Key challenges
Our environment is changing fast, so we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.
In five priority areas in particular, we intend to strengthen our competitive position by influencing and leading the way in student and research markets, within a complex financial environment.
Developing student skills and capabilities
Both potential students and their potential employers now have sophisticated expectations of graduates and the benefits that a good university education should provide for individuals, employers and society.
So we will promote the skills and capabilities of the 'Sheffield Graduate' and ensure that our students are equipped with the qualifications and the generic and specialist skills necessary to drive innovation.
We will help to increase the proportion of the UK population holding a degree and delivering world-class skills.
Attracting funding
Building on our outstanding performance in peer review assessments and major research awards, the level of our research income and the quality and impact of our outputs will be amongst the highest in the UK.
The widening range of funding sources will also be reflected in our balanced portfolio of awards and research support.
Our ability to capture our market share of funding will be critical.
Meeting and exceeding customer expectations
Competition for students, clients and partners is growing increasingly intense. It is vital that the we stand out from competitors by exceeding customer expectations at every point of contact.
Achieving a consistently excellent quality of customer service is a top priority and we will continue to foster high-quality relationships with our stakeholders and partners.
Competing globally for students, staff and partners
In the face of intense competition and volatile overseas demand for UK higher education, we are focused on competing effectively in international markets for students, staff and strategic partners.
Our priorities are predicting and addressing changing patterns of demand in international student recruitment, establishing strategic educational partnerships, and offering attractive new teaching and research opportunities for staff from overseas.
Managing effectively in times of uncertainty
At a time when changes to tuition fees are being implemented in England and diversification into nongovernment funding is increasingly important for universities, effective and efficient governance, leadership, and management are high on our agenda.
We are ready to meet the challenges of the ever-changing and highly complex environment in which we work.
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