Speech by our President, Professor Steve West CBE, at our 2022 Annual Conference

We meet here at the start of many things. A new prime minister and government. A new academic year. And at the start of Vivienne’s tenure as the new Chief Executive of UUK. 

As well as a period of change we also meet during a time of immense challenge:

A cost-of-living crisis not just in the UK but across the globe. 

The UK navigating its position post-Brexit. 

Facing an urgent climate crisis.

At a time of global unrest. 

And closer to home two years away from a General Election.

That list of challenges can feel, if we let it, like an insurmountable task. Where do you even start? We will need to be bold and brave with a positive mindset and desire to face into challenges and opportunities.

I, however, like to think part of the answer starts here, with us. In the face of significant global, national and regional challenges, we need a strong university sector more than ever. From Falmouth to the Highlands and Islands, universities across the UK have a strong track record of leading. We have created bold, innovative, and lasting changes to the world around us, on a local, national, and global stage. Right now, we need to lead the change we need to see in the world once more.

Today I want to explore two things with you all: what change do we need to see, from ourselves and from others, and what kind of leadership do we need to demonstrate ourselves in order to deliver it. 

So first to the change we need to see from others. 

The UK is facing an economic crisis. This is driven in large part by huge increases in inflation. Universities and their communities are not immune to the issues this causes.

This government needs to face up and lean into to the cost-of-living crisis now faced by students and staff. It is hitting them hard.

Students from the poorest families living away from home during term time and studying outside London will be able to borrow £9,706 in this academic year. In real terms, this will be the lowest level in seven years. For the first time since 2003–04, the maximum maintenance loan entitlement will also fall more than £1,000 short of what a 22-year-old student would earn if they worked in a job that paid the National Minimum Wage instead of studying.

Universities have once again stepped up to support students and I know we all will continue to do so but emergency support mechanisms are not a replacement for a sustainable support model. A Savanta poll for UUK recently found that two thirds of students are worried about managing their living costs. Over half of those students felt money concerns were likely to impact their ability to continue studying this Autumn. And of course, the increases in the cost of living will impact some students more than others. The same polling found that students aged 30 years or over are the most concerned about living costs.

As well as all of us considering how we raise both the level and visibility of our support available to students we also need government to take action. In our conversations with new Cabinet members and ministers in the coming weeks, we will urge them to provide additional government money for hardship funding and reinstate maintenance grants for those most in need. Failure to engage with this will lead to significant health and wellbeing challenges as well as educational impacts. 

The current economic situation is also impacting universities. By 2024–25 the £9,250 annual fee will only be worth £6,600 in 2012–13 prices.

Universities are already doing more with less. We have all invested significantly in rising pay and pensions costs, digital innovations to enhance learning and modernised facilities to meet student demand. We have all also invested significantly in support for student mental health and wellbeing to keep pace with demand.

We need leaders in governments across the UK that are willing to face up to this challenge and work with the sector to secure a sustainable model for funding UK higher education. I, of course, recognise that this government has many spending priorities that are urgent and pressing, but it is vital that we start to move forward on this issue.  

To those who might decry this as self-interested I say, it isn’t. A strong university sector is central to delivering national and local prosperity. It is about talent development, creating opportunities for current and future generations. Something that morally we all have a duty to support. 

The next generation of graduates can spark the country towards economic recovery with their talent, skills, ingenuity, and confidence. Making a real difference in the workplace. With continued strong demand for graduates from employers and with the boom in the number of 18-year-olds over the coming years, now is not the time to be shrinking our ambitions or aspirations for these young people. We must find a long-term funding solution for UK universities and not limit and crush future opportunities.

We are open to exploring a range of possibilities and working with governments, students and staff to find ways of funding higher education. This national conversation should take place in parallel with the Government’s plans to build a more flexible lifelong learning system.

Of course, these debates are not only relevant to England. The specific policy challenges and opportunities in each nation are different, but the same issues are relevant across the UK and in my view cross political parties. 

We need a long-term sustainable funding approach that creates long-term stability, is affordable and sustains across government departments and political parties. Education is too important to plan on the basis of parliamentary terms or to be determined by short-term political whims.

