INTRODUCTION TO ANNUAL REPORT
By The Vice-Chancellor
I am delighted to use the opportunity afforded by this, the Vice-Chancellor's Introduction to the Annual Report, to welcome our many readers - academic colleagues, members of the business and political communities, parents of our students and the many other friends of the University too numerous to mention by name - to these pages.
Traditionally, the University's Annual Report reflects on the achievements of the previous academic year. In this case this was a period when, although steadily becoming more involved with Bradford's activities, I was not in office as Vice-Chancellor. It is therefore appropriate to begin by recognising the contributions of our new Chancellor, Baroness Lockwood, her successor as Chair of Council, Mr Tommy Ashdown, and my predecessor Professor David Johns, who was Vice-Chancellor of the University at the time covered in this Report.
Baroness Lockwood, who was installed in November 1997 as the fourth Chancellor of the University, was the founder and first Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission. Of her appointment Lady Lockwood said: "I have always believed that education is one of the most precious things in life both to the individual and to society as a whole, and as Chancellor I hope to continue to promote that belief in many ways."
Professor Johns is an aerospace engineer who, among many other projects, worked on the development of Concorde. His higher education career included Cranfield and Loughborough Universities before he became Foundation Director of the City Polytechnic (now University) of Hong Kong. He joined Bradford in 1989.
Professor Johns' period of office saw many significant developments, for example modularisation of courses and the expansion of continuing education and part-time study. He developed productive relationships with industry and commerce, and with education partners locally, such as our Associate College, the Bradford and Ilkley Community College, (BICC) and internationally.
I intend to develop and build on those achievements to keep this University at the forefront of higher education. Furthermore, I intend to enhance Bradford's desire for excellence in all areas, its cherished principle of widening access to higher education, and its fundamental commitment to making knowledge work.
Everything in my working life has taught me that we should optimise the student experience; much follows from that. If they have a good and productive time, so do we! My own background in policy responsibility for teaching, learning, and quality assurance, and the support of my senior management team here have already enabled us to get moves under way to reshape and strengthen the structure of the University's academic and administrative areas.
Universities have faced massive changes in the last few years. In the Bradford context we have seen a renewed emphasis on teaching and learning with both an inter-disciplinary and a multi-disciplinary focus. We offer applied subjects in the context of a research university, and we must deliver subjects in methods appropriate to the academic discipline and the real world. We have introduced modularisation and semesterisation and we now look for a period of consolidation in which we ensure that these structures are embedded.
I will now report on the previous academic year 1997/8, when all universities were faced by changes in funding methods. Overall student application figures remained remarkably level; Bradford had anticipated many of the problems and prepared for them. The fact that many students, because of financial pressures, had begun to enrol at institutions closer to home offered the opportunity to deepen and widen our local and regional role. We have worked closely with BICC and Bradford Council on joint initiatives to inform potential students about the pleasures of living and studying in Bradford and to improve the environment on and around the campus.
In common with many other universities a number of our international students were affected by the problems of the 'tiger' economies and a great deal of effort was exercised by staff across the University to support and help them in their difficulties.
Our students are finding work in record numbers - Bradford is proud to be among the top 10 institutions with a record 79 per cent of graduates finding jobs during 1997/8 (Full details - page xxx). Just one of the ways in which we work to help students develop their potential for employment is through the Key Skills Project funded by the DfEE; this is concerned with enhancing skills by developing the curriculum of undergraduate programmes and encouraging students in self development.
There is a close relationship between cutting-edge research and excellence in teaching. Studying under leaders in their respective fields (almost 90 per cent of our staff are research-active) helps produce graduates au fait with the latest developments and ready for innovation and leadership roles.
Enterprising educational institutions such as Bradford recognise opportunities for innovation in response to the changing needs of students, employers, and society and one example is the Management Centre's new programme designed to help small and medium-sized companies in Bradford become more competitive. 'Business Masters', launched in April, is a joint initiative with local partners including the Training & Enterprise Council and Business Link.
In May we received the report of the Institutional Audit resulting from a visit the previous November by a team from the newly-formed Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. This was our second such audit - the first had been undertaken in 1992. Such audits are regarded as very important tests of our academic standing, involving an external team of trained auditors who have access to the full range of the University's documentation and meet a variety of staff and students. As on the previous occasion, the report was very favourable with several areas receiving specific praise. It is pleasing to be able to report that the audit team found that 'the University is exercising adequate stewardship over its academic quality and standards'.
This year also saw a number of departments undergoing the other aspect of external quality assessment, the Teaching Quality Assessment Subject Review. Again, positive results were achieved with the School of Electronics and Digital Media awarded 21 points on assessment out of a possible 24 while the Department of Industrial Technology gained 20.
The University is well provided for in its IT services with an excellent physical infrastructure which allows student access from halls of residence and a large number of public 'clusters' of computers. Bradford is right to be proud that it is well ahead of the majority in these areas. In June a conference was organised by the University's Teaching and Learning Technology Centre on 'The World Wide Web as an Agent of Institutional Change in Higher Education'. The keynote speaker was Professor Sir Brian Follett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick; other speakers included Professor Bob Hopgood, of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and senior management from BT and Microsoft UK.
Bradford values its links with the local and regional communites very highly and sees the relationship of the Universities and the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) as of great significance. The RDAs will oversee the regions' economic regeneration and development and the universities are represented on them. It is worth noting that this University was one of the driving forces behind the Yorkshire and Humberside Universities Association formed five years ago to strengthen the sector's involvement in regional development activities.
Our strength in health-related work continues apace with the consolidation of the Institute for Health Research, which involves the three local trusts, primary care practitioners, the Local Medical Committee, and the Heath Authority in partnership with the University.
The University is also one of the key players in the district's successful bid to become a Health Action Zone (HAZ). It will be represented on the HAZ Board and steering group, and will be involved in the all-important evaluation of its work.
It is vital that the University maintains and strengthens its links with opinion formers in the many worlds which are stakeholders in higher education. During the year we welcomed on campus Government Ministers Barbara Roche (Trade and Industry); Paul Boateng (Health); and Chris Smith (Culture Secretary); General Sir Charles Guthrie, as Chief of Defence Staff the head of Britain's armed forces; and John Redwood (Shadow Trade and Industry).
The Department of Peace Studies held a reception at the House of Commons at which Foreign Secretary Robin Cook spoke on the valued contribution the Department makes to Government. (details to follow).
A University reception was held at the House of Lords to mark the Installation of Baroness Lockwood; among guests were opinion formers from the worlds of education, the peerage, the Government, industry and diplomacy. This gave senior University staff the opportunity to brief those attending on research, teaching and learning initiatives, and our international research and business-related projects.
A series of University of Bradford Policy Lectures was inaugurated in December by Professor Ray Baker, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. Professor Baker spoke in an animated debate on 'First Things First: New approaches to priority setting'.
From first things to the close: I am confident that thanks to the efforts of the members of the University working together with all its friends, we face the new Millennium well prepared, and I would like to thank all the University, including our valued lay members of Council, for dedicated and hard work during difficult and taxing times to maintain Bradford as a centre of excellence and innovation in research and teaching, and an inspiring, caring community reaching out to the furthest corners of the globe.