Broadcast: News items

On Wednesday, the Sussex Engagement Group met to discuss the initial findings that have come from last week’s School and Divisional engagement group meetings. Thanks to the excellent engagement and contributions of staff at Sussex there is a huge amount of information, insights, and data to explore.

Significant engagement:

It’s no surprise the Engagement Group have so much data to explore, as over 600 academic and 700 professional services staff have contributed to the first engagement sessions. This is a great result and means that around 45% of all UoS staff have taken part in this first round.

I’m really pleased with the high levels of interest staff are showing, and it illustrates the commitment staff have in being part of creating a Sussex that will not just be able to contend with the many challenges we face as an HEI, but one that will thrive long into the future.

Next week:

I hope that this enthusiasm to be part of the process to help shape our future direction continues as we look to next week’s second round of engagement sessions. You should have had an invitation to attend a session from your Head of School or Divisional Director – please do look out for yours.

These next engagement sessions will enable you to have a more focused discussion about the opportunities and challenges within your area – giving you an opportunity to see how they may also link to our wider pan University questions that many of you have explored already.

Town Hall events

The Group have identified an additional engagement activity, one that will bring together a mix of staff groups to discuss the big Size and Shape questions. We’re going to take this forward via ‘Town Hall’ style meetings. These can be a really effective way of garnering multiple insights, experience and creating solutions through collaborative thinking.

They also offer an opportunity for colleagues to further understand and drill down to the detail of matters such as how we deliver our services and cross subsidy.

With best wishes and thanks

Keith

Professor Keith Jones
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, and Acting Provost