A message from Jane Millar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research):
We were very pleased to be invited back by the Department of Chemistry on Monday 15 October after our visit last year, which proved to be very useful.
There was a good turn out and I appreciated the opportunity to talk about some of my current preoccupations – in particular the upcoming Research Excellence Framework submissions, and increasing both our research volume and visibility.
Volume, and not just excellence, is increasingly being used as a measure of research intensity, and so is becoming more important. We also need to increase the visibility of our research, not least because we currently fare less well on those international league tables which focus on research reputation.
It was very interesting to hear Colin outline the draft Internationalisation Strategy with an emphasis on cultivating collaborative research partnerships. This prompted a really productive discussion with plenty of interesting questions and suggestions on everything from our new partnership with São Paulo University, to how academics and postgraduates can be more mobile, to how we can be more strategic in bringing visitors here.
Thank you to everyone who came, it was valuable and informative, and we are looking forward to visiting the School of Management on Tuesday 30 October.