UNSW 2025 STRATEGY UPDATE AND CONSOLIDATION• Our Scientia Education Academy brings together our top educators to build excellence in teaching practice, WIL (Work Integrated Learning)

UNSW 2025 STRATEGY UPDATE AND CONSOLIDATIONProposed Strategic Priorities

The 2025 Strategy consultation process has, during the past three months, included town halls, small group workshops, school visits, discussion groups and an online survey. During this process students, staff, alumni and stakeholders provided valuable feedback and ideas that will shape the next phase of our Strategy. My thanks to all who have contributed so far.

Several themes emerged from your feedback. It was reassuring to note the support for the overarching ethos and priorities in the 2025 Strategy and the commitment to ensuring that our objectives are delivered. Not surprisingly, after a period of major change, and a raft of new initiatives, there was a wish for a period of consolidation to allow us to embed our achievements and address areas of challenge. There was a recognition that many areas of the Strategy are already yielding benefits including research quality, equity, diversity, thought leadership and knowledge transfer, whilst others such as educational quality and innovation and global development are making progress. The feedback highlighted the challenges related to delivering the quality and efficiency we aspire to for some of our professional services. There were also a range of suggestions for refining the direction of the Strategy given the changes that have occurred in the domestic and global environment since 2015.

The University Senior Leadership Team met last month to consider how best to shape the 2025 Strategy Update, based on your feedback. The approach proposed reflects the phase of consolidation we are now entering, after four years of implementing change at a demanding pace and scale. The focus in the 2025 Strategy Update will be on ensuring delivery of the Priorities, Themes and Initiatives we commenced in 2015. This paper therefore proposes a limited set of amendments to our Vision, Strategic Priorities, Themes and Enablers.

The overall Strategy is unchanged, but there are refinements proposed to reflect our progress as a university, the external environment and the feedback you have provided. For example:

• Academic Excellence (which incorporates the Research Quality and Educational Excellence themes) now includes a third theme – ‘Student Experience’.

• Social Engagement has been renamed ‘Innovation and Engagement’ with three themes – Entrepreneurship, Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange.

• Global Impact has been renamed ‘Societal Impact’ with three themes – Thought Leadership, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, and Contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

• Enablers now cover five areas – People, Services, Systems, Campuses and Finance.

You are invited to provide comments on this document during the next three weeks. The full 2025 Strategy Update will be prepared once feedback has been received on this framework document.

Best wishes, Ian

Professor Ian JacobsPresident and Vice-Chancellor

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & VICE-CHANCELLOR

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UNSW 2025 STRATEGY UPDATE AND CONSOLIDATION | PROPOSED STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 Progress and next steps

5 Your feedback

6 About this document and the 2025 Strategy Update process

7 Our proposed 2025 Vision and strategic framework

8 Proposed changes

9 Proposed Strategic Priority A: Academic Excellence

11 Proposed Strategic Priority B: Innovation and Engagement

13 Proposed Strategic Priority C: Societal Impact

15 Proposed Strategic Enablers

18 Have your say

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PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS

October 2015

2025 Strategy

March – April 2019

UNSW 2025 Strategy Update – Pre-consultation

May – July 2019

UNSW 2025 Strategy Update – Consultation Paper

September 2019

UNSW 2025 Strategy Update –Draft Strategic Priorities Paper released

Late 2019

UNSW 2025 Strategy Update

2020STRATEGY 2025

• 10-year Strategy launched

• Council members consulted one-on-one

• 2019 School visits commenced

• 2019 student workshops commenced

• 15 Faculty and Division survey responses and suggested questions

• Sent to all staff

• Student workshops, VC School visits and broad consultation

• Feedback received from individuals, Faculties, Divisions and groups

• Sent to all staff

• Opportunity to provide feedback on the draft 2025 Vision, Strategic Priorities, Enablers, Themes and Areas of Focus

• Responses will guide the development of the 2025 Strategy Update • Commencement of UNSW

2025 Strategy Update

• Launch UNSW 2025 Strategy Update

2015 2025

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YOUR FEEDBACKThe response to the Consultation Paper was significant, with comments and suggestions provided from across the UNSW community and other key stakeholders, including government and industry partners.

These responses have helped identify what has worked and what has not, what lessons have been learned, what we can do better, what the emerging challenges facing the sector are, and what new opportunities might be available.

