Annual Report and Financial Statements

W e have enjoyed a further successful academic and financial year at the University with record numbers of students joining us and a record financial surplus. We also welcomed our new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Koen Lamberts, in January 2014 to provide renewed leadership for the future. It is now appropriate to develop a new strategy for the University. We have completed a major expansion phase over the last ten years and now seek to meet the challenges of new student entry rules and funding, and the tighter research funding climate. The wider University community has engaged energetically in consulting on the initial drafts, and the Vice-Chancellor, his senior colleagues and the University Council will finalise the strategic directions during this coming year. It is clear that excellence in teaching and research will remain at the heart of the University's forward direction, but we expect new initiatives to be part of the plan. I would like to express, on behalf of my Council colleagues, our pleasure and thanks to all our academic and support staff who have dealt admirably with the pace of change affecting the University, particularly in relation to the increased undergraduate student intake and, simultaneously, the final stages of the Research Excellence Framework submission. Challenging times are likely to continue, but I would like them all to know that their efforts on behalf of the University are sincerely appreciated.