Guiding Principles

for our Actions

What is Cardiff University for?

The University exists to create and share knowledge and
to educate for the benefit of all.

Outstanding academic and professional

performance
Respect for people and diversity
Academic freedom

What kind of university

do we want to be?

Financial resilience
Integrity
Subsidiarity

A world-leading, research-excellent, educationally

outstanding university, driven by creativity and curiosity,
which fulfils its social, cultural and economic obligations
to Cardiff, Wales, and the world.

Dynamism
Accountability
Self-determination
Environmental and social sustainability

Contact us:
Cardiff University
Cardiff, Wales
CF10 3XQ UK
Tel: +44(0) 2920 874000

facebook.com/cardiffuni
@cardiffuni

Cardiff University

youtube.com/cardiffuni
The Way Forward is available in Welsh or in large print format, contact: publicrelations@cardiff.ac.uk
Printed on 100% recycled paper, in line with the Universitys commitment to sustainability www.cardiff.ac.uk/sustainability
Cardiff University is a registered charity, no 1136855

Cover photograph Betina Skovbro

September 2014

The Way Forward

2012-2017

Our Ambition

In five years time Cardiff will consistently

be among the top 100 universities in the
world and the top 20 in the UK.

Our focus is on four areas

Research and Innovation
Cardiff will be firmly positioned in the top ten UK
universities in REF terms with success judged by the
effect on our reputation. Our selective submission
to the Research Excellence Framework will have
supported the aim of achieving a top-10 position on
research quality as measured by grade point average;
volume and income will be second-order issues. We
will have substantially increased our research income
from grants and contracts and will have broadened
the range of income sources.
We will continue to develop our University Research
Institutes, tackling critical global issues that require
cross disciplinary co-operation. We will become
known as an Innovation University with the
development of an Innovation System that acts as a
magnet for participants (staff, students, and partner

organisations) and for funding whilst reinforcing

our civic responsibility. This platform for research,
innovation, translational and educational activity will
span the Maindy Park and the Heath Park Campus.
We will develop innovation and development links
with business in Wales, in the UK more widely and
internationally as part of a strategic aim to boost
growth and prosperity in Wales. We will equip our
graduates with the required entrepreneurial capacity
so that they can contribute to the growth of the
knowledge economy. We will ensure that our
research has global impact by tackling the grand
challenges of our time. We will engage closely with
Horizon 2020 and other aspects of the European
innovation agenda and explore collaborations with
high-quality research universities in Wales, the UK
and internationally.

Intellectual Ambition

Performance of the University

Cardiff University sees fundamental research both as essential to human

aspiration and as critical to the development of cultural artefacts, technologies
and services to improve the quality of life for all. We value our whole range of
intellectual activity equally, excluding no area of intellectual discovery, the
overwhelming ambition being the achievement of outstanding quality.

Progress in achieving the ambitions

outlined above by 2017 will be
measured by the following key
performance indicators:

The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences aims to transform the public
understanding of culture, the economy, politics and society, informing policy and practice in such areas
as health, education, employment, the environment, the creative industries and crime and policing.
Our world-leading research and teaching crosses disciplines and has positive impact in diverse fields
from the media to sustainable business practice and from linguistic communities to the ethics of
genetic research. The celebration of cultural value through rigorous research is fundamental.

The College of Biomedical and Life Sciences aims to be a world-leading centre of academic
and clinical excellence, renowned for holistic, student-focused education and specialty training targeted
at improving the health and well-being of society. An integrated approach is taken to all aspects of
health and bioscientific research, achieving internationally-respected results at all stages of the medical
research process, from laboratory science through to improved medical and healthcare practices.

Education
We will educate our students to the very highest
standards and support them through the transition
to independent learning. The student experience at
Cardiff will be a byword for excellence, where students
actively participate in their learning experience and
benefit from an environment of top quality research
and scholarship.
We will have a vibrant, growing, and multinational
postgraduate community associated with a research
led University. We will recruit the brightest students

from all strata of society with a particular focus on

underrepresented groups, and be the university of
choice for students from Wales, the rest of the UK, the
EU and across the world. We will produce graduates
who are delighted with their experience, who are
well-rounded, flexible, mobile and highly employable
individuals, many with work based and/or international
experience. We will review our provision regularly
to ensure that their academic and future successes
identify our graduates as products of an educationally
outstanding university.

The College of Physical Sciences and Engineering aims to be internationally renowned

for innovative research, industrial engagement, sustainable solutions and societal impact. Our agendasetting research is driven by fundamental enquiry, from investigating the cosmos to the earths interior,
from the atmosphere to the oceans, from energy to health, from catalysis to tissue engineering, from
lightning to materials. Theoretical research is translated to practical and commercial application across
the College.

International
Cardiff University will form a tight-knit collaboration
with two other outstanding international universities
with a view to promoting research and sharing best
practice in teaching and management and establishing
our position as a well-known global university. We will

consider establishing an overseas campus to enhance

our reputation and bring Cardiff and Wales to the
world. By 2017, 17% of our home students will have
studied, worked or volunteered abroad for at least a
month during their time at Cardiff.

Engagement
We will demonstrate our commitment to the
communities of Cardiff and Wales through knowledge
exchange projects that directly and indirectly help
those who do not traditionally engage with the
university. There will be a focus on social and
educational inclusion, on health and on using

University expertise and resource to support self-help

community projects across Wales. We will develop
innovation and development links with business in
Wales, in the UK more widely and internationally as
part of a strategic aim to boost growth and prosperity
in Wales and to help to earn our own living.

Our Commitment
Underpinning these efforts will be a commitment to exercising a conscious financial discipline to maintain
our self-determination and allow us to fund our ambition. As an organisation we will be focussed,
professional, efficient and effective, with infrastructure and support services working to the highest
standards in comparison with our peers. We are committed to providing an excellent staff experience to
match that of our students.

Investment Ambition
Our investment priorities will be in:

Recruitment, retention and development of the best quality staff

Facilities to enhance the learning and life experience of our students and staff
Research facilities and infrastructure to put us ahead of our competitors
Maintenance and enhancement of the fabric of the University
Controlling carbon emissions to fulfil our commitment to sustainability.

Financial Ambition
In order to make the necessary investments we will need to plan for income growth and to create a cash
surplus of 5% annually. This will necessitate cost control and a focus on increasing non-HEFCW income
sources. It will also require an academic plan to put detail around the investment priorities and a costed
programme so that funding can be secured. We will work to bring in funding from other sources
philanthropic, governmental and commercial to leverage the maximum value for the University from
our capital spend.

Research and Innovation

Top 10 in the Research Excellence Framework
Research income growth 10% p.a.
10% increase in industry funding p.a.

Education
At least 90% overall satisfaction in NSS for
every school
At least 80% satisfaction in NSS assessment
and feedback category for every school

International impact
Institutional collaboration with two
other universities
Top 100 world position, top 20 Times position
17% of our home students
internationally mobile

Engagement
Increased economic, health and social impact
and five successful projects as measured by
biennial survey (quantitative and qualitative)

Finance
Cash surplus of at least 5% p.a.
Staff costs 54% of total income p.a.