Your feedback revealed a high ambition for continued achievement, a pride in what has been achieved so far and a desire to ease the pace of change and ensure we properly embed current initiatives as business-as-usual practices.

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ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT AND THE 2025 STRATEGY UPDATE PROCESS

This document is your opportunity to provide further feedback before the production of a revised and updated 2025 Strategy.

Due for release later this year, the revised Strategy will include all the components outlined in the diagram on this page.

The components below marked with a tick have been informed by the feedback received during the Consultation Paper stage.

The components below that are not marked with a tick will be developed over the coming weeks following further feedback from our students, staff and stakeholders, including in relation to this paper.

The key messages we have received from your feedback so far, on pages 9, 11, 13 and 15, have informed development of the Areas of Focus sections under each Strategic Priority.

For the final updated 2025 Strategy, the Areas of Focus and your feedback on this paper will help inform the updated Objectives and Measures of Progress.

These updated Objectives and Measures of Progress will enable UNSW to assess, approve, measure, reprioritise and, where required, discontinue strategic initiatives from 2020.

Your further input will help guide the future direction of UNSW.

You can submit your feedback by clicking on the link at the bottom right of each Strategic Priority page, or by going to Page 18 of this document.

UNSW 2025 Vision

Strategic Priorities

Vision for each Strategic Priority

Themes for each Strategic Priority

Vision for each Theme

Objectives for each Theme

Measures of Progress

Initiatives for each Theme

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Theme 1: Research Quality

Theme 7: Thought

Leadership

Theme 2: Educational Excellence

Theme 8: Equity,

Diversity and Inclusion

Theme 9: Contributing

to the UN Sustainable

Development Goals

Theme 3: Student

Experience

Theme 4: Entrepreneurship

Theme 5: Partnerships

Theme 6: Knowledge Exchange

Strategic Priority B:Innovation

and Engagement

Strategic Priority A:

Academic Excellence

Strategic Priority C:Societal Impact

OUR PROPOSED 2025 VISION AND STRATEGIC FRAMEWORKThe feedback received during the consultation process has been used to shape the proposed update to the Strategy 2025 Vision, Priorities, Themes and Enablers.

The revised 2025 Vision reflects feedback that we have already established our place as Australia’s Global University and that we are entering a period of global disruption in which we must be ‘transformative’ and not just ‘outstanding’.

More broadly, the diagram on this page illustrates how our Strategic Priorities, Enablers and Themes will work together to drive the societal outcomes we aspire to achieve.

Further information on the proposed Strategic Priorities and Themes can be found from Page 9 of this document.

To improve lives globally, through innovative research, transformative education, and commitment to a just society.

Proposed new vision

EnablersEnabler 1Develop and support our people

Enabler 2 Optimise services

Enabler 3Improve processes and systems

Enabler 4Enhance our campuses

Enabler 5Ensure financial stability

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PROPOSED CHANGES

Strategic Priority A

Academic Excellence Theme 1: Research Quality – a world leader

Theme 2: Educational Excellence – the UNSW

Scientia Education Experience

EnablersEnabler 1

Develop and support our people

Enabler 2

Optimise services

Enabler 3

Improve processes and systems

Enabler 4

Enhance our campuses

Enabler 5

Ensure financial stability

Strategic Priority A

Academic Excellence Theme 1: Research Quality

Theme 2: Educational Excellence

Theme 3: Student Experience

EXISITING

PROPOSED

Strategic Priority B

Social EngagementTheme 1: A Just Society

Theme 2: Leading the debate on Grand Challenges

Theme 3: Knowledge exchange for social progress

and economic prosperity

Strategic Priority B

Innovation and EngagementTheme 4: Entrepreneurship

Theme 5: Partnerships

Theme 6: Knowledge Exchange

Strategic Priority C

Global ImpactTheme 1: UNSW model of Internationally

Engaged Education

Theme 2: Partnerships that facilitate our Strategy

Theme 3: Our contribution to disadvantaged and

marginalised communities

Strategic Priority C

Societal ImpactTheme 7: Thought Leadership

Theme 8: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Theme 9: Contributing to the United Nations’

Sustainable Development Goals

EnablersEnabler 1: People and Culture Enabler 2: Operational Effectiveness and Sustainability Enabler 3: World-class Environments

