Strategy to Recovery
How you can help shape the steps we take to ensure a sustainable future for the University
A message from Interim Principal & Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Seaton
The University is in the process of developing a Strategy to Recovery, to guide us as we work together to ensure that our University survives and then goes on to thrive as a sustainable and vibrant place for our students and staff.
Despite the challenges we face, excellence continues to be delivered across our education and research activities, as we know from, for example, the outcome of the 2025 National Student Survey and the many breakthroughs being made by our researchers.
In developing our Strategy to Recovery we are engaging with staff and students to seek your input into its structure. Below I set out what strategy means, our current position, our desired future state and how we might move towards it, and how you can get involved.
Strategy is a word that means different things to different people, so I think it is important to say what it means in this context.
In short, a strategy is a set of policies or principles that addresses a challenge, to take the organisation to a ‘desired future state’, or destination.
A successful strategy leads to a coherent set of actions. It drives change, and the overcoming of obstacles. The idea of overcoming obstacles is central to the idea of a strategy, as the obstacles are the reason that the organisation is not already in the desired future state.
It is important to emphasise that while a strategy leads to a plan – or a set of plans – it is not itself a plan. A strategy is a set of principles, not a list of tasks.
The plans for us to execute our strategy will be created and delivered over the coming months.
Where are we currently with the University strategy?
In principle, the University of Dundee is still within the period of the Strategy 2022-2027. However, in practice, we have not followed this strategy since the crisis became evident in November 2024.
We do not have the resources to execute the 2022-27 strategy, or any other strategy that does not have as a primary objective the financial recovery of the University. And, of course, this financial crisis was not foreseen when the 2022-2027 strategy was developed and implemented.
The University Executive Group had previously adopted a strategy to guide our recovery as a preliminary to the drafting of the University Recovery Plan (URP) which was approved by the University Court on 7 August.
The foundation of that strategy, which is currently guiding our steps to recovery, is to maintain the breadth of our activities in teaching and research and to make the University financially sustainable.
The desired future state
The desired future state must be – at a minimum – a financially sustainable University. This is my responsibility as the Chief Executive of a Charity. I also have a specific responsibility to attend to this as the Principal of a Scottish University, as described by the Financial Memorandum, the principal regulatory instrument that the SFC uses in its oversight of the HE sector. It is also a requirement that has been expressed by the SFC in their Conditions of Funding.
Financial sustainability is the basic requirement, but we also have to think about what the University will be like to work and study in. As I indicated above, our current strategy is aimed at a maintaining a broad range of academic programmes and research.
However, given the need to reduce costs, it will make sense to review the range of activities we undertake in education, research and other areas. We may even consider expanding them in some areas, though the University’s financial situation makes this difficult. We recognise that such changes can incur significant additional costs in the short term (financial and in other ways) but to achieve financial security we need to be open to thinking differently and making sound decisions. The Strategy to Recovery will guide us in our decision making.
The University of Dundee’s mission, which defines our core purpose, remains unchanged. Building on our history and the world-changing heritage of our city, our mission continues to be to ‘transform lives through the creation, sharing and application of knowledge’.
Our vision for the University guides our thinking on our future state – where we aspire to be. A secure and successful future for the University of Dundee will be built on our renowned and demonstrable excellence and impact in teaching, research and knowledge exchange. Delivery of these core strengths will lie at the heart of our journey to sustainability, and through our actions, we will both rebuild our competence and engender the trust of our community.
We deliver impact through our students and graduates, our research and scholarship, and the contribution we make to health, the environment, society, and the economy both across the globe and here in Scotland.
The coming years will be challenging. Difficult decisions will be required, and we recognise that, but we remain passionate about our role in our city, the region and the country’s future.
By effectively and efficiently making use of our skills and resources, we will foster a sustainable organisation and an environment that encourages engagement, supports wellbeing, promotes innovation, and enhances the overall experience for students, staff, and the wider Dundee community across all our campuses and digital platforms.
How to contribute to the Strategy to Recovery
Over the next few weeks, you will have opportunity to give us your views on our approach to the University’s recovery, through a survey and a series of facilitated workshops. We are seeking your view on the strategy, and the proposed objectives, as we secure the University’s future.
You can attend a workshop and complete the survey, however, should you not wish to participate in a workshop, you can still submit your thoughts on the objectives via the online form. We are not asking for names, email addresses, staff IDs, usernames, or other identifiers as part of this survey: responses will be anonymous.
The survey will be open for responses until 5pm, Friday 27 February.
This feedback from our community will be considered by the University Executive Group in drafting the final Strategy to Recovery.
We will share the draft Strategy with you, and tell you how we took into account your views in formulating it. We will do this through a series of meetings with staff, which are expected to take place in mid February. Following these meetings, the Strategy will be presented to the University Court for approval, along with an account of this process of engaging with you all and a summary of the views received.
I would like to conclude by emphasising the importance of the role you can play in developing our Strategy to Recovery, and by thanking you in advance for your contribution.
Share your views on the proposed objectives for our Strategy to Recovery.
Read about the objectives and rationale behind them.
The survey will be open for responses until 5pm, Friday 27 February.