INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY 2018 2023
THE WORLD HERE. NOW GLOBAL INSTINCT INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY 2018 2023 The DMU experience helps build active global citizens students, graduates and staff who embrace confidently a lifelong engagement with an international community that begins where they stand and extends across the world, in every direction. #DMUglobal epitomises our international instinct and our mindopen, heart-open approach to the world. After the Brexit vote, our #LoveInternational initiative signalled to the world that we remain intuitively alive and was quickly recognised by the UK higher education sector for its honesty and conviction. Today s wider global changes demand we respond again, bringing our earned influence and insight to complex challenges and unfolding opportunities. The unexpected and unwanted shifts in the global certainties of even a few years ago simply emphasise the urgent need for a continuing, confident, authentic presence on the international skyline, one that encourages global citizenship through inclusive education. I believe that describes DMU. We haven t every answer, but what we do know for certain is that those answers will have their beginnings in connection, in action, and in education. #DMUglobal 360 will be the central expression of a deeper, broader outlook that will now inform everything we do across DMU study and research, work and life. Every student, staff member and alumnus will be encouraged to become a life-long active global citizen, embodying global citizenship through education and its power to change. We believe that all university communities have a responsibility to work internationally. They must amplify the voices of all those who share or want for these values, but lack a platform or an ally. DMU will be a committed and active leader in this way. That is our future. The United Nations selection of DMU as the world s first university to become a designated hub for a UN Sustainable Development Goal presents our students, staff and alumni with an unprecedented opportunity to generate ideas and undertake work of enduring global impact. We are duty-bound to use positively the honour we have earned. DMU s teaching excellence, acknowledged through the UK Government s Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), brings a responsibility to share our outstanding quality as widely as possible. In these pages we show how we will, and where we will, apply our confidence and influence next. Leicester itself is an international city at the forefront of focus, and we aim to bring the world here, now. In the face of doubts and fears, this is our commitment to continue offering excitement and opportunity, and applied intelligent effort, in the global good. Active global citizenship is about more than our hopes for the future. It is about creating a hopeful future. James Gardner Pro Vice-Chancellor Strategic and International Partnerships 1
BY 2023, INTERNATIONAL WILL BE DMU S FIRST LANGUAGE. 1 #DMUglobal 360 #DMUglobal 360 expresses our raison d etre, our deeper, broader international ambitions and expectations. It will inform what we do across DMU study and research, work and life. 2 The world here. Now We educate our students to become engaged global citizens, and continue to work for the public good with our communities worldwide. 2 3 3 4 5 Professional experiences. Redefined Higher education is not just about learning inside the classroom. We put studies in a global context by offering professional experiences with a distinct international element. Partnerships with substance Long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships are rooted in common goals. Every partnership will be built on a shared commitment to quality, interest in growth and development, and a focus on making a measurable difference. Teaching. Taken further We will continue to advocate for co-created learning and work towards unmistakably international curricula.
#DMUglobal 360 4 We aim to double our previous commitment and offer 100 per cent of our students the opportunity of a #DMUglobal experience. #DMUglobal is our signature, ground-breaking international experience programme, and the principal reason one fifth of our students choose a DMU degree. It is the essence of the university s commitment to connecting study, research, work and life directly and effectively with the world and its citizens. #DMUglobal 360 is a broader and deeper application of our international intelligence and will mean every student, staff member and alumnus gets an opportunity to see what being a lifelong active global citizen, engaged with society and embodying the deep value of education and research, looks like. It means possibilities on a 360-degree horizon, but always with purpose and a genuine sense of direction. Through #DMUglobal 360, we intend to: Offer every student the opportunity of an international experience; Offer every member of staff the opportunity to build ongoing international connections; Bring the world home with the #DMUglobal Gathering an across-campus celebration mirroring our large-scale international experiences by welcoming DMU inbound students to Leicester for shared learning, networking, and cultural connection; Encourage students and staff to apply for a bespoke, co-created portfolio of cultural, academic and professional experiences, to embolden them and inspire their peers; Establish the #DMUglobal Quality Charter, a commitment to excellence outlining the quality principles guiding each experience; a benchmarked assessment of activities; and a qualitative assessment of the skills which every experience develops; 5 Launch Central Station events, on-campus theworld-meets-here gatherings with a sharing and listening spirit that brings together De Montfort Students Union, students, alumni and partners for stimulating exchange of ideas, experiences, good practice and fun.
