SOLENT STRATEGY 2035

Southampton Solent University will address the dual challenges of demographic change and financial sustainability through a considered repositioning of our institution. We will diversify from university to multiversity to meet the needs of our region and to capitalise on the massive demand for higher skills and education globally. We will make education accessible to all, offering opportunities at a wider range of life-stages and through a wider range of study modes based on changing learner needs.

We will prioritise a future-facing, flexible and adaptable educational offer that responds to the needs of our communities, industries, and workplaces, and is designed for all learners. We will ensure both our students and employers requirements shape our education offer; levels of study, qualifications offered, where we educate, and how we educate.

Southampton Solent University will evolve from traditional to intergenerational learning. While the University’s main population, traditionally those aged 18-21, will continue to be central to our community we will have a significant growth in mature learners. Students will benefit from an enriched education experience by studying with, and alongside, learners at different stages of their lives and careers, forging a multigenerational learning community that reflects the future global workforce.

Our future facing learning will ensure learners build the skills to thrive in a volatile and changeable workplace and society. We will break down the walls between formal learning and the workplace, providing a more flexible offer that facilitates learn and earn, enabling learners to develop the right skills at the right times throughout their careers. For employers, this means we will work with them to ensure new competencies, including new digital capabilities, are embedded into their workplace more quickly.

As a civic university, Southampton Solent University will extend access to our excellent education and world class facilities. Making our spaces more accessible for local and regional stakeholders will challenge perceived barriers to a university education and support the social mobility of our learners, bringing the benefits of excellent outcomes to a diverse demographic population

As a multiversity, Southampton Solent will build on its collaborative ethos and heritage through active participation in, and partnership with, tertiary education providers and employers. We will create clear pathways for students of all backgrounds to move into higher education to support them to access the opportunities that an excellent education unlocks.

Our priorities are to:

• deliver practice-led, real-world, inclusive learning by working with industry, partners and civic leaders, anticipating future workforce requirements
• provide the opportunity for all our students to work alongside studying by re-designing our modes of study, delivery and assessment unlocking our students’ ability to learn and earn
• enhance employability and increase social capital by awarding credit for educational experiences and work opportunities outside of the classroom ensuring practice-led learning is accessible to all
• expand our offer beyond our region by being recognised as partner of choice with education organisations, nationally and globally

Over the next decade, Southampton Solent will become a ‘diffusion engine’ of intellectual and social innovation. Our intersectional city location will form the core of our identity and purpose. We will bring staff, students, businesses, alumni, and our wider stakeholders together to exchange ideas and co-create through a more open institution and campus. Our approach will build excellence across the development and application of research to deliver inclusive growth.

Working as a diffusion engine for innovation, we will carefully foster a culture of both research and development. We will pursue talent creation and development, targeting inward investment opportunities to promote regional economic growth and support a vibrant, creative and entrepreneurial culture. We will be a leader in university-led innovation that catalyses the absorptive capacity of businesses and accelerates the adoption of existing ideas and good practice. We will achieve this through close working with businesses both on campus and through our physical and digital innovation hubs and services.

Our role as a diffusion engine has important regional resonance where comparatively high economic growth for some communities’ masks areas of low aspiration, low skills, and high deprivation. Partnering with others to tackle these issues, we will share good practice and innovative approaches for the benefit of businesses and society.

By embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship throughout our education, our professional culture, and our institutional growth and development plans, we will increase our capacity for creative, flexible, and positive collaborations. By deploying our outstanding campus facilities, alongside digital services and mobile offers, we will ensure everyone is able to take advantage of, and benefit from, the opportunities we offer to make a meaningful and positive difference to our city, region and beyond.

Access to our world-leading provision in areas including marine and maritime, simulation, healthcare, creative industries, engineering and technology will be expanded to a wider range of stakeholders, regionally and nationally. Our strategic partnerships will purposefully address challenge-led issues informing and invigorating our impactful research and practice-led methods. Both postgraduate and short course provision will be driven by the needs of industry, tailored specifically to create a modern, highly-skilled workforce that serves our domestic communities but which also attracts highly skilled talent from across the UK and the world.

Our priorities are to:

• grow our national and international reputation for practice-led research and knowledge exchange by achieving grant funding success and creating positive impacts
• embed entrepreneurship throughout our educational offering and culture such that we are recognised for our entrepreneurial mindset
• become the largest provider of higher-level skills delivery in our region through vibrant and dynamic partnerships with targeted civic and industry partners
• expand our Industry-led postgraduate, short course, and professional doctorate provision, ensuring we remain responsive, agile and relevant to external needs

Southampton as a port city with international trading links of unique character, has shaped an institution profoundly informed by global developments. Ports have been framed as knowledge trading zones, where traditions of theoretical and cognitive, and practical and physical knowledge come together. We are proud to be an institution of the city; where Southampton has thrived on the exchange of goods and people, our university has thrived on the creation and exchange of knowledge.

Southampton Solent University has always been shaped by its city location which, through its excellence in the maritime education area, fosters both regional and global connectivity. It is recognised that the Solent region needs to continue to evolve to drive further economic growth and meet the needs of its communities.

Over the next decade, we will enhance the global connectivity of Southampton Solent, being more outward looking and open to the world, working to connect our region with the best global knowledge and talent. We will ensure all students and staff have opportunities for an international experience by embracing new technologies to create globally- connected classrooms that foster transcultural literacy. As an access university, we commit to ensuring every student is given the opportunity to enhance their global skills and transcultural knowledge. We will make use of digital tools and online educational opportunities to bring our learning communities together in more sustainable and inclusive ways.

Global connectivity expands the horizons of our learners, and developing more innovative partnerships and alliances will ensure that more students across the world will experience our high-quality education and unique mindset. By creating a thirst for knowledge and a passion to apply that knowledge to improve lives, societies, and economies in our students, we will encourage socially aware leaders determined to contribute to their communities.

By expanding our reach through education and research partnerships, we will take our entrepreneurial approach and academic expertise globally to ensure others can benefit and learn from our achievements. In doing this, we can ensure that our city region continues to thrive in a globally connected world.

Our strategy will ensure Southampton Solent will be a major stakeholder influencing and delivering the opportunities that a new regional designation and an emerging political devolution settlement will bring.

Our priorities are to:

• enhance our real-world classrooms with global perspectives through ensuring our advisory boards and curricula reflect Southampton’s global reach
• facilitate and deliver the global exchange of research, knowledge and skills working in partnership with global education providers, civic organisations and industry
• prioritise engagement with European stakeholders working in partnership to develop areas of common interest that meet the needs of all parties to deliver impact and positive change
• ensure we remain a destination of choice for international students delivering an excellent experience