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Key messages from your feedback• Focus on improving the

student experience

• Consider flexible education with deeper industry engagement

• Capitalise on the new term structure

• Enhance our commitment to digital and online learning

• Focus on interdisciplinary research and education collaborations

• Nurture existing UNSW research talent

Where are we now?• UNSW is now ranked 81st in the world (on average) – up

from 96th in 2014

• We are Australia’s leader in research quality and impact – confirmed by the Excellence in Research for Australia and Engagement & Impact 2018 outcomes

• We have appointed: 252 Education Focussed academics; 102 Scientia Fellows, including 58 internal appointments; and 31 SHARP professors, including a Nobel Laureate

• We have established six new social justice and futures-focused interdisciplinary research institutes

• 3+, our innovative and flexible new 3 x 10 week academic calendar, is now live

• Our Scientia Education Academy brings together our top educators to build excellence in teaching practice, WIL (Work Integrated Learning) Central has been established to ensure we deliver workforce-ready graduates, and UNSW Online is increasing access to world-class education

• 23,000+ international students are now enrolled at UNSW from more than 137 countries

• Major investment in learning, teaching and cultural infrastructure is delivering outstanding physical and digital environments, including renovations to the Roundhouse and refurbishment of the Electrical Engineering Building, with more to come

Proposed new Vision and ThemesTo deliver excellence in research and education by providing career opportunities and a supportive environment that attracts the world’s best to our university and nurtures current academic staff to their full potential; and to shape the future of higher education with a unique blend of face-to-face and digital education and an enriching student experience, which incorporates cutting edge educational models, delivers career-ready graduates of the highest calibre and facilitates lifelong learning.

• Theme 1 – Research Quality

• Theme 2 – Educational Excellence

• Theme 3 – Student Experience

The name of this Strategic Priority remains unchanged, but your feedback recommended updates to the two existing Themes (Research Quality and Educational Excellence) as well as the addition of a third Theme – Student Experience.

Proposed Strategic Priority A

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Click here to provide feedback

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2025update

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Theme 1 – Research QualityProposed Vision To be recognised for delivering innovative research with global impact, fostering an environment that attracts, retains and develops the world’s leading researchers.

Areas of FocusPursue successful existing programs and:

• Expand inter-disciplinary research collaborations

• Enhance our commitment to nurturing existing UNSW research talent with challenging and rewarding career pathways

• Continue to ensure our investments deliver excellence and impact

Theme 2 – Educational ExcellenceProposed Vision To inspire excellent teaching and attract high-potential students from around the world to join a diverse community of scholars on campus, in the field and via digital platforms.


• Utilise UNSW3+ to deliver a new model of flexible higher education

• Enhance our commitment to nurturing existing UNSW research talent, including the next generation of researchers, with challenging and rewarding career pathways

• Create a more personalised approach to learning

• Progress our commitment to digital and online learning, and to the integration of professional experience in our programs

• Empower our community with lifelong educational opportunities, including through modularised learning

Theme 3 – Student ExperienceProposed Vision To support our students to explore new ideas, pursue extraordinary academic and practical opportunities and establish networks and friendships that embed a lifelong relationship for alumni with UNSW and its values.


• Deliver and support a university experience for our students that captures educational, social, extra-curricular and cultural opportunities, with a wellbeing and happiness focus

• Establish UNSW Global education pathway programs overseas and enhance the experience of pathway students whilst at UNSW

• Establish a program to develop skills and enable the exchange of ideas by future leaders

• Invest in and improve systems and services to enhance our students’ interactions with the University

Proposed Strategic Priority A

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INNOVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

Key messages from your feedback• Increase scope for entrepreneurship

• Create a stronger culture of start-ups, among both staff and students

• Deliver more opportunity for knowledge exchange, especially with government and social enterprises

• Improve our cross-disciplinary collaborations

• Develop a strategy for enterprise

• Build on current precinct and partnership activity

Where are we now?• Australia’s No.1 Entrepreneurial University

(according to the Startup Muster survey)

• UNSW’s Founders Program, which identifies and supports exceptional entrepreneurial talent to launch start-ups with global impact, has produced a 500% increase in start-ups and teams since 2015

• Knowledge exchange revenue increased by $76M between 2015 and 2018

• UNSW is a founding partner of the PLuS Alliance, the NUW Alliance and the SPHERE Health Partnership

• Established The Engineering and Design Institute in London with Arizona State University and King’s College London

• Large-scale innovation precinct opportunities are underway with diverse multi-sector partners to advance UNSW’s strategic and industry engagement

• Established the Torch Innovation Precinct opportunity, which brings industry, SMEs, entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers from around the world to UNSW

This Strategic Priority is new, but draws on elements currently covered in Social Engagement and Global Impact.