It will be important that we work collectively and cautiously as a sector on this. We are diverse and have different priorities, but the more we can stick together the stronger we will be, and the more likely to achieve success. We are stronger and better together. 

Universities are also vital anchor institutions in their regions. Between 2021 and 2026, it is estimated that UK universities will provide support to businesses and charities worth more than £11.6 billion, kick-start nearly 22,000 new businesses and charities, and train 191,000 nurses, 84,000 medics and 188,000 teachers. I would urge the new Prime Minister and the Cabinet to recognise this and put universities at the heart of efforts to level up the UK economy through driving growth in all regions of the UK.

We also need this government to demonstrate leadership in protecting the world-leading research and innovation happening in UK universities. It drives economic and social prosperity. You need to look no further than the university we meet in today to see that. This is the university where in 1984 Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered the technique of genetic fingerprinting. A technique that has been pivotal in criminal forensics, establishing evidence of guilt and innocence in an untold number of criminal cases around the world.  

To protect this, this government must recommit to meeting the target of spending 2.4% of GDP on research and development and continuing to do all it can to secure association to Horizon Europe. Our sector has been responsible and pragmatic in working with the government to explore alternative funding mechanisms should association prove impossible but we must ensure that we hold the government accountable to delivering every promised pound in the event of non-association. Research spending must not be treated as low-hanging fruit when difficult fiscal decisions are taken.

We also need government to act quickly in areas such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. I’m seeing the consequences of not doing so first hand. At the University of West England our £1.8m SABRE Programme enables small and medium-sized enterprises from across Bristol, Bath, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to explore the benefits of robotics and automation.  From start-ups and sole traders, to more established organisations - our free and subsidised services help businesses to get the most from these technologies. This ERDF funded programme is now at risk without replacement support.

Turning the spotlight to all of us in the room. What leadership do we need to demonstrate? 

As university leaders we are accountable to a wide range of people but foremost among these must be our students and staff. A university is only as strong as the community that it is made from. 

I am proud that as a sector we don’t shy away from difficult issues. We are taking responsibility for tackling broader societal issues head on. 

In the past year we have:

• announced a new taskforce to help universities understand and address drug-use
• developed sector guidance to increase understanding around when it is appropriate to share personal data when managing harassment complaints and on staff-to-student sexual misconduct
• published a practice note on spiking
• and undertaken a range of work to support student mental health, publishing ‘Thriving learners’, the most extensive report on student mental wellbeing in Scotland and a set of recommendations to support student mental health developed in partnership with the National Union of Students Wales and partners in further education.

All of these pieces of work are testament to what can be achieved when the sector comes together. When we stand shoulder to shoulder, we can deliver important, positive change. Change that will improve the experience of all our staff and students. 

Next, let me be very clear about something I believe to be fundamental. Some things are too important to allow our commitment to waiver when we find ourselves as the wedge issue of that day. Driving equality, social inclusion and diversity in higher education is something that we must hold ourselves accountable for. Unrelentingly and unapologetically.

Earlier this summer Universities UK published Closing the Gap: three years on.  This report looked at what we have achieved since the 2019 Closing the gap report urged universities to do more to close the awarding gap between white and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students. While progress has been made, there is still a substantial gap between the likelihood of white and BAME students awarded a first or 2:1 in their degree. 

It’s clear that a student’s ethnicity can significantly affect their degree outcome, even when other factors such as prior attainment are taken into consideration. It is vital that we continue to work together to close this gap. But let’s also recognise that there are other gaps which must be addressed, and we know that this is complex. 

Another topic that I believe to be so fundamental that we must not be deterred from are the principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech. They sit at the heart of the UK’s higher education sector. These principles are rightly championed for the role they play in driving forward research and innovation, as well as providing students with the opportunity to think critically and engage with different perspectives. Without them, universities would not be able to fulfil one of their most essential aims: the advancement of understanding and pursuit of truth. I know this government agrees. 

