Connecting Scotland how Scottish organisations engage internationally. University of the West of Scotland (UWS)

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1 Connecting Scotland how Scottish organisations engage internationally University of the West of Scotland (UWS) What international activities are happening in your organisation? Please describe how and why these activities take place? Are other sectors/ organisations involved? What do these activities contribute or achieve? One of the main themes of The University of the West of Scotland s Corporate Strategy 2014/20 is the internationalisation of the University through our Global Reach Enabling Plan (see appendix 1 for details), which can be summarised in four cross-cutting ambitions: Developing UWS as a global brand Internationalising the student body, staff and University culture Internationalising the student experience Developing strong strategic partnerships The Enabling Plan identifies the specific objectives, which will deliver these ambitions. For the purposes of the request, we will focus on 2 strands: Increasing recruitment of international students to domestic campuses Offering UWS degrees and professional development through a range of off-shore arrangements Increasing recruitment of international students to domestic campuses: UWS will increase the number of international students learning on our domestic campuses through developing a global brand, recognising UWS as a place offering flexible and innovative approaches to learning. The following describes the activity undertaken to achieve this aim: The international student recruitment team actively participates in British Council Education Fairs and agent- led recruitment fairs. These activities are profile raising and promote the UWS brand worldwide. Such activities support our appointed agents, who are key influencers in the student decision-making process. In East Asia, we work collaboratively with 23 Chinese partner institutions, with various collaborative arrangements (e.g. 2+2 and 3+1) in the areas of Business, Computing, Engineering and Science. Such collaborative working has resulted in over 3,000 Chinese students studying at UWS over the past 10 years. This engagement has also led to a number of successful opportunities for learning and exchange: Student Outward Mobility: UWS is an active participant in the EU funded Erasmus + programme. The University has around 100 partners across Europe. In 2014/15, UWS has grown it s outward bound mobility by 23% on the previous year. Institutional partners in Germany, The Netherlands and Hungary have been the main recipients of UWS students in 2014/15.

2 Approximately 50 students will benefit from funding from the Scottish Government Outward Mobility Fund. UWS were successful in obtaining 3 match funding grants in 2014/15 and the groups of participating students will be visiting Slovenia, France/Spain and Germany. In 2014/15, UWS were successful in leading and obtaining a 3m Euro Erasmus Mundus grant that, over the life of the project, will generate significant inward and outward mobility to partner countries within Asia, To date, circa 50 students from our School of Business & Enterprise and our School of Engineering & Computing have spent 2 weeks in China during the summer, undertaking work experience in local companies. UWS is currently exploring internship opportunities in China for our graduates from our School of Education. Staff Mobility: Circa 20 academic staff members from Business, Computing and Engineering have delivered lectures in Chinese partner Universities. Joint Research and Conferences: 4 joint conferences in the areas of Business and Computing have been carried out with our Chinese partner institutions in the last few years, as a result of our established partnerships. A professor from our School of Science and Sport was awarded a visiting Fellowship by the Recruitment Programme of High End Foreign Experts of the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs (Hunan Province, China) in March 2015 for joint research activity with one of our Chinese partners. We actively engage with Consulates and Embassies worldwide to ensure that the University is on approval lists for government-funded scholarships. UWS has participated in Scottish Development International (SDI) scoping missions, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) missions and UK Universities missions to emerging markets. Our participation in the SDI scoping mission to Indonesia in 2013 allowed UWS colleagues to strengthen an existing relationship with the University of Indonesia (UoI). Joint Research and Collaboration (Indonesia) A Professor of Environmental Geochemistry at UWS has been actively working with colleagues in the Dept. of Chemistry at UoI in the area of Environmental Management and Climate Change and conducted a series of professorial lectures at UoI in March The Professor and his counterpart at UoI submitted a successful bid to the British Council in Feb 2015, to develop a second city HE partnership. This will enable academic colleagues in Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, East Java to be involved in the collaborative activity.

