The overwhelming pride in our strong sense of community here at Bath shone through in our engagement exercise, Our University, Our Future. We heard, loud and clear, the pride in our supportive and close-knit environment. We also understand how much students and staff value our University operating on a human scale, where our modest size, far from constraining our ambition, facilitates collaboration and the spark of new ideas. We will seek to foster and support that sense of community, our culture of care, and the value it brings throughout our new strategy.
For our staff, we understand that creating a thriving University community entails supporting individual success as well as collective endeavour. We will provide the structures and mechanisms that encourage staff to develop their potential through support, training, and mentoring. Our systems of recognition, reward, and development will support individuals to achieve personal success, whilst contributing to our strategic direction. We want to build on our successes in student experience. To do this we will actively encourage a culture of care and foster a sense of community across our practices. We understand the importance of the wider student experience for all our students. Our exceptional Sports Training Village and the sporting opportunities available to our students at all levels will continue to be a fundamental part of our offer. We will seek to ensure students get the most out of their time at Bath, gaining valuable knowledge, transferable skills, and intercultural competencies so they leave us well rounded and with a competitive edge.
We respect students' voices and seek to work in partnership with our Students’ Union, valuing constructive dialogue.
Our much-valued alumni network will be reinvigorated and we will grow the important role that alumni and other stakeholders play within the University, and indeed the role of the University for them. As life-long learning grows in importance, we will seek increasing opportunities for alumni to contribute to and benefit from the University throughout their lives.
The wellbeing of both our students and staff is of fundamental importance. We have a range of innovative approaches to welcoming and supporting students throughout their time at Bath. Over the lifetime of our new strategy, we will continue to invest in this area; our ambition is that advice, care and community-building practice for our diverse student population is at the forefront of the sector.
'Be Well' at Bath is the University's approach to health and mental wellbeing, informed by our staff and students.
For our staff community, we have made real strides in the provision of support, training, and resources to support staff wellbeing and we will continue our focus in this area over the next five years.
Reflecting our communities at all levels of our organisation is important and increasing diversity at the University is a priority. Over the lifetime of our new strategy, we will actively attract and welcome the best and brightest talent and potential from a diverse range of backgrounds, both in the recruitment of staff and in our widening participation initiatives to welcome more students from underrepresented groups.
Inclusion is a core value at the University of Bath. An intentional and integrated approach to diversity and inclusion will help prepare students for collaborative work and citizenship in a globally connected society. Through our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, we will encourage a culture that celebrates multiple approaches and points of view. We will grow our network of people, programmes, initiatives, and tools to help: employees grow and manage their careers; managers and leaders to build inclusive environments; and students to reach their full potential. We will foster both a top-down and grassroots approach, giving us the freedom to address the broadest set of initiatives.
