Global Exeter 2030 Strategy: Our Place in the World

Increase international recognition of our excellent research and education and grow our academic reputation to achieve Top 100 in the QS World University Rankings.

We will:

• Promote the University of Exeter’s research and education excellence and impact through a strategic and distinctive approach to global engagement and communications, enhancing our reputation and ensuring that we are front of mind and partner of choice.
• Showcase Exeter’s distinctive research strengths and impact by proactively sharing our achievements with international audiences and media.
• Demonstrate how we are addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and providing evidencebased solutions to global challenges, translating our Strategy into practice, and positioning the University a thought-leader in environment, human health, and social justice.
• Develop an enabling framework to facilitate academic engagement in international collaboration and promotion of research and innovation to increase international collaborative research awards, high-quality co-authored publications and knowledge exchange.
• Deliver a differentiated and integrated approach to raise our reputation by working with global research institutions and alliances, businesses, policymakers, funders, philanthropic donors and alumni.
• Improve our facilities for hosting in-person, virtual and hybrid conferences, events and visitors - enabling us to better promote our campuses as venues.
• Work with partner organisations in the South-West to raise the profile of our region to global audiences.

Key performance target:

• Progress to top 100 in the QS World University Rankings by 2030, by developing and implementing a global rankings strategy to enhance reputation and increase our capacity to partner and recruit for global impact.

Strategic development of mutually beneficial partnerships that enhance our research, training, knowledge exchange and student recruitment, in pursuit of new discovery, academic excellence and transformative impact.

We will:

• Promote and enhance the University’s excellence in research, education and knowledge exchange by working strategically with world-class partners that align with our mission to make the world greener, healthier and fairer, and which address the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Strengthen our engagement and expand our footprint in specific regions where
• sustained recruitment, education, research and knowledge exchange align, with attention on growing our collaborations in the Global South.
• Deepen and broaden our engagement with a small number of world-class strategic global partners, with which we deliver major institutional and interdisciplinary projects, and build on these partnerships to establish multilateral collaborations and networks. Complement our major institutional collaborations with a set of emerging partnerships focussed on faculty, department and institute priorities.
• Maximise the opportunities of our global partnerships to raise the profile of our research and education excellence, showcase our leadership in environment, human health and social justice, provide opportunities for our staff and students, and gain access to international funding and co-authorship opportunities.
• Develop scalable transnational education partnerships, online and collaborative degrees to deliver flexible and innovative learning opportunities that expand the University’s global presence with a network of education and recruitment partnerships.
• Use technology to facilitate collaboration and transcend international boundaries, creating new research and education opportunities, aligned with our commitment to tackle the Environment and Climate Emergency.

Key performance targets:

• Establish, strengthen and maintain no more than six institutional strategic global partnerships with leading world-class universities for sustained engagement in research, education, and knowledge exchange in the Americas, Africa, Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and Australasia.
• Establish at least one major transnational education partnership and a global network of scalable education and recruitment partnerships. 

Increase the quantity and diversity of our international student community through attracting high-quality international students to our campuses and expanding our transnational education provision.

We will:

• Increase the number and proportion of international students to 40% of our community, and grow the proportion of postgraduate taught students, to deliver financial resilience - through strategic crossinstitutional commitment to international student recruitment.
• Diversify our international student community by attracting high-quality students from all parts of the world, supported by more in-country staff.
• Deliver outstanding relationship management for our applicants, agents and other stakeholders.
• Diversify our recruitment channels by growing our student recruitment pipelines including articulation, online courses, summer school partnerships for sustainable growth and working collaboratively with agents and sponsors.
• Support growth in international postgraduate research students through diversification of international funding sources.
• Work in collaboration with INTO IUP, INTO Exeter and INTO Regional staff to increase both academic and English language pathway recruitment and progression.
• Review our programme portfolio to ensure it is attractive and visible to international students, and incorporates excellent employability opportunities.
• Ensure Exeter remains an attractive study destination by offering competitive scholarships and agent commission, as well as competitive tuition fees benchmarked against competitors.

Key performance targets:

• Meet University targets year-on-year to ensure institutional growth plans with 40% international students by 2030.
• Establish sector-leading benchmarks for global alumni engagement.

A collaborative, inclusive, and world-class staff and student experience that supports success for all our learners and creates engaged alumni and supporters equipped with globally transferable skills and an international outlook.

We will:

• Provide an outstanding and world-class experience for all - throughout the staff, applicant, student and alumni journey - and deliver excellent student support.
• Deliver a standout student mobility programme with a diverse portfolio of international study, internship and placement opportunities available to all students.
• Embed global learning and employability opportunities throughout students’ curricula and extra-curricular activities to equip graduates with global 21st Century skills and an international outlook. This includes working with partners to deliver innovative joint online programmes and global classroom initiatives.
• Create an internationalisation programme for our staff and students, in collaboration with our Students’ Guild and Students’ Union, to grow inter-cultural understanding, and initiate a Global Citizenship Award.
• Support our staff in building expertise and skills in international engagement and taking up global opportunities - through training opportunities, exchange schemes, peer support and recognition.
• Seek and facilitate life-long engagement with our global alumni and supporters as advocates and Exeter champions.

Key performance targets:

• Create an internationalisation and cultural literacy programme available to all staff and students (aligned with the Curriculum for Change).
• Grow the percentage of students and staff engaging in an international activity and embed Global Exeter 2030 into all institutional plans.

1. Strategic: guided by Strategy 2030, our international engagement will align with the University’s commitment to create a sustainable, healthy, and socially just future. We will seek and prioritise international partners aligned with our values of Discovery, Respect, Excellence, Inclusion and Community in pursuit of responsible internationalisation.
2. Sustainable: we will work to align our global activities with our Environment and Climate Emergency Policy Statement, using technology to reduce the environmental impact of our international work whenever possible.
3. Respectful: we respect the diverse ethical and moral perspectives across the world and will not work with partners, nor in ways, which would require us to compromise on our principles of academic freedom, and of diversity, equity, inclusion and dignity for all. We are guided by a commitment to establish respectful, mutually beneficial global partnerships, in line with our Partnership Principles.
4. Collaborative: we will promote co-creation and collaboration across the institution, providing a mutually supportive framework to deliver our global priorities.
5. Informed: we will build skills so that our staff are equipped to engage with global opportunities and manage the associated risks.
6. Evidence-based: our approach will be underpinned by evidence and data, and we will establish a framework for monitoring and evaluating the outcomes of our Global Strategy.
7. Entrepreneurial: we will support a risk-aware entrepreneurial culture where staff are professionally equipped to develop global opportunities and scale cross institutional projects through agile processes.
8. Resilient: we will be strategic in using institutional resource and be guided by scale, margin, and efficiency to deliver financial and academic sustainability for the University