Queen Mary has world-leading research across wide-ranging disciplines, but we should be much more ambitious about highlighting them. The University also has extraordinary student demographics. More than 90% of our home students come from state schools, with 40% of our home students being the first in their family to go to university. In addition, there are over 160 nationalities represented on the University’s London campuses. Queen Mary’s student population is a wonderfully diverse mix, where people who grew up around the corner exchange ideas in corridors with those from the other side of the world. Our students need to be nurtured and developed. Student support in all its forms is critical for all students, but particularly for those who are a long way from home, have overcome significant obstacles to get to university or have many other competing priorities in their lives, such as caring responsibilities. There are also the joys - and challenges - of educating a diverse group of students. It is surely more rewarding than teaching a more uniform group but it requires different techniques, and an ongoing commitment to the development of excellent education and student support by the University.
Never has it been more true that the only constant, for the higher education sector, is change. It is impossible to predict what will happen over the course of the next few years in the sector, or to accurately predict the labour market for which we are preparing our students. Looking beyond higher education we also do not know whether the current economic and political turmoil in countries across the globe, including our own, will spiral or settle. We do know, however, that students preparing for university are evermore savvy and socially conscious. They understand the importance of a well-rounded education, lifelong learning, adaptability and personal resilience. As a society, we are continuing to battle the ingrained issues of the economic divide, to ensure that everyone has the chance to fulfil their potential, irrespective of their background.
I am confident this strategy will deliver: for Queen Mary, for its communities, and for society. It is a bold strategy, which builds on the University’s strengths - its fabulous communities. It is built on firm foundations and a continual commitment to excellence, to furrowing the University’s own path, and to financial sustainability. I commend to you Queen Mary’s Strategy 2019 – 2030.