part of the University of St Andrews - an arrangement that lasted over 70 years. In 1967 a Royal Charter established the University of Dundee as an independent institution with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as its first Chancellor.
Over the last ten years, three mergers have doubled the University's size and changed the institution dramatically. Today the University of Dundee comprises 7 faculties, over 14,000 students and over 3,000 staff. It graduates more students of the professions than any other Scottish university and with women accounting for 60% of our most recent students the University has long ago fulfilled and surpassed the earlier vision of Mary Ann Baxter "promoting the education of persons of both sexes and the study of science, literature and the fine arts".