ESTATES SUPPORTING STRATEGY SUMMARY (2014-2025)
world. It is a key tool in marketing the University to prospective students and in conveying a sense of identity, quality and purpose in support of the core academic mission. n The University Strategic Plan 2013-14 to 2018-19 clearly sets out the expectation for the role of the estate as an enabler to support the core academic mission of the University: “Match the capacity of the University’s estate, plant and equipment to its strategic requirements and environmental obligations, and enhance the functional suitability of the University’s spaces, places and facilities for the delivery of excellence in education and research” n The estate is an essential component of the experience at all campuses and significant recent investments in the estate at Southend have radically improved the student experience and created more of a campus feel to this town centre environment. n The 1960s main central campus at Wivenhoe Park has suffered from an under-investment in the past and its reinvention will be central to delivering excellence in education and research in the next two Capital Investment Plans. n The estate is an essential enabling and supporting element for the delivery of excellence in education and excellence in research, and the University’s Challenger philosophy. This Supporting Strategy aims to place the radical reinvention of the historic 1960s estate at the heart of the strategy and the next two Capital Investment Plans. The full Estates Strategy can be provided upon request for interested candidates.
The realisation of Sir Albert Sloman’s vision and Kenneth Capon’s concept has given the University of Essex its own unique style and feel which perfectly aligns with the Challenger philosophy and provides an excellent platform from which to develop exciting new infrastructure to support the future academic mission of the University, in alignment with the Challenger approach to provide a compelling difference. The founding principles are also reflected in the built environment at Southend and Loughton, where the living and learning experience is central to the University offer and the operation of the estate. The new Forum for example sits at the heart of a new University Quarter in Southend and has been developed in a unique collaboration with Southend on Sea Borough Council and South Essex College. Investment in the estate and the University infrastructure (including IT/AV and equipment) is necessary demonstrably to support excellence in education and excellence in research. The estate at its most basic level only exists to support the academic mission of the University and the provision of a high quality student experience; it is not an end in itself. In order to underpin innovation in teaching and the development of technology enhanced learning, estate developments will need to embrace innovation in space design, allocation and utilisation. This will require further developments in flexible learning spaces, group-work space with appropriate technology and suitable co-location with social areas including shared spaces. Underpinning values n The University was founded on the principle of the creation of living and learning community where education was set alongside the development of skills for life. “A University is a community where the student is guided in the first stage of a life-long task of self-education, a community whose concern is not just with pursuit of learning but with the fulfilment of lives” (Sir Albert Sloman, founding Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex, A University in the Making – 1963) n Universities are place-based organisations and the estate is a key component in supporting the whole student experience and the creation of the academic community. The estate is also key to conveying the brand and essence of the University to the external
Future exciting capital development plans include:
n Public realm space development n Further development of the Student Village
n New STEM teaching facility (£14m) n Sports Centre extension (£11m) n New Library and teaching scheme in Southend (£30m) n New Business School (£22m) n Feasibility on a ‘University train station’ and mixed use scheme in Colchester
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