3 Offering UWS degrees and professional development through a range of offshore arrangements - Transnational Education Through strong strategic partnerships, UWS will build a global brand, which will attract students to undertake our degrees and professional development opportunities across the globe. Our aim is to create regional TNE hubs that would allow staff and students to engage on a global level with TNE partnerships. TNE hubs would align with local government initiatives of creating regional knowledge hubs in locational such as, Malaysia, Mauritius and Vietnam. In this regard it allows UWS to engage with a range of NGO s and government agencies. We have a strategic focus, working currently in South Asia, East Asia, South East Asia, Central Asia and Europe with almost 30 partners in the development of collaborative activity. Our strategic plan will see UWS develop collaborative partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa in the forthcoming year and then moving into the Americas. Our aim to have registered a minimum of 3,000 students on our TNE programmes by These TNE partnerships will also allow UWS staff to conduct and pioneer research in new and emerging markets, which would then feedback into internationalising the UWS curriculum. UWS is also exploring an international presence through partnership and branch campus in several locations. Do you think your sector and/ or organisation is effective in participating in international activities? If not, what would help you to make improvements? What prevents you from making improvements now? Overall, Scottish Universities are effective in international engagement in the key areas of recruitment, mobility and research & knowledge exchange. 2 issues that would help develop further would be: Increased funding to support outward bound mobility. At UWS, we have had some success in recent years in successfully applying for funds from the Scottish Government Outward mobility fund. This has proven to be a useful source of funding to support students going out on short term mobilities. Recent successful applications to the fund will allow UWS to send students to Slovenia, Germany and France/Spain. Many of the participating students would not have benefitted from such an experience during their studies, due to economic, linguistic and other barriers. This is a particular issue at UWS. At UWS, we feel that an expansion of this fund to support these short mobilities would benefit our students. The German DAAD ( model that supports international higher education, in areas such as mobility and research is something that could be replicated in the UK. Whilst certain of the services provided by DAAD are replicated by various organisations in the UK, the attractions of the German model include: o o It is now an internationally recognised brand and acts as an one stop shop and It draws in both public and private funding,

4 What should organisations in Scotland do to be effective internationally? Are you aware of any good examples of this from Scotland or another country? Greater cooperation between the Scottish institutions internationally. There are good numerous examples of Scottish universities working together. However, a stronger, better funded over-arching body such as Universities Scotland with a wider remit (along the lines of DAAD mentioned above) would be of benefit to all. April 2015 Appendix 1 attached

5 GLOBAL REACH

6 GLOBAL REACH The University of the West of Scotland s Corporate Strategy 2014/20 describes UWS as an international university that provides a springboard for all its learners to contribute globally. In order to achieve that aim we will deliver an academic portfolio that provides our students with globally relevant skills, is internationally attractive and contributes to global reach. Global Reach is one of the four main themes of the Corporate Strategy 2014/20 and it is inextricably linked to each of the other themes of student success; research, enterprise and engagement; and people, money and infrastructure. Internationalisation activities will be embedded across the University and will be visible in the plans of all Schools, Departments and the SAUWS. The newly formed UWS International Centre will act as the catalyst for this cross University activity, facilitating coherence and reach and will also ensure that our ambitions take account of and inform local, regional and national imperatives. The internationalisation of the University is vital if we are to achieve the aspirations stated in the Corporate Strategy and activity and measures of success can be summarised in four cross-cutting ambitions: developing UWS as a global brand; internationalising the student body, staff and University culture; internationalising the student experience; and developing strong strategic partnerships. This Enabling Plan identifies the specific objectives, which will achieve these ambitions, they are: Increasing recruitment of international students to domestic campuses Offering UWS degrees and professional development through a range of off-shore arrangements Providing an internationalised curriculum Providing the opportunity for students to develop language skills and to undertake an international experience Developing our staff to ensure we can meet our international ambitions Key Performance Indicators (Corporate Strategy 2014/20): 20% of the total student population enrolled at our domestic campuses will be non-eu students by end of AY 19/ students will be enrolled on UWS degrees through TNE / online arrangements by end AY 19/20 80% of undergraduate and taught postgraduate students will be undertaking a scholarly, professional or service international experience by the end of AY 19/20 (from 100% offer) 80% of UWS staff will be undertaking scholarly or professional international experience by end AY 19/20 (from 100% offer)