THE WORLD HERE. NOW We aim to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and widen access to quality teaching and learning through a DMU Global Education Trust. We help our students to understand that their own connection to the wider world begins where they stand, now and with that, their own global opportunities and responsibilities. Post-Brexit, and in a climate of weakened international co-operation and hardened tones, we have a desire to work harder and be bolder in actively asserting the necessity, excitement and long-term benefits of international understanding. Building on confidence and ability gained through #DMUlocal, Square Mile and Square Mile India projects, we will continue to extend our presence, influence and leadership role in international communities. 6 7 Our work in communities has earned DMU a leading role in the United Nations Together campaign, which offers worldwide support to refugees; we have a special responsibility for engaging the higher education sector worldwide in the challenges faced by refugees in local communities. We are also actively committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their effective delivery, and intend that all major international initiatives are underpinned by at least one development goal. We wish to mature the DMU experience by making it synonymous with confident learning of English. We aspire to: Create a Global Education Trust, to provide quality education in parts of the world most in need and deploy action-based research; Encourage engagement and cultivate an environment always open to debate and peaceful exchange of ideas; Keep universities for the many - central to our continued ambition to enrol students from all countries - by increasing the number of countries we recruit from, and by providing opportunities to students of all characteristics; Cultivate partnerships that genuinely and actively share our commitment to the delivery of UN Sustainable Development Goals; Make DMU a respected institution of choice for those looking to actively develop their English language aptitudes during their study. We aim to establish English language exit-testing to encourage students to improve their language skills during their studies, as a way to better themselves and boost their employability prospects; Work with our city mayor and local authorities to further raise Leicester s international profile, capitalising on our city s cultural connections and heritage; Strengthen and draw strength from an international alumni network repositioned at the heart of DMU study, research, work and life through #DMUforlife.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. REDEFINED We aim to provide a significant number of our undergraduate and postgraduate taught students the opportunity of a professional experience with a distinct international element. We wish to honour and celebrate DMU students dedicated to becoming active global graduates and citizens, by establishing and promoting the Home Planet prize. We aspire to: Encourage all our students to become global employees and leaders, offering support and direction with international job applications. Their experience and expertise will support future generations of DMU students; 8 Every DMU student deserves the opportunity of a rewarding career they work for and that is right for them. We have created the intelligent, expertise-backed #DMUworks professional experiences to help make that happen, and integrating an international dimension is natural. Our students must and will continue to be part of a global workforce and own an international mind-set, regardless of their background. The new Home Planet prize will honour those students dedicated to becoming rounded, responsible and active global graduates and citizens, and committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It will be founded on participation in activities including but not limited to: professional experiences, mentorship and #DMUglobal, #DMUlocal, Square Mile and #DMUworks involvement. Inspire every student to apply for a professional experience with a distinct international element; Cultivate relationships with employers worldwide who are aware of DMU students potential; Offer students the opportunity to work for, or develop, projects with an international outlook within the university s Strategic and International Partnerships directorate; Offer start-up funds for students establishing micro global businesses bringing innovation to world markets; Strengthening the significance and appeal of the newly inaugurated Home Planet prize by harnessing it to #DMUworks, a connection giving it validity as an honour earned, not bestowed, one with value as an expression of real-world commitment and achievement. 9
10 100% 11 We offer 100 per cent of our students the opportunity of a #DMUglobal experience
PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUBSTANCE We aim to establish an infrastructure of seven Global Hubs of education, that foster innovation and institutional resilience. The urgent need for effective global connection means our ideal international partners should understand and embrace our ethos and goals, so our work in the public good becomes work in the global good. We aspire to: Develop a Global Hub in key markets on every continent, capitalising on strategic partnerships with key players in HE and industry. Each will connect students, employers, other universities and partners, and showcase our full range of education, citizenship and employability activities; Every partnership will be built on a shared commitment to quality, interest in growth and development, and a focus on making a measurable difference. Working with universities from around the world on shared academic topics, we will expand staff and student mobility and internationalisation, and increase the range and diversity of our partnerships. 12 13 Our global partnerships strategy will identify those organisations best placed to build mutually beneficial relationships that heighten our reputation and develop our expertise. We will continue to develop international collaborations in teaching and research, offer students relevant, valuable employment experience, and seek to diversify our income sources. We will widen our collaboration with existing partners by bringing together recruitment, exchange programmes, research and complemental activities. Further develop long-term reciprocal relationships with organisations we know and trust, in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors; Open up the DMU experience to international-based students, inside and outside the classroom and around the clock, by making Leicester a #DMUglobal 360 destination; Make outstanding sporting and cultural experiences central to partnership events showcasing DMU s extracurricular activity, and also the Global Education Trust; Construct streamlined, agile and effective approaches to partnership development.
