Estate strategy

The Estate Strategy was launched in 2018 and approved by University Court in 2019. The onset of the Global Pandemic in 2020 paused the programme for a number of months.

The strategy was reviewed in 2020 and 2021 and, as it is an agile strategy, it was flexed to better reflect the needs of the University from that point forwards.

The Strategy is made up of three parts which will be delivered over the next five years.

Core projects

The central Core Projects of the Estate Strategy prioritising three business critical projects that have remained unchanged since inception:

Energy Infrastructure Project

This project looks at the energy generation and consumption on the City Campus in Dundee. We will be investing in renewable energy sources as a transition towards Net Zero Targets and replacing all our existing district heating network.

Crawford Building Project

This project will seek to resolve endemic maintenance issues in the largest building at the City Campus. Our aim is to provide our DJCAD students with facilities that reflect their growing needs and provide them with flexible, first-class spaces that can support their endeavours.

1-3 Perth Road

This project will support the on-going success of our School of Business and will see the extensive refurbishment of a highly listed and important building on the City Campus.

Development Projects

The second part of the Estate Strategy plugs in around the Core Projects and aims to facilitate further development of all three campuses in line with supporting the Strategy 2022-27 ambitions.

These include a range of building fabric improvements which will reduce our carbon footprint and improve the quality of our buildings. There are also a range of small to medium investment projects which will focus on the development and improvement of existing facilities enjoyed by our staff and students.

In 2022-23 works include:

• the creation of better accessible changing rooms at the ISE
• a revamp of a floor of the Main Library
• more investment in office spaces which can support New Ways of Working following the pandemic.

These projects flex around the Core Projects and are determined on a three year horizon that is matched to the emerging ambition of the University. This agility allows us to respond to the needs of our staff and students and ensure that the buildings, and the spaces in between them, continue to meet the growing needs of our staff and students.

In addition, we are able to adapt to new opportunities to further the strategic objectives of the University as they arise. The creation of a Dundee Life Sciences Innovation District is one such strategic priority. A new Innovation Hub, sited on the Dundee Technopole, is being created through the Tay Cities Deal that will provide much needed commercial laboratory space for emerging high growth life sciences companies. New Medtech research and innovation space is also being facilitated by refurbishment of a building on our Ninewells Campus and expansion of our Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification.

We are also delivering a complementary project on the Dundee Technopole to support the major advancements the University is making in drug discovery. The Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation is scheduled to open in its new home in November 2022, following the extensive refurbishment of an existing laboratory building. With established international corporate partners, the Centre will be fully equipped to ensure world class discoveries in the field of targeted protein degradation are translated into patient benefit.

Improvement Projects

The third strand of projects completes our Estate Strategy and ensures that we continue to invest in the land and buildings that we currently have.

This includes a range of capital projects that will see major improvements to plant, building condition, and the overall aesthetic of our properties.

Such projects include

• an ambitious internal wayfinding and signage branding of all three campuses
• further investment in low energy lighting solutions
• a range of interior re-fresh projects across all sites

These projects are planned on a three-year strategy which is reviewed and adjusted annually to reflect needs and requirements across all our sites.

Our Estate Strategy is reviewed every year by the Finance and Policy Committee and is endorsed by the University Court. This allows us to check that the medium to long term plans that we are making are going to continue to support the needs of the University as it strives to fulfil its ambitions.