Proposed new Vision and ThemesTo ensure, through generosity in partnership, our innovation and discoveries translate to real world outcomes, and to inspire and nurture entrepreneurs to create value and solutions that deliver positive impacts.

• Theme 1 – Entrepreneurship

• Theme 2 – Partnerships

• Theme 3 – Knowledge Exchange

Proposed Strategic Priority B

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INNOVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

Theme 4 – EntrepreneurshipProposed Vision To embed an entrepreneurial ethos in our students, staff and alumni with the aim of building a creative and resourceful generation of forward-thinking, wealth creating and socially engaged individuals.


• Create more opportunities for our student, staff and alumni entrepreneurs, including through investment

• Deliver deeper engagement with the broader start-up ecosystem, both nationally and internationally, to facilitate entrepreneurial opportunity

• To appropriately support entrepreneurial initiatives in a manner similar to research grants

Theme 5 – PartnershipsProposed Vision To foster collaboration between our students, staff and alumni, and industry, organisations, governments and other leading universities, to deliver value to the community.


• Capitalise on our unique precinct development opportunities, including in Greater Sydney

• Focus on our engagement with Asia-Pacific universities

• Develop global partnerships with cutting-edge industries

• Leverage our partnerships to advance new online and short course education opportunities

Theme 6 – Knowledge ExchangeProposed Vision To engage with government, industry and the community to enable the translation and impact of our research to advance social progress and economic prosperity.


• Further develop the Enterprise Strategy encompassing knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship and partnership activity

• Equip our researchers with the skills to commercialise their discoveries and deliver social and economic impact

• Consider further opportunities for faculties to work together to increase knowledge exchange

Proposed Strategic Priority B

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SOCIETAL IMPACT

Key messages from your feedback• Build on current equity, diversity and

inclusion initiatives

• More scholarships and support for low-SES and Indigenous students

• Engage with government, NGOs, INGOs and other universities to address global challenges

• Start local and lead by example with global challenges – collaborate to address problems faced across the country and then more broadly

• Better promotion of our research

Where are we now?• Launched the Institute for Global Development

• UNSW Disability Innovation Institute and the Australian Human Rights Institute launched

• 142 Grand Challenges activities and 13,000 registrations for activities during 2018

• Through the ASPIRE outreach program, more than 7,000 university offers have been received by students experiencing educational disadvantage

• First Pro Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous appointed

• Athena SWAN Bronze Institution Award – recognising UNSW’s commitment to advancing the careers of women, and trans and gender diverse individuals in STEMM disciplines – received from Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE)

• Established the Centre for Ideas

Proposed new Vision and ThemesTo shape and progress a just society by mobilising our community’s expertise to lead debate, sustainably address global challenges and foster equity, diversity and inclusion.

• Theme 1 – Thought Leadership

• Theme 2 – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

• Theme 3 – Contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

This Strategic Priority draws on elements currently covered in Social Engagement and Global Impact. A new Theme recommendation is UNSW’s contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Universities have a critical role to play in the achievement of the UN SDGs through research, teaching and campus operations. The UN SDGs are at the heart of a global agenda aiming to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges by 2030.

Proposed Strategic Priority C

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SOCIETAL IMPACT

Theme 7 – Thought LeadershipProposed Vision To be a leader in promoting informed discussion, debate and policy formulation on the Grand Challenges facing Australians and humanity worldwide, and to be recognised for the positive impact and social change delivered by our knowledge translation.


• Be known as a global point of reference for policy makers, including governments, international organisations, NGOs, community leaders and industry

• Contribute to national and international policy debate with communications that convey the impact of our research and capture popular interest

Theme 8 – Equity, Diversity and InclusionProposed Vision To be recognised as an international exemplar in equity, diversity and inclusion, with our success being built upon embracing and supporting the diversity and cultural richness of our communities and ensuring our students and staff can achieve their full potential regardless of background.


