Priority 5: Our place in the world

To be recognised as the leading civic university we know we are.

As an anchor institution with a multi-campus presence, we take our responsibilities seriously. It’s our duty to enrich the cultural lives of our communities and champion social progress. That’s why we’ll do everything we can to support the economic development of our local areas, regions and the wider North West.

We’ll never stop striving for positive change in the lives of our students and local communities. So, we’ll continue to create opportunities for them to improve their lives, achieve their potential, and secure a successful future for themselves and their families. As they always have, our staff, students and graduates will generate crucial economic, cultural and social development for our region. They’ll also continue to support our relentless determination to widen access and participation in higher education.

That’s because we’ll:

• Always react and adapt to local needs and challenges. We’ll work closely with our fellow civic pillars (regional partners, local authorities, further education providers and healthcare trusts) for the benefit of everyone.
• Promote social mobility and raise aspirations amongst our communities by engaging with people of all ages from all walks of life.
• Widen and develop workforce skills by training essential workers. We’ll also work with businesses to promote growth and increased productivity through our innovation and knowledge transfer activities.
• Use our applied research (across the sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences) to directly benefit the economic, social, and cultural development of the region.
• Make sure our estate development plans, and associated strategies, always have a positive impact on local economic growth and regeneration.
• Grow our alumni community into a worldwide ‘family’ of enthusiastic supporters, offering them more opportunities to connect with us in a mutually beneficial way. We’ll learn from their experiences as students and graduates, so we can continually improve the whole student lifecycle.

By our 200-year anniversary, we’ll be the leading private provider of UK Higher Education in Cyprus. We’ll cement our global reputation as in international university through our Pyla Campus in Larnaca. This will offer more opportunities in the European Union for UK-based students and the potential to expand TNE partnerships. It will also open up access to European Union funding for research and innovation.

Our civic strategy sits alongside our international ambitions, and focuses on three important areas where we’ll:

• Continue to be a university of choice for international students and create life-changing opportunities for people in every corner of the world. We’ll touch the lives of more people in more countries than ever before.
• Undertake world-leading research that will positively affect the lives and prosperity of communities all over the world.
• Keep forging strong partnerships with educational institutions and other organisations worldwide. By working collaboratively, we’ll bring the benefits of higher education to a global audience.