UCD Strategy 2015-2020

Major Strategic Initiatives

In pursuing these objectives we will undertake six major strategic initiatives. These initiatives will be managed and overseen by the University Management Team and its subgroups, working in partnership with the Academic Council and the Governing Authority.

	1. Tackling global challenges:
	We will strengthen our disciplines and on these disciplines build multi-disciplinary research and education in areas which reflect UCD's strengths and which make significant contribution to identified national and international priorities. We will ensure our Colleges and Schools are built around disciplines and we will work to ensure that these disciplines are world-class. We will further develop research themes aligning with UCD's strengths and global needs, and align our Institutes and Centres to these research themes, paying particular attention to the themes highlighted in the EU Horizon 2020 programme. We will ensure the structure and policies of our Institutes and Centres incorporate sufficient flexibility and adaptability to cope with changing priorities.
	2. Defining educational excellence:
	We will build on the work we have already done to establish an approach to education that supports all our students to achieve academic excellence and to equip them with the social, intercultural and generic skills to succeed in a diverse society. To enhance the UCD Horizons modular structure, we will conduct a robust curriculum review of our undergraduate and graduate offerings, informed by our vision for 2020 and by best international practice in curriculum design, pedagogy and effective student learning. This will be underpinned by a broader educational environment leveraging intellectual, cultural, social and sporting opportunities which will allow students to develop important new national and global perspectives.
	3. Reimagining our campus:
	Recent development of the campus buildings and surroundings have demonstrated the potential for creating an environment that matches best international comparisons and supports the needs of our community. We will refine, enhance and execute a campus development plan which supports the vision, engages our staff and our students and opens our University to the wider community. The campus will be a vibrant and active place seven days a week.
	4. Engaging globally:
	UCD's world extends beyond our campus, beyond our city and our borders. Our students and graduates benefit from a UCD education that enables them to thrive and contribute in an increasingly global community. Our faculty engage in international research collaborations, sharing and contributing to a global bank of knowledge that aims to impact on society. In order to expand our global engagement, we will create a network of UCD Global Centres, each of which will provide a hub of research and education connections for our students, faculty, alumni and partners.
	5. Building partnerships:
	The ethos of UCD has always been embracing and inclusive, and we have established a range of effective partnerships. We value the mutual benefit of engaging with wider society. Through this initiative, we will build further holistic, strategic partnerships with public and non-governmental agencies, educational institutions, industry, community and professional organisations, in a structured way so that we can maximise our relevance and impact on society, while at the same time augmenting our student experience and researcher engagement.
	6. Increasing agility and effectiveness:
	Building on the considerable efficiencies that have already been achieved, we will ensure that our teaching, research and administrative processes and procedures are efficient and fit-for-purpose. We will conduct a comprehensive review of these processes using modern methodologies, and based on this review, we will identify and implement any changes necessary to bring UCD's processes to a standard of excellence as benchmarked by relevant international comparators.

We will develop an implementation and resourcing plan for each of these major initiatives, and report progress against each plan annually. Success will be measured by progress against the key objectives.