UM Strategic Plan 2011-2015 To articulate the UM Transformation Plan, UM created its second strategic plan, which covers the period between 2011-2015. This new plan incorporates recently-introduced strategies under the UM Transformation Plan which aimed at achieving financial stability, higher impact research outputs, greater collaboration with world-renowned institutions of higher learning and generally higher performance all round. A committee was appointed to relook at all the KPIs. As part of ongoing efforts to keep the strategic plan dynamic, a group of strategic thinkers was formed as part of the Corporate Planning Unit s efforts to keep the plan current. A scheduled strategic review is being planned every 6-12 months to review progress made. In line with these efforts, the Corporate Planning Unit has been restructured to become the Global Planning and Strategy Centre with expanded scope and functions. The strategic planning process has been demonstrated to many auditors, e.g. MQA Audit and Transformation Plan for Apex University. A. Teaching and learning Goal 1: Ensure quality incoming students from diverse backgrounds and countries. 1. Increase number of road shows promoting the university to students locally and internationally. 2. Improve promotion at education fairs, conferences. 3. Establish offshore offices where there is great potential for demand. 4. Establish attractive scholarships for incoming top students. 5. Offer reputable programmes which are globally marketable 6. Systematically reduce numbers undergraduate students to achieve parity with postgraduate students 1
Goal 2: Provide quality academic programmes to enable outstanding teaching learning experiences and teaching environment. 1. Conduct regular curriculum reviews to ensure currency and relevancy of the syllabus used. 2. Ensure the quality of academic staff through a thorough vetting process and by conducting training and retraining of staff. 3. Seek and maintain accreditation of programmes by professional bodies and other institutions via engagement, accreditation and benchmarking of programmes with the best in the world. 4. Promote student-centred learning through the use of e-learning initiatives and innovative learning techniques. 5. Provide incentives and recognition for excellent teaching and learning. Goal 3: Provide efficient support services for the campus community 1. Provide adequate and up-to-date library resources. 2. Improve counselling services. 3. Improve in-campus student health services. 4. Provide efficient and timely transportation services. 5. Provide financial aid to deserving students. 6. Provide personal development programmes. 7. Provide adequate and up-to-date infrastructure for teaching and learning Goal 4: Produce high quality graduates (outstanding all-rounded graduates). 1. Provide incentives for early completion of research degree students. 2. Enhance monitoring system for academic progress. 3. Improve employability by enhancing soft skills and greater exposure to real-world experiences. 4. Provide opportunities to enhance students achievements through participation at national and international competitions/awards/events. 2
B. Excellent research Goal 1: Generate world class high impact publications. 1. Promote niche or cutting-edge research projects. 2. Facilitate grant applications to ensure a high success rate. 3. Increase efforts in getting external and internal funding. 4. Enhance monitoring system. 5. Increase collaborations with reputable international scholars and researchers. 6. Provide incentives and recognition for excellent research outputs. 7. Create roadmap for research, development and innovation. 8. Provide world class research and development infrastructure, incubators Goal 2: Nurture a culture of entrepreneurship. 1. Increase intellectual copyrights and patents and generate commercial set-ups. 2. Facilitate the production IPRs via the setting up of the UM Commercialisation and Innovation Centre. 3. Enhance technology transfer via university-industry collaborations. 4. Increase non-commercial knowledge transfer to impact on government policies and the society. C. Faculty and staff recruitment, development and reward Goal 1: Attract high quality staff and facilitate career development. 1. Provide clear policy and criteria for recruitment and development. 2. Establish a rigorous marketing and recruitment mechanism. 3. Implement a talent identification and recruitment mechanism. 4. Create an internship scheme for staff to spend time in external institutions Goal 2: Proactive search for global talents to bring in new blood to enhance internationalisation. 1. Conduct global recruitment campaigns. 2. Advertise for global talent through university networks and the use of the Internet. 3
