Professor Neal Juster – Making a Difference in 2023

As I look back upon the past year and the achievements of colleagues at the University, it’s a good time to remember the reason we do what we do: to make a difference. Our intention is clear, to be the best university we can be, and in doing so to benefit our community, our region and generate global impact. We have seen tangible evidence of this in 2023 and we can all reflect and be proud.

One example was the announcement this week that the University of Lincoln has again been awarded national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold status, the highest rating for delivering consistently outstanding standards of teaching, learning and outcomes for students.

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is a national scheme run by the Office for Students (OfS) that aims to encourage higher education providers to improve and deliver excellence in the areas that students care about the most: teaching, learning and achieving positive outcomes from their studies. A Gold TEF rating means the student experience and student outcomes are typically outstanding. Lincoln is one of only a few universities to be rated Gold overall and for both student experience and outcomes. I want to thank my incredible colleagues across the University who work tirelessly to achieve such high standards.

This achievement adds to a remarkable year of national recognition for the University across areas including research, sustainability and support for local businesses, among many others. In November, we announced that Lincoln had won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, the highest National Honour in UK further and higher education, demonstrating the national and global impact of the University’s research, education and technological innovations. The Prizes are granted every two years by the Sovereign to UK colleges and universities showing excellence, innovation and benefit to the wider world. Lincoln’s award recognised our work supporting the sustainability of the UK’s food and farming industries.

Regional benefit is an absolute priority for the University; as we approach our 30th year it’s important to remember that we strive to provide opportunities for local people that inspired the creation of our University. The University of Lincoln generates more than £400 million a year for the local economy. One in six people residing in the city is either a student, an employee of the University, or has a job linked to it indirectly.

With a significant share of the University’s undergraduates still coming from Lincoln and the surrounding area, we are dedicated to delivering high quality education for local people.

The expertise developed at the University is also contributing to local public services with graduates from the University’s School of Health and Social Care and Lincoln Medical School helping the local area recruit and retain doctors, nurses, paramedics and a range of healthcare professionals. In addition, the Lincoln Medical School is beginning the process to operate independently of the University of Nottingham as part of its major role to train future generations of hospital doctors and GPs to serve communities across our region.

We recognise that not everybody has the same advice and support to help them in their education journey, so the University has also introduced a new Contextual Offer scheme for 2024 entry designed to remove some of the barriers to higher education that people from different backgrounds can encounter. 97 per cent of our new undergraduates come from state schools and colleges, and one in five is from a low participation neighbourhood. We see them go onto achieve incredible things as graduates working for major employers, and we support lots of students in launching their own business through the University’s business incubator, rated in the top 10 nationwide for business creation. We continue to make sure our courses are attractive for prospective students and benefit the region and beyond.

In 2024 we want to continue challenging ourselves and others, working collaboratively both within and beyond the University’s walls so that we can make a difference and transform lives and communities. We’ve made some big changes at the University over the last year, moving from four academic colleges to two, enabling us to collaborate better. We’ve also created a brilliant new environment at our Riseholme campus for our Professional Services staff which again allows them to collaborate with each other and with academics at the renovated Lawress Hall.

I am buoyed by many more accomplishments by colleagues, students and graduates of the University and this article would be far too long if I was to list them all. But one significant example of the positive contribution we can make beyond our campuses is that we are one of only 12 universities named among Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations, meaning there are exciting times ahead for the creative industries in Lincoln. The development of the Barbican Creative Hub opposite the train station is moving at pace and the closer relationship of the University and Lincoln Arts Centre is bearing fruit as evidenced by the brilliant recent School of Creative Arts production of A Christmas Carol. I am constantly impressed by our talented staff and students.

It would be disingenuous of me to pretend there are not challenges ahead. The UK higher education sector is under increasing financial pressure, and there needs to be solutions to the funding system in higher education. Three decades ago, the place our campus stood was a brownfield site. Since then we have helped transform the economic fortunes of our city and county. There is much more work to do, and it will be the community we serve that will suffer if we don’t fix the broken funding model.

Our motivation and our intentions are unwavering; we want to be the best university we can and make people’s lives better. That comes in many forms; expanding opportunities for young people, like those from disadvantaged backgrounds, supporting industry to innovate through world leading research and development, pushing economic growth and prosperity as an ‘anchor institution’, responding to the climate crisis, pursuing medical advances, enriching the arts, and preserving our heritage. There are challenges we have to face, but there are opportunities we need to take, and we must be determined and resolute if we are to continue to make a difference.

Above all else though, I want to take this opportunity to thank our community. I thank my incredible colleagues for their quality of teaching and research, for supporting our students and ensuring their experience at Lincoln is a truly excellent one. I thank our students for enriching Lincoln and making the city such a remarkable place. And finally I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the residents of Lincoln for welcoming our students from all over the world, being so kind, and ensuring we are all indeed one community.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.