Business School vision, mission and strategic priorities 2026-2030

Students walking in front of Jubilee Building

Our vision

As a leading business school, our vision is to help our students and stakeholders understand and manage the complex challenges they will face throughout their careers.

We aspire for our students, faculty and partners to create a positive and lasting impact, shaping a better world for future generations through the application of critical insight, responsible leadership and innovative thinking.

Our mission

Our mission is to:

  • develop forward‑thinking, responsible managers who champion original, critical and ethical approaches to navigating a rapidly changing world
  • collaborate internationally with businesses, governments and organisations to deliver innovative and practical solutions to complex management and policy issues
  • advance impactful, high‑quality research that addresses real‑world problems, supports the business practices of the future, and informs high‑quality teaching.

Our five strategic priorities

Deliver outstanding, competitive education

We will:

  • strengthen the quality, relevance and competitiveness of our educational offer by enhancing curriculum design, assessment and delivery, embedding employability and digital capability, and improving student satisfaction and graduate outcomes
  • ground programmes in research‑led, innovative teaching and enrich them with meaningful on‑ and off‑campus experiences
  • also develop targeted online and distance learning aligned with our disciplinary strengths.

Promote research distinctiveness

We will:

  • consolidate and promote our interdisciplinary research excellence and integrate our recognised strengths visibly into teaching
  • align research and education more closely to strengthen employability and future-focused skills, and we will expand our capacity for external funding and collaborative bids to deliver high-impact, policy-relevant research
  • showcase our research centres and thematic hubs as core elements of our brand.

Strengthen our reputation

We will:

  • enhance our domestic and international reputation through a clear, student‑centred narrative that emphasises employability, digital futures and responsible global citizenship
  • improve visibility in key markets through coordinated marketing, employer and alumni engagement, strengthened international partnerships, and greater amplification of success stories, rankings and centres of excellence.

Invest in our people and culture

We will:

  • build a supportive, inclusive and values‑driven culture that enables staff and students to thrive
  • rebuild trust and community, enhance wellbeing and career development pathways, ensure fair and transparent governance, and strengthen leadership and management practices
  • recruit and retain colleagues committed to collaborative, student‑centred practice and create an environment that promotes educational innovation and excellence.

Secure financial stability

We will:

  • secure long‑term financial sustainability by growing and diversifying income, streamlining programme offerings and adopting prudent, transparent financial planning
  • increase student numbers in priority areas, strengthen research income, develop executive education and expand partnerships with universities, businesses and professional bodies.

These actions will create a resilient financial model that supports investment in people, infrastructure and innovation.

Delivering our strategic plan

We will deliver our strategic plan through four guiding principles:

  1. Prioritisation and focus – concentrating our resources on activities with the greatest strategic impact.
  2. Realism and capacity awareness – aligning our ambitions with available resources, staff capacity and organisational constraints.
  3. Evidence‑informed decision‑making – using data, insight and evaluation to guide choices and measure progress.
  4. Transparency and shared accountability – ensuring open communication, joint ownership and clarity of responsibility.

Implementation pillars

Seven cross-cutting pillars shape how we will implement and embed our strategic priorities across teaching, research and operations. Together, they position us as a digitally enabled, sustainable and inclusive Business School with strong external impact.

  1. Digitalisation – we will embed technology‑enhanced learning, simulations, analytics and digital futures research across our programmes and thought leadership.
  2. Interdisciplinarity – we will foster collaboration across departments, centres and hubs, enabling students and partners to engage with complex challenges from multiple perspectives.
  3. Sustainability and social impact – we will integrate ESG, CSR, circular economy, energy transitions and inclusive development across teaching, research and engagement.
  4. Connections to practice – we will deepen partnerships with industry, public bodies and NGOs to generate applied research, live cases, consultancy opportunities and practitioner‑led learning.
  5. Employability – we will embed analytical, digital and interpersonal skills, and expand placements, work‑based learning and alumni mentoring to improve graduate outcomes.
  6. Internationalisation – we will expand joint degrees, global partnerships, study abroad and offshore delivery to create a genuinely international learning and research environment.
  7. Inclusion and diversity – we will ensure fair workloads, supportive leadership, wellbeing, mentoring and inclusive pedagogy so all staff and students can thrive.

 

Our strategic priorities are aligned with: The ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ strategy for 2035.