7 GLOBAL REACH: CROSS-CUTTING AMBITIONS GLOBAL BRAND UWS will be recognised across the world as a provider of high-quality applied learning opportunities, whose students and staff make a global contribution. INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY UWS will have an international student body, staff who have an international outlook and will encourage a culture in which we will all learn from each other. STUDENT EXPERIENCE UWS will provide an international learning experience; students will gain globalised skills and learn within a curriculum that is informed by international practice. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS UWS will develop strong partnerships which will support our Global Reach ambitions. Objectives Increasing recruitment of international students to domestic campuses We will increase the number of international students learning on our domestic campuses through developing a global brand recognising UWS as a place offering flexible and innovative approaches to learning. A diverse student and staff body will contribute to developing an international culture on each of the campuses and within each School and Department. Offering UWS degrees and professional development through a range of off-shore arrangements Through strong strategic partnerships, UWS will build a global brand, which will attract students to undertake our degrees and professional development opportunities. We will ensure that learning opportunities offered overseas reflect our commitment to innovative teaching and learning experiences. Providing an internationalised curriculum All programmes at UWS will offer an international experience through a revised curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities. Providing the opportunity for students to develop language skills and to undertake an international experience As part of our commitment to providing an international learning experience and to ensure that our students develop globalised skills we will offer all students the opportunity to learn an additional language and to undertake an international experience through outward mobility. Developing our staff to ensure we can meet our international ambitions The organisation will be configured to ensure that we are able to meet our international ambitions and staff will be supported and developed to ensure that we have the capacity and the culture to deliver.

8 GLOBAL REACH ENABLING PLAN The outcomes of this plan will be overseen by the International Advisory Group and the UWS International Centre will take responsibility for embedding the work outlined below. Achieving these ambitions will require both financial investment and financial accountability. This will be enabled by Schools and Departments taking responsibility for the detailed planning, budgeting and investment needs required to achieve these aims. Deans and Directors will be held accountable for the achievement of these targets. All future plans, budgets and investments will be based on the targets outlined below and success will be rewarded through a new school based financial incentives scheme. Recruitment KPI 20% of the total student population enrolled at our domestic campuses will be non-eu students by end of AY 19/20 Measures of success - Achieve student numbers set out in the annual planning and budgeting process Residence category level UG 3.4% 5.1% 6.9% 8.4% 9.9% Non EU (Scottish-based) % all students on campus PGT/GRD 44.7% 53.1% 59.2% 63.1% 65.3% PGR 28.6% 28.6% 28.6% 30.8% 32.8% All 8.1% 11.6% 14.9% 17.7% 20.0% Distance learning and TNE (FTE) TNE (non EU) All