As a sector we have worked collaboratively with government on the Freedom of Speech (higher education) Bill and will continue to do so. In the coming weeks we will publish a sector statement on promoting academic freedom and free speech. This statement makes it clear that universities are places where students and staff should not feel the need to self-censor. This means that they will sometimes be exposed to views they find disagreeable, or even offensive, but it is crucial that a broad range of different voices can be heard, challenged, and debated – including the right to peaceful protest.

But let’s also be crystal clear about something else, the right to free speech and work on equality, diversity and inclusion are not mutually exclusive. Yes, they can sometimes be in tension, but you can do both, and I know each of us in this room will. Let’s be purposeful in the way we engage with difference on our campuses. Let’s ensure we create the spaces and opportunities to debate. As leaders it is down to us to create places where everyone can thrive, flourish and be themselves in respectful, creative and inclusive environments – where difference is embraced and celebrated.

A strong higher education system is one that has the confidence and trust of the public it serves. All of us in this room are accountable for maintaining public confidence in the quality of UK higher education. UUK’s work on fair admissions and our work on tackling grade inflation are central to this.

I urge anyone of you who have not yet signed up to the Fair admissions code of practice to do so and to do the work necessary to reverse recent, pandemic-induced grade inflation. We need to be vigilant to those areas that potentially undermine trust and act collectively as a sector to find solutions. It's important that we don't just wait to be told by government to act.

Through our leadership of the sector, however, we must do more than just maintain public confidence in the quality of UK higher education. We need to ensure that the public value, understand and are proud of our universities. 
 

Later today we will hear about initial findings from new research by Britain Thinks for Universities UK on current public and political perceptions of universities. 

While the research shows that these are broadly positive, it highlights the risk that anxiety over the cost of living could convince some applicants – in particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds – that going to university isn’t a priority in difficult economic times. Universities will have to work harder than ever to make sure that everyone with the potential to benefit from a university experience is fully aware of the life-changing impact it can have. 
 
The research also shows that the public and stakeholders primarily see the role of universities as educating students and awarding degrees. There is much more we could be doing to celebrate and to promote other lesser-known initiatives and achievements, particularly around community outreach, world leading research, and the student support that is available.

To strengthen our sector we need to work together over the coming months to engage with and respond to these perceptions. Yes, telling a better story of the importance of a strong university sector to the UK but crucially engaging with and responding to fears and concerns, and if necessary challenging and changing the way we do things.

What about our role in demonstrating leadership in the face of global challenges? 

The sector’s work on Covid needs no rehearsing. We developed vaccines, delivered testing capacity, and supported our communities through a period of change and uncertainty the like of which many of us had not experienced before. 

This work should give us all confidence, if we needed it, that UK universities are able to tackle global crises heading on.

This year we have seen impressive leadership from the sector in other vital areas such as supporting Ukrainian colleagues following the Russian invasion of their country. Later today we will hear about the TwinForHope campaign which highlights the impact of the partnerships created between UK and Ukrainian universities through the twinning scheme. Over 75 partnerships have now been formed to support Ukrainian universities now and beyond the war.

The climate and ecological emergency now facing us is one of the most pervasive and threatening crises of our time. We are facing an existential threat and rapid prioritisation of attention and action is necessary. 

Ahead of COP26 last year, 140 universities backed a new set of commitments on climate action drawn up by Universities UK, including emissions reduction targets and a pledge to champion the UN Sustainable Development Goals Accord. We must continue to meet this challenge head on. We must get better at measuring our carbon emissions and investing to meet net zero goals. UUK will be strengthening the support for each and everyone of our members in achieving this - including the use of new tools to measure emissions and the cost to a university of reaching net zero.

UK universities are and will continue to face these global challenges head on. 

I mentioned at the start of my remarks that I would explore two things today. Not just the change we need to see, as I have done, but the type of leadership needed to deliver it. 

All of us in this room and all our staff and students have worked incredibly hard over the past two and a half years to navigate our institutions and our people through the global pandemic. We have seen huge advances in the pace and creation of vaccines, through collaboration, innovation and investment. 