Goal 3: Improved working environment and administrative support 1. Maintain a clear definition of management responsibility and a clear line of authority to ensure that roles are effectively differentiated and levelled within the organization. 2. Improve facilities and amenities to support quality teaching, research and innovative work. 3. Increase effectiveness of meetings. Goal 4: Strengthen performance culture and reward system to enhance competitiveness. 1. Implement a performance-based remuneration package. 2. Adopt an incentive and reward system to retain talent. 3. Increase employee commitment/engagement at all levels. D. Globalisation Goal 1: Improved world standing through improved global rankings. 1. Increase strategic linkages and alliances with world-renowned institutions. 2. Expand academic partnerships for students and staff exchange, joint research collaborations and programme development. 3. Enhance connectedness to external trends and needs through international conferences, workshops, agreements and collaborations. 4. Enhance global stakeholders perception. Goal 2: Enhanced students international perspectives, global awareness and multi-cultural sensitivity. 1. Increase opportunities for exchange through the Student Mobility Programme to expand student horizons. 2. Adapt academic programmes to increase students global focus and understanding of different cultures. 4
3. Enhance support and advisory services to integrate international students into the student community. Goal 3: Increased diversity of faculty staff and students to support intellectual enrichment and academic excellence. 1. Enhance diversity of students through increasing the proportion of international students. 2. Raise more private funding to attract highly-talented students from around the world. 3. Enhance diversity of faculty to support development of cross-disciplinary approaches, cultivation of multi-cultural perspectives and engagement of global issues. 4. Create Honorary Visiting Research Fellows for bright doctoral graduates E. Infrastructure planning, development and review Goal 1: Conducive and state-of-the-art workspace. 1. Provide first class teaching and learning facilities. 2. Provide and improve and research facilities to be on par with the best in the world. Goal 2: World-class resources 1. Provide state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure for teaching, learning and research 2. Provide a well-stocked library. 3. Provide an integrated ICT environment for the community 4. Provide world class affordable accommodation for Visiting Staff and for international postgraduate students Goal 3: Environmental sustainability. 1. Inculcate awareness of recycling and reduction of ecological footprint. 2. Introduce an energy-saving and water conservation policy. 5
3. Promote a green campus. F. Leadership, culture and image Goal 1: Enhanced and sustainable leadership and management pool. 1. Develop a succession plan to ensure continuity for effective leadership and management. 2. Formulate and implement a talent development programme. 3. Implement leadership and management courses. 4. Encourage staff to head international professional bodies Goal 2: A performance culture and reward system to enhance competitiveness 1. Provide a competitive or differentiated total remuneration package for high achievement where rewards are based on individual and team performance. 2. Attract and retain talent more effectively. 3. Increase employee commitment/engagement. Goal 3: Alleviate university s visibility and reputation. 1. Promote university s achievements and brand through advertising and corporate social responsibility. 2. Develop a long-term marketing, communications and branding plan to support the university s strategic vision. 3. Proactively strengthen the university s media network and engagement. 4. Cultivate and foster a culture of giving and caring among faculty and alumni. G. Financial sustainability and wealth creation Goal 1: Adequate and sustainable funding. 1. Creative investment strategy and effective fund management at all levels. 2. Implement cost-saving measures and practice and promote prudent spending across the board with the objective of achieving value for money. 6
3. Encourage high productivity, quality and operational efficiency across the board. Goal 2: New wealth creation through creative investment strategies 1. Establish a development office to attract major donations and implement fundraising measures. 2. Advance the development function of the university to increase private funds and expand the prospects list to non-local networks. 3. Formulate a long-term development plan for wealth creation and financial sustainability. 4. Introduce new business initiatives. 5. Promote and encourage academic entrepreneurship through creating economic value via organisational creation, renewal and innovation. Goal 3: A university-wide resource allocation model. 1. Implement a well-structured and dynamic budget process to support institutional priorities. 2. Modernise financial processes and procedures. 3. Adopt and improve a more flexible pay structure and implement a modern remuneration package for academic faculty. 7