9 - Increase in income Target 2019/20: 27m (on campus) and 7.59m TNE - Increase in the number of applications Target 2019/20: 15,500 applications - Increase in conversion rates Target 2019/20: 20% conversion rate - Markets clarified and progressive recruitment plans in place - Appropriate programmes identified (and developed where necessary) - Satisfaction of international students measured and increased We have an aspirational target of approximately 3000 non-eu international students to be enrolled on our Scottish campuses. Moving towards this target will necessitate a concerted effort across the organisation and the areas outlined below are key to enabling us to achieve this target. Activity Timeline Accountability Markets: clear area and target plans developed by the IC with the Schools; strong links between Schools and International Recruitment Team. Student recruitment: pathway opportunities; articulation agreements through partnerships (home and OS); flexible routes; review and develop network of agents; extend country presence through offices. Increased numbers of international students: departments understand and plan for the implications for increased student numbers. Brand development: marketing materials; promoting UWS success; improve web presence and information; scholarships and clear pricing structure; targeted on-line digital campaigns. Recruitment, admissions, enrolment process: link marketing, recruitment, admissions, pre-arrival support and registration; strong links with Schools; induction and retention; improve application process and timing of offers; language testing; language support. Programmes: review offering; address challenges of Scottish 4 year degree; offer multiple entry points; use of Trimester 3; develop on-line offer; attractive programmes and clarity about marketability (Portfolio Review); flexible offers; intensive offers; summer school programmes. Social: accommodating a range of students; opportunities to mix; appropriate infrastructure; local support; careers support; informal learning environment; SAUWS activity. 2014/15 and reviewed annually 2014 onwards 2014/ onwards 2014/15 and review annually 2014 onwards 2015 onwards Director of International Centre Director of International Centre Directors Head of Marketing Director of International Centre Director of Strategic Planning and Development Director of International Centre Dean of Students Head of Registry Deans of School Dean of Students Director of International Centre Dean of Students SAUWS President Head of Commercial Services

10 OFF-SHORE ACTIVITY KPI 3000 students will be enrolled on UWS degrees through TNE / online arrangements by end AY 19/20 Measures of success - All schools engaged in TNE provision - Growth in the number of international students articulating onto UWS degrees Target 2019/20: Growth in revenue from TNE activity Target: 2019/20: 7.59m - Register of partnership activity on shared drive and used to inform developments - Local staff teaching on TNE programmes will be supported to gain HEA Fellowship - Raised awareness of UWS brand globally measured through tools such as Google analytics; application levels; media coverage; social media We currently have a range of international partnership activities undertaken by staff across the University, these mostly relate to Erasmus partnerships and professional exchange of expertise but we only have a small number of transnational education arrangements due to recruit in 2014/15. Therefore it will be important to build on current international activity, further develop exchange partnerships and build new relationships in order to meet the TNE recruitment target. Activity Timeline Accountability Developing partnerships: develop support from the Collaborative Forum; build expertise in undertaking due diligence checks; embed the use of the costing/pricing tool by Schools. Building and extending partnerships: develop TNE strategy; register of partnership activity (with case studies) in place and used regularly; develop current partnership activity; seek new partnerships in line with TNE strategic approach; extend partnership activities e.g. conferences; research. Different forms of TNE: develop expertise in a range of TNE programmes. Off-shore provision: explore opportunities for UWS offshore campus provision. 2014/ onwards 2015/16 onwards 2014 onwards PVC (I) University Secretary and Registrar Director of Finance Director of International Centre Head of International Partnerships Dean of Students Head of International Partnerships PVC(I)

11 INTERNATIONALISED CURRICULUM Measures of success - All programmes will have global citizenship attributes embedded across modules - Non-credit rated extra-curricular activities will be validated and recorded in the students HEAR - Modules will be clearly international in focus The Corporate Strategy highlights our intention for students to enjoy a transformative international learning experience and we have committed to delivering an academic portfolio that provides our students with globally relevant skills, is internationally attractive and contributes to global reach. A review undertaken in May/June 2014 has highlighted the lack of a coherent approach to internationalising the student experience as the biggest barrier to achieving our revised objectives. There has been a great deal of activity within Schools and Departments relating to global citizenship and the internationalisation of the curriculum but this has not been shared across the University. Therefore in order to achieve the ambition stated in the Corporate Strategy we will need to adopt a focused approach to embedding this work in all programmes. While this work is clearly in the realm of education, in order to adopt this focused approach it is a main element of the Global Reach plans. Activity Timeline Accountability Curriculum: audit of curriculum content to ensure international focus; embed internationalisation and global citizenship within all programmes; link to graduate attributes and personal development planning; all programme approvals to demonstrate this focus. Individual internationalisation: expect and facilitate individual responsibility to internationalise. International focus: embed with the formal and informal curriculum; record in HEAR; link to SAUWS citizenship activities; consider proposal to develop global citizenship awards beyond credit-based learning (links to leadership, mobility, language) onwards 2014 onwards 2015 onwards Assistant Deans (International) Head of Library and E-Learning Deans of School Directors Dean of Students Deans of School Director of International Centre

