Celebrating success
Universities are this nation’s success story and their enduring value is something to be celebrated, says Universities UK president Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, reflecting on how the sector nurtures learning and invention while pursuing value for money.
No room for complacency in the drive for efficiency and excellence
February 2015 sees the launch of a report led by Professor Sir Ian Diamond highlighting examples of efficiency in higher education. In the first in a series of blogposts that Efficiency Exchange will run ahead of the launch, Sir Ian emphasises the need to build on previous work towards the goal of creating smarter, stronger universities.
Data platform launched to encourage more efficient medical research
An affordable cloud-based infrastructure has been launched by Jisc and the University of Leicester to manage a growing volume of data that is threatening to overwhelm researchers. The Biomedical Research Infrastructure Software Service (BRISSKit) platform seeks to make data sharing and collaboration easier, saving time and reducing infrastructure costs.
Value me not my money: why students are key to good decision making
The notion of the student as a consumer is one that is gaining popularity. But NUS vice president (higher education) Megan Dunn says universities need to start seeing students as full members of their community who should play an active role in it, rather than customers, easily impressed by shiny new buildings.
The higher education estate: delivering effective space use
Research into space efficiency in higher education suggests that universities have successfully adapted buildings to accommodate current patterns of working. Sian Kilner, who helped to carry out the research, says space management will become even more vital as cash to invest in redeveloping universities reduces.
Watch the ‘Efficiency, effectiveness and value for money’ report launch
On Thursday 26 February, the 2nd report into Efficiency Effectiveness and Value for Money was launched at Universities UK. You can watch a video of Professor Sir Ian Diamond, who led the efficiency review, launching the report.
Sir David Bell: efficiency is crucial for serving universities’ core mission
As we anticipate the publication of the efficiency review, vice chancellor Sir David Bell explains to Rosie Niven that a university’s core mission is learning and research, and that efficiency is never an end in itself.
Future challenges for procurement in higher education
In a competitive world, the UK’s universities are rising to the challenge of maintaining their position as world leaders. And so should their procurement teams says procurement expert Peter Smith.
The procurement challenge: three years on
The Diamond review of 2011 clearly flagged procurement as an area with potential for achieving efficiencies and value for money. In advance of the publication of the second efficiency review in February, Nick Petford looks back at what the sector has achieved.
Only connect: UCL’s vision for greater synergy between research and education
Institutions across the world are increasingly looking at fresh possibilities of making connections between their research and students educations. Dilly Fung explains three new, interrelated initiatives at UCL that are designed to make research and education inspire and strengthen each other.
