Pro-Vice-Chancellor Vincenzo Raimo discusses the Global Engagement Strategy

Friday, 20 March 2015

Vincenzo Raimo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement)

On Thursday 18 March, Vincenzo Raimo, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), held a one-hour open session for all staff on Whiteknights Campus to share his progress on the development of the Global Engagement Strategy. His presentation included: a brief assessment of the University's current position; key features of a globally engaged university; his vision for global engagement including targets; and some immediate actions.

For colleagues who couldn't attend, and especially for colleagues overseas, the slides together with speakers' notes are available here.

80 colleagues attended the session. The questions from the floor were far-ranging and included:

• Our UK student mobility strategy - what this could mean in practice, from short period of studies, to experience in the vacations, where they might study with an immediate focus on English speaking partners and also how we can improve language support for them to study elsewhere;
• Buddying for international students to improve their experience on our UK campuses;
• The International Initiatives Fund and how money is allocated - to partnerships and internationalisation at "home";
• Where we should prioritise our engagement;
• Noting our unique position in Africa;
• Opportunities for delivering our degree programmes in languages other than English;
• Capacity development;
• Making the most of our existing Henley network;
• International collaboration with researchers and professional bodies;
• Bridging programmes and working with external providers and ensuring quality provision; and
• How we make Global Engagement "business as usual".

Vincenzo will present his thinking to Council next week and then will work with Schools and professional services to produce a detailed global engagement strategy before the end of this academic year.