2023 Looking Ahead
Implementation Plan
The first two years of the University of Newcastle’s Looking Ahead Strategic Plan 2020-2025 coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic which saw the University necessarily pivot focus. While the initial years of implementation of the Strategic Plan were full of disruption and uncertainty, the University’s commitment to it’s core purposes of an outstanding student experience and serving our communities is, and has been, unwavering. Now, as we pass the mid-point of the Strategic Plan’s lifespan, and with the largest of disruptions from the pandemic behind us, momentum is building and notable progress is being made toward a number of key initiatives.
This Implementation Plan provides a clear statement of strategic priorities for 2023. While it can not capture the whole of the University’s activities or efforts, our staff will be delivering in these areas as well as maintaining (and continuously improving) the quality of our business as usual operations. It is imperative that we optimise the finite resources we have to deliver on the Plan and be willing to identify activities that we will choose not to do in 2023 to enable this.
The initiatives included in this Implementation Plan continue to support the interests of our unique region, build connectedness within our student community, and grow opportunities for students and staff to engage with industry. They also reflect our Looking Ahead commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Scroll the table below side-to-side to view the full 2022 Implementation Plan.
| Strategic Program | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |||
| Our Indigenous Commitment | Leading Indigenous Research | Define Indigenous Research and Indigenous Researcher | ||||||||||||
| Review and adjust internal research practices and profess for Indigenous research | ||||||||||||||
| Build targeted and strategic cultural capability through Research Advantage Program | ||||||||||||||
| Review and adjust recruitment practices for Indigenous Academics and Indigenous conjoint appointments | ||||||||||||||
| Increase the number of Indigenous Academics and Indigenous conjoint appointments | ||||||||||||||
| Reconciliation for our Regions | Cultural events | |||||||||||||
| Implementation of Culturally Responsive Graduate Attribute across curriculum | ||||||||||||||
| Implementation of anti-discrimination strategies | ||||||||||||||
| Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protocols promotion and engagement activities | ||||||||||||||
| Engagement Priorities | Multidisciplinary Networks and Living Lab Model | Decarbonisation Hub with UNSW operational and delivering on key milestones | ||||||||||||
| Hunter Innovation Living Lab (HILL) building | Living Labs - Health Innovation and Circular Economy - operationalise flagship projects | |||||||||||||
| Development of Health Tech Trailblazer equivalent and facilitation of investment from a significant multinational corporation | ||||||||||||||
| Engagement Pathways | Develop engagement and research roadmaps with all institutes | |||||||||||||
| Develop strategy for prime research partnerships | Pursue the prime research partnership strategy | |||||||||||||
| ATRaCE operationalised and delivering on key milestones | ||||||||||||||
| Develop and implement a strategic research and innovation commercialisation plan | ||||||||||||||
| Institutional alignment | Operationalise RSP and indirect costs model | |||||||||||||
| Strategically diversify and align our HDR scholarships funding programs | ||||||||||||||
| Life Ready Graduates | Graduate Attributes | Mapping attributes to courses and programs | Communicating and marketing to key audiences | |||||||||||
| Work Integrated Learning for All | New programs in place | Quality systems discovery | ||||||||||||
| Design/implement operating model and support structure | ||||||||||||||
| Celebrating Excellence | Upscale Employee Excellence Awards | |||||||||||||
| Career Connect in-curriculum | Career Connect in-curriculum | |||||||||||||
| Launch Connected Leaders | ||||||||||||||
| Commence roll out of Alumni and Industry Partner mentoring | ||||||||||||||
| Student-Centred Wellbeing | Ongoing development and delivery of Healthy Lifestyle Programs | |||||||||||||
| Respectful Communities / Healthy Relationships | ||||||||||||||
| Mental Health Programs | ||||||||||||||
| Program and Calendar Flexibility | Courseloop enabled curriculum management workflow improvements | |||||||||||||
| Implement Policy and curriculum improvements | Plan for implementation of recommendations with larger scale change | |||||||||||||
| New modules to support future students | New modules to support future students | |||||||||||||
| Asia Pacific Focus | Asia Pacific Partnerships | International Partnership consolidation plan | Implement relationship champion model | |||||||||||
| Develop research partnerships | ||||||||||||||
| Implement International Student Recruitment Plan | ||||||||||||||
| Implement Learning Abroad Plan | ||||||||||||||
| Empowered and Connected | Advancement campaign priorities agreed and narrative developed | Develop campaign creative concept | ||||||||||||
| Campaign feasibility study | ||||||||||||||
| Our Asia Pacific Hubs: Sydney | Redesign of programs identified for delivery at Sydney campus | |||||||||||||
| Reimagining Our Campuses | Repositioning Our Estate; Places to Live Learn Work and Play; New Partners New Uses | Callaghan Child Care Centre | Procurement | Construction | ||||||||||
| Research Translation Precinct | Construction | |||||||||||||
| The Gosford Campus | Design | Procurement | ||||||||||||
| Business Cases for Horizon 1 Package | Business Cases to be progressed. Progress determined by relevant approvals. | |||||||||||||
| Digital Excellence | Research Solutions | Discovery | Procurement | Delivery | ||||||||||
| Teaching and Learning Solutions | Delivery | |||||||||||||
| Finance Enterprise Systems | Delivery | |||||||||||||
| Sustainable Campuses | Implement Environmental Sustainability Plan | |||||||||||||
| Inspiring People | High Performing Institution | Academic Planning and Performance | Embed and Refine Academic Planning and Performance | Review APP | ||||||||||
| Academic Work Allocation | Embed governance and allocation | Monitor | Review, report and refine | |||||||||||
| Building leadership and capability | Leadership Framework | Scope | Build | Rollout | ||||||||||
| Outstanding talent | Top talent pools and pipelines | Scope and engage | Build and rollout | |||||||||||
| Strategic Workforce Planning | Engage | Rollout | Review | |||||||||||
| Values-based culture | Inspiring People Experience (IPEx) projects | Scope and engage | Rollout | Review | ||||||||||
| Athena Swan | Dashboard | Cygnet 3 | Cygnet 4 | Cygnet 5 | ||||||||||
| Contemporary systems and practices | HR Enterprise systems enhancement program | |||||||||||||
| Healthy and safe workplace culture | Psychosocial safety framework implementation | |||||||||||||
| Implement Lab Safety Initiative (LSII)-supported research precinct and infrastructure planning and governance. | ||||||||||||||
| Foundation | Research Capability | Comprehensive training program established with mandatory courses and competency | ||||||||||||
| Research Governance, Systems and Processes | Initiate specific research IT systems and business process improvement projects | |||||||||||||
Download printable version of the plan (PDF, 260kb) Download 2020-2021 Implementation Report (PDF, 7.6MB)
Traditional Custodians
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal Nation, Darkinjung Nation, Biripai Nation, Worimi Nation, Wonnarua Nation and Eora Nation. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.