Cardiff University

Universities are facing an existential moment. The current model is no longer fit for purpose. Across the world, institutions like ours are wrestling with changing expectations, less real income, new competitors, demographic change, and legacy cultures and systems.

Rather than let change happen to us, our community has been proactive in considering what type of university we want to be, for what type of future, and agreeing how we make that happen. We are clear about our responsibilities to our communities and to future generations.

We understand that we are facing a decade of rapid change. We will need to grapple with, and work to prevent, climate change and decreasing biodiversity, and navigate the impact that shifting geo-political relations will have on new and existing partnerships.

New technologies will shape the way we interact with each other, how we learn and how we teach, and the work that we do. We are facing the future with optimism and seeking opportunity from the challenges.

Remembering where we came from

Our future direction has been heavily shaped by our past. We were the first Welsh university to admit women, the earliest chartered institution in the UK to employ women as professors.

We stood alongside our neighbours in the city over generations, in Wales and beyond, providing a warm Welsh welcome to those displaced by war or needing sanctuary.

Student volunteerism and activism is a rich archival theme, demonstrating our tradition of enabling free speech and debate, and encouraging civic participation and action. This strategy embodies our commitment to delivering a better world for future generations, a new manifestation of our progressive history.