TEACHING. TAKEN FURTHER The outstanding quality of our teaching was recognised by TEF judges as part of their sectorwide assessment, one uniquely endorsed by the UK government and which has reshaped the internationally respected UK higher education landscape. We aspire to: Promote TEF internationally and continue to improve recognition and understanding of this distinguished endorsement through TEF Talks and TEF Tours; Continue to advocate for co-created learning; 14 The outstanding quality of our teaching was recognised by the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), a sector-wide assessment uniquely endorsed by the UK government, which has reshaped the internationally respected UK higher education landscape. Our student-focused approach and emphasis on personal and professional development, and on employability, have earned us a reputation as a university which transforms and empowers its students. We must take a leading role in improving recognition of UK teaching quality and what it means for potential students across the world, post- Brexit. We should understand our own acknowledged teaching excellence as an encouragement for DMU to step up, lead, and share globally the insight and ability we have on embedding employability into the curriculum; on personalising study support; on involving students in shaping assessment, and in encouraging new ways towards teaching excellence. Develop distinctively international curricula, with multiple and diverse entry points, and make study visits part of #DMUglobal 360; Demonstrate the value of higher education and lifelong learning, with a new emphasis on Humanities, in enabling active global citizenship; Build the capacity of our research community, and support staff on outbound research, to expand our global network; Commercialise our knowledge in international markets and bring in a growing number of international students. 15 We will combine our international instinct with our outstanding, transformative teaching by striving to add an avowed international dimension to all courses.
KEY MEASURES #DMUGLOBAL 360 KEY PERFORMANCE TARGETS Proportion of students offered the opportunity of an international experience Proportion of staff offered the opportunity to forge international connections THE WORLD HERE. NOW KEY PERFORMANCE TARGETS Proportion of DMU initiatives linked to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Breadth of DMU offer of on-campus language learning opportunities KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Number and diversity of students participating in #DMUglobal experiences 16 17 Number of overseas students taking part in the #DMUglobal Gathering Year-on-year increase in courses offering an academic-led trip Number of staff engaged in #DMUglobal experiences Number of staff taking part in the #DMUglobal Gathering KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Number and geographical reach of #DMUlocal and Square Mile opportunities Number of UN Sustainable Development Goals supported by DMU initiatives Number and profile width of institutions recruited to the UN Together campaign Number of students and staff undertaking a language course Diversity of on-campus language learning opportunities available for staff and students
KEY MEASURES PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES. REDEFINED KEY PERFORMANCE TARGETS Proportion of students offered the opportunity of a professional experience with a distinct international element KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Number of participants in overseas and UK-based international #DMUworks experiences 18 19 Ratio of commercial partners per faculty, offering a #DMUworks experience with an international dimension
KEY MEASURES PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUBSTANCE KEY PERFORMANCE TARGETS Income and wider value derived from our global partnerships (including the European Union) KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Year-on-year increase in number, geographical reach and range of international partnerships TEACHING. TAKEN FURTHER KEY PERFORMANCE TARGETS Demonstrable contribution to promoting the UK HE sector KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Number and geographical range of TEF Tours held Number of international TNE students 20 21 Number of Global Hubs established and breadth of DMU activity delivered through these Hubs Ratio of international study visits (incoming and outbound) per faculty Year-on-year increase in number of international and EU student enrolments Year-on-year footprint increase
STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS THE WORLD HERE. NOW