Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

A building at the University of Wolverhampton featured in the report

UK university income grows by £2bn in one year, AUDE report reveals

UK Universities' response to the efficiency agenda and their own income generating projects have helped them increase their income to a record £30bn.
Casey Gutteridge/Archant.

Andrew May: ‘we are the vehicle for driving the efficiency agenda’

As the University of Hertfordshire approaches the midway point of its ten-year long estates strategy, the university’s director of estates, Andrew May, tells Rosie Niven about how estates are at the forefront of the efficiency agenda at the institution.
Picture credit: University of Wolverhampton

The higher education estate – investing in quality

Research for the efficiency review shows that University buildings are in better condition and more fit for purpose, compared with the previous decade. But as Sian Kilner explains, effective estate management will be vital for meeting the challenges to come.
©Jisc and Matt Lincoln, CC BY-NC-ND.

Universities challenged to make the most of their space

Every element of space in universities needs to be challenged, an expert in designing spaces for learning told Jisc Digifest on Wednesday. In his keynote speech to the event in Birmingham, University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s professor of practice Andrew Harrison said that across the sector, expensive facilities are being minimised.

Assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of porters and cleaners

Benchmarking is increasingly used in the quest for efficiency and most universities have used the Procurement Maturity Assessment, developed by SUMS Consulting and the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia. SUMS has now developed another maturity model that allows easy self assessment and indicates a way forward and has applied it to portering and cleaning services.

Sue Holmes: ‘student experience remains our priority’

Oxford Brookes, like most universities, is facing pressure on its estate from increasing student numbers and higher expectations. We talk to the university’s director of estates, Sue Holmes, about how she is dealing with these pressures.
Engineering and Computing Building

Summer on the campus

University campuses are no longer deserted during July and August. Rosie Niven looks at how estates managers are making their assets pay for themselves during the long summer holiday.

Demonstrating HE Efficiency and Effectiveness

This report focuses on how universities continue to deliver value for money in a climate where income is reducing in real terms and competition is increasing, while finding recurrent savings which will enable them to make necessary investments. It includes examples from universities across the UK where universities are saving money through efficient estate management.

The UK Higher Education Learning Space Toolkit: a SCHOMS, AUDE and UCISA collaboration

This toolkit has been produced by three higher education organisations to help their members share best practice and work more effectively when creating learning spaces. It is intended to serve both as a practical guide and as a source of inspiration in the design of spaces that delight and motivate students, as well as meet their functional needs.
Times Higher Education

Less selfishness could mean more space efficiency, report argues

Universities could reduce estate footprint by 25% if staff become less “territorial” and share their teaching and office space with colleagues in other departments, says a report by a Dutch university quoted in the Times Higher.