12 LANGUAGE AND MOBILITY KPIs 80% of undergraduate and taught postgraduate students will be undertaking a scholarly, professional or service international experience by the end of AY 19/20 (from 100% offer) Measures of success - English language support will be offered to all international students through pre-sessional and in session programmes - We will offer all students and staff the opportunity to learn an additional language through credit bearing and non-credit bearing modules and through short courses - Increase in the number of students and staff taking up language opportunities Targets 2019/20: Students enrolled on MFL modules: 300 Erasmus students enrolled on free English language modules: 400 Non-EU students enrolled on free English language modules: 500 Staff enrolled on language modules: 40 - Different forms of international engagement and experience for students will be in evidence within all Schools - Increase in the number of students and staff taking up mobility opportunities Target 2019/20: 100% Target 2019/20: 50% There are two specific elements of an international experience that we want to offer our students, i) the opportunity to undertake an international learning experience outside of Scotland and the UK and ii) the opportunity to start to learn or continue to learn an additional language. In terms of outward international mobility, we recognise that not all students can take significant amounts of time to live overseas and so we will develop a range of international learning experiences from traditional year or semester long programmes to virtual engagement with students in another country. We recognise that one of the barriers to undertaking a learning experience outside one s own country is language and so we want to offer incoming students the opportunity to study English and UK students the opportunity to prepare for outward mobility by undertaking a language programme. Activity Timeline Accountability International mobility: develop a coherent crossuniversity strategy; extend mobility opportunities for staff 2014 onwards Director of International Centre and students; source funding for mobility opportunities; build mobility opportunities through current partnerships; ensure productive staff mobility. Mobility opportunities: development of a range of 2014 onwards Deans of School international outward mobility opportunities Directors through credit-bearing modules, volunteering and work placement; develop links with regional employers (international work placements); international development projects; APEL; virtual opportunities. Languages for all: development of a languages offer for 2015 onwards Dean of Education all students and staff. English language: extend the current English language 2015 onwards Dean of Education support programmes and opportunities.

13 DEVELOPING STAFF KPIs 80% of UWS staff will be undertaking scholarly or professional international experience by end AY 19/20 (from 100% offer) Measures of success - CPD Framework offers a comprehensive range of development opportunities for a range of international activities - The University departmental infrastructure will support staff in their international activities - Increase in the number of international visitors to UWS Target 2019/20: 250 In order to meet the ambitious targets we have set ourselves we know we have to ensure that we have the right structures and that the staff involved are supported to meet these expectations. We need to create capacity in the organisation and to ensure that our staff feel empowered to undertake activity that may be outside their previous experience and indeed their comfort zone. It is therefore necessary to provide a comprehensive professional development programme for all staff across the University in order to change cultures and to ensure that support structures are in place to enable rather than create barriers for all staff. For example we will support staff in overseas travel, in developing partnerships, in internationalising the curriculum and supporting staff to be ambassadors for the University. Activity Timeline Accountability CPD framework: provide development opportunities for staff and link to PMR e.g. costing; risk assessment; 2015 onwards Director of POD PVC (I) developing partnerships; diversifying learning opportunities; due diligence processes; engaging internationally; internationalising the curriculum. Outward mobility: enable and empower staff to 2014 onwards Deans and Directors undertake a range of international experiences; produce case studies. Inward mobility: extend the range and purpose of 2014 onwards Deans and Directors international visitors through a strategic approach within all Schools. Staff: support all staff to internationalise themselves 2015 onwards Deans of School through a process of self-development. Support: ensure staff are supported through 2014 onwards Deans and Directors appropriately configured departments and through arrangements that reward international enterprise.

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