Covid has changed the world – it has changed behaviours and it has changed expectations. We have changed, society has changed, and environments have been created to significantly accelerate innovations in learning and teaching as well as research. 

We know that new ways of hybrid working and learning have been empowering and transformative for some, but frightening and disorientating for others. This is highlighted in JISC recent digital experience insight survey of students. When asked how they would like to be taught, 42% of students said mainly on site, 45% preferred a mix of on site and online and 13% wanted to be taught mainly online.

Importantly, 68% said online learning was convenient for them – saving them time and money. Some even felt they could not study if they couldn’t continue with employment or have the flexibility to manage care responsibilities that blended and distance learning provides. But many also spoke of a loss of community, of fewer opportunities to collaborate with peers or interact with staff.

This speaks to the challenge we face as we recover and reset from the pandemic.  

Our staff surveys are also telling many of us of concerns about workloads and the role of good leadership and management in creating optimum conditions to thrive. But also about management and leadership where this is falling short in understanding and resolving staff issues supporting and modernising cultures on campuses. 

Most of us in this room recognise that structural, financial and policy changes will continue to be a significant feature of our sector landscape. Indeed, I have referenced many today. But, I would argue, that our greatest asset, the asset most important to maintaining a strong university sector, is our staff and their mental health wellbeing. It is the critical factor in determining how well and how fast we recover and reset. We need creative minds and solutions to thrive. 

We need to discover a different way of engaging, leading and managing at all levels in our institutions. Doing what we have always done for most of us is unlikely to deliver the change we will need. 

Several months ago, 12 vice-chancellors from across the sector and nations joined together to explore how we, at a senior executive leadership level, could best support our own mental health and wellbeing and that of our staff. 

We have done a huge amount of work looking at how to best support students, but much less on the staff side.

Our journey together allowed us to explore, challenge, disagree and develop new ways of engaging with senior leadership teams. The aim was to create a new way of leading and emotionally connecting with all parts of the University, through a structured individual and collaborative reflective journey, initially with vice-chancellors and their executive teams. We’ve tested our ideas, tried and failed, chucked stuff out and added new bits in as we co-designed a guided approach which works. 

This morning we launched this approach to a wider audience through our Mental Health Leadership Toolkit. We want you to play with it, experiment, challenge yourselves and each other as we better understand our own and our teams’ mental health and wellbeing, as we strive to build high performing emotionally intelligent teams able to support each other and those they lead. The idea of a Mentally Healthy University must begin with us. This is our business. 

I encourage you to engage with the toolkit, explore, experiment and think about how it could work for you and your institution. There is no right or wrong answer and where you go and how you go must be driven by you and your understanding of what might work in your teams and your institution. It is a great way of creating the safe spaces and opportunities to have the difficult conversations we often shy away from, because we don’t know how to start. No one has all the answers and all of us have our own mental health and wellbeing challenges at various points. How we are, how we work together, how we lead, manage and role model creates cultures, expectations, and opportunity. 

We will need to be at our most creative, innovative and engaging as we lead our universities successfully through the next few years. We and our teams need to be at the top of our game to help all of our staff to be at the top of theirs. 

The future must be based on collaboration, trust and co-creation that provides the platform for growth, productivity and value.

So here, at the start of this academic year, I am hopeful. The road ahead will be challenging and constantly changing but if we are clear on the change we need to see, both from ourselves and others, and if we demonstrate bold and authentic leadership in the face of it all I am certain we can create positive, lasting change.

I hope the new prime minister, secretary of state, universities and science ministers will show the leadership needed in the coming days and weeks. Recognising that a strong university sector is central to the strengthen of the UK. I hope that they grasp the big questions facing the sector such as sustainable funding head on. Yes, holding the sector accountable where required. But doing so objectively, based on evidence and fact not through conjecture and dogma. We too must continue to tackle our own areas of challenge head on.

Personally, I also start this academic year full of pride. Confident that together we are more than capable of leading our sector through the challenge and change ahead. Not only for the benefit of our staff and students but for our communities; local, national and global, too. I look forward to and feel privileged to, once again, stand by all of your sides as we press forward together.