Over 800 colleagues joined Pro-Vice-Chancellors Kate O’Riordan, Robin Banerjee and Keith Jones as they each hosted an open forum to share their thoughts on the three core themes of the Sussex 2035 strategy: education and student life; global and civic engagement; and research and enterprise, respectively.
Following on from Vice Chancellor Sasha Roseneil’s open forum events in the autumn term - which focused on our values, mission and purpose, and vision - these events gave colleagues an opportunity to hear more about challenges, changes and goals associated with the three core themes. Attendees had the chance to get involved in the conversation by asking questions and providing comments, feedback and ideas for discussion.
The Education and Student Life Open Forum took place on 18 January. This theme encompasses all aspects of education and student life, for students and staff, driving student experience and outcomes and quality of offer. Kate O’Riordan’s presentation focused on a number of points, such as the challenges we are facing within the HE sector, the changes we need to make to ensure we have the capacity and capability for students and staff to flourish at Sussex, and how we can better ensure a stable, supportive and hopeful community, while improving the quality of life and environment for people.
The Global and Civic Engagement Open Forum followed shortly after on 22 January, with discussion focusing on Sussex’s impact, position and opportunities, both internationally and within the UK. Robin Banerjee talked us through topics such as our external partnerships, stakeholder relationships, how we can grow our reputation and engage with stakeholders, and how we should do sustainable development.
The final event took place on 1 February with Keith Jones and focused on Research and Enterprise. Subjects covered included research bids, grants and performance, research and enterprise infrastructure, the experiences of our PGR students, and our global reputation for research.
Thank you to colleagues who attended and engaged – many great ideas and questions were received on a range of topics, with dynamic conversations taking place. Your feedback is vital, and we will continue to note all comments throughout the strategy engagement process.
Share your thoughts
You can share your thoughts on the three core themes, or any other area of the Sussex 2035, by emailing sussex2035@sussex.ac.uk
Find out more
If you were unable to attend the events on the day, you can view the video recordings on our Sussex 2035 web page.
You can also click below to find out more and to view the presentation slides in blogs with the Pro-Vice-Chancellors on the core themes:
A Sussex staff login will be required to access these pages.