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President's weekly update

7 January 2021

Whilst for many of us the holiday period will have been very different, I hope that you have been able to take a well-deserved break. I want to thank those colleagues in essential roles who have worked throughout the holiday period and those who have used some of the time to catch up.

We are all very concerned to see rapidly increasing COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalisations in the UK and, as a result of this, the government has introduced a national lockdown. I have written separately to all staff and students about this and there is further information on StaffNet for colleagues who may now be juggling work commitments with home schooling or caring responsibilities. We offered coronavirus special leave allowance for all staff last year. Some staff will have used up all of this allowance and it is not possible to carry over any unused leave but we are offering another 14 days leave for 2021 starting from 5 January 2021.

This is certainly not the way we would have hoped to start the New Year, but the health and wellbeing of all members of our community must be the priority, and I am sure that we will show the resilience and agility that all our staff and students demonstrated last March in meeting this new challenge.

Over the coming months we will be further stepping up support for the health and wellbeing of our staff and students, including support that is in place through our Emergency Hardship Fund, networks, mentoring and access to our 24/7 support line for staff and students.  We are launching a new programme ‘You’re not alone’ to support students with their mental health and wellbeing.

These latest national restrictions are worrying and frustrating, but are essential in the current circumstances.  We should remember how much we achieved in 2020 across teaching, research, social responsibility and a wide range of University operations. Our Reviews of the Year Part One and Two highlight some of our remarkable successes of 2020 even in the face of major challenges.

Approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and its roll-out is very welcome news and brings hope of a return to more normal activities for the near future. There is the possibility that University staff who perform in-person teaching may be prioritised for vaccination as they are now defined as ‘critical workers’.

The other main development over the Christmas period was the agreement of a trade deal between the UK and the EU.  It is good news that we will be able to participate in Horizon funding, which is very positive for our European research collaborations. It is disappointing however that England will not be part of Erasmus+ which gives UK students the opportunity to study abroad but we await details on the reported £100m Turing scheme which is intended as a replacement. It is especially important that we continue to recognise, value and support our European staff, students and partners at this time of uncertainty.  We have updated our EU StaffNet site where you can find out more information about the impact of the UK leaving the EU on University operations.

Looking to the future, we remain focussed on managing the impacts of the ongoing pandemic but it is important that we continue to pursue our core mission, values and strategic plan as outlined in Our future.  We will further enhance our blended learning provision with more support for improved online teaching and assessments and will invest further in support for e-learning. Over the next few months many of us will be working hard on finalising submissions to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which is already in good shape. Our analysis of strengths and weaknesses in our REF submission will help us to define our future research strategy.  Further investments are planned for our digital and IT systems to continue the programme of Reshaping Professional Services and building cross-team opportunities and working. We are also prioritising measures to recognise staff contributions and achievements.   

We will build on our equality, diversion and inclusion work, progressing the recommendations in our Race Matters report to deliver a truly inclusive culture for our students and staff.  A high profile strategic advisory group, initially focussed on race, will drive real change in this area and we will be making investments in training, outreach programmes and changes to our recruitment processes.

Of course, we remain focussed on managing the impacts of the ongoing pandemic, however, we will also continue with our ‘foresight’ work to look beyond the immediate challenges and consider our University’s longer-term future. We need to ensure financial sustainability, including the ability to invest in our core activities, and be ready to respond to ever changing external pressures to emerge from the current difficulties stronger and more agile.

Many congratulations to staff who received national honours in the New Year list.

Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor

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