• Through philanthropy, increase our commitment to Indigenous and low-SES scholarships

• Grow academic and social programs to support low-SES students to transition to and progress through UNSW

• Engage and form partnerships with a greater range of universities, government entities, corporates and NGOs that are delivering successful inclusion and diversity strategies

• Develop and implement a UNSW Inclusion Strategy

Theme 9: Contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development GoalsProposed Vision To tackle real-world problems through partnership between our students, staff, alumni and the community, aligning our efforts with UNSW’s expertise and research strengths, Australia’s aspirations, and the UN SDGs.

Areas of Focus• Led by the Institute for Global Development, develop

and implement a United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Strategy

• Increase student access to work integrated learning and international internships and placements that are focussed on the UN SDGs

Proposed Strategic Priority C

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PROPOSED STRATEGIC ENABLERS

Key messages from your feedback• Update and improve our systems and

processes to ease administrative burdens and nurture an improved service culture

• Refine the shared services model

• Improve our digital infrastructure

• Target the quality, not quantity, of initiatives

• Invest for impact and measure progress

• Focus on excellent professional staff, as well as excellent academics

• Engage our alumni and donors more

Where are we now?• Record investment in infrastructure, including

the $104M Electrical Engineering Building project (incorporating Australia’s first quantum engineering teaching laboratory)

• Division of Philanthropy created

• 20,091 alumni engaged with UNSW in 2018

• Orion and Carina performance programs established – aimed at high performing current and future leaders

• Female executive level representation up to 37% in 2019

• Signed a 15-year agreement that ensures 100% of UNSW’s electricity will be supplied by solar photovoltaic energy by 2020

Proposed new Vision and Enablers To enable the delivery of UNSW’s strategic vision by investing in and harnessing the potential of our people, services, systems and places, underpinned by a service

orientated culture.

• Enabler 1 – Develop and support our people

• Enabler 2 – Optimise services

• Enabler 3 – Improve processes and systems

• Enabler 4 – Enhance our campuses

• Enabler 5 – Ensure financial stability

Our Enablers are the tools we use to deliver our Strategic Priorities. Based on your feedback, we have identified five Enablers. They draw on existing Enablers and include additional activities to reflect matters that need attention.

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Enabler 1 – Develop and support our peopleProposed VisionTo be a university where our people can reach their full potential in a supportive culture that embraces change and continuous improvement and where our students, staff and alumni share a pride in UNSW’s vision, values and achievements.


• Increase the support provided to our staff, including our current and emerging academic and professional leaders, to drive a high performance culture

• Provide greater recognition for students, staff, alumni and community members who personify our values and share our commitment to giving back

Enabler 2 – Optimise servicesProposed Vision To deliver a sustainable and consistent way of working by providing efficient and timely services that reflect a client-centric ethos.


• Develop and implement models for shared services that reflect the strength of a centralised approach while acknowledging the need for localised tailoring

• Deliver systems that facilitate more efficient and agile decision making

• Foster a client-centric ethos across the breadth of our professional services

Enabler 3 – Improve processes and systemsProposed VisionTo invest in IT core infrastructure that simplifies and automates systems and processes to maximise efficiency and protect the knowledge we create.


• Finalise and implement a world-class digital strategy that incorporates platforms and systems

• Establish a strong cyber security platform

continued next page

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ENABLERS

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Enabler 4 – Enhance our campusesProposed VisionTo shape a safe, inclusive and sustainable environment that facilitates a sense of community, enabling collaboration and innovation.

Area of focusContinue to invest in world-class learning environments

Enabler 5 – Ensure financial sustainability

Proposed VisionTo maintain financial discipline and achieve a diverse revenue base to ensure we have the resources required to support and deliver our strategic vision.


• Ensure increased monitoring, review, focus on and prioritisation of strategic initiatives

• Increased philanthropic support and engagement with alumni as a key basis for revenue creation

• Embed a risk culture that supports strategic decision making

• Efficient use of capital and the generation of revenue streams for the University

PROPOSED STRATEGIC ENABLERScontinued

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If you would like to provide anonymous feedback on any aspect of this document, please click here. Alternatively, you can email [email protected]

HAVE YOUR SAY

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Documents

UNSW 2025 STRATEGY UPDATE AND CONSOLIDATION• Our Scientia Education Academy brings together our top educators to build excellence in teaching practice, WIL (Work Integrated Learning)