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Thank you for your interest in the role of Principal & Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde.
A leading international technological university that is socially progressive, Strathclyde gained its university-status 60 years ago – in 1964 – as the first technological university in the UK. Our roots stretch back to 1796, to the height of the Scottish Enlightenment with the foundation of our forerunner, Anderson’s Institution. For more than 225 years, we have been ‘a place of useful learning’.
Over this time we have grown to become Scotland’s third-largest university with around 30,000 learners, and an annual research income of more than £125M.
As a Values-led university, we have built on our founding ethos, our authentic tradition and our deep sense of purpose as a global institution at the forefront of education, research, and innovation.
We are recognised internationally for our commitment to excellence in teaching, our entrepreneurial spirit and for producing ground-breaking research with real-world application and impact.
Strathclyde is widely known and valued for its distinctive and strong partnerships with industry, government, and the community, which place a particular emphasis on transforming new knowledge into practical, societal benefits. The University is also driving economic growth in the regional economy through the development of two Innovation Districts.
We are home to world-class research facilities, and our strategic focus on sustainable technologies, energy, health, and advanced manufacturing positions us as a leader in key sectors of the future.
We are a vibrant, dynamic institution that embraces change and innovation while maintaining a deep commitment to the values of openness, diversity, inclusion and social progress.
We continue to put our founding ethos into practice through widening access to higher education, advancing equality and diversity and fostering close links with our student association to provide a first-class student experience in a safe and welcoming campus.
The role of Principal & Vice-Chancellor is crucial in guiding us towards this future and maintaining our culture of ambition through excellence and inclusivity.
We are seeking an exceptional individual with a strong vision who can inspire our colleagues to achieve our strategic ambitions and make a difference in the lives of the people and communities we serve, locally and globally.
This is an exciting time to be at Strathclyde. If you want to join us in delivering our mission we would love to hear from you.
Yours sincerely,
Dame Sue Bruce, Convener of Court
The University of Strathclyde is a socially progressive leading international technological university based in the centre of Glasgow.
Our highly valued and innovative staff ensure that all of our students benefit from a distinctive and innovative curriculum that builds academic excellence and provides opportunities to widen our students’ knowledge and experience.
We make significant investments in fundamental research, recognising that this will pave the way for the disruptive discoveries of tomorrow. The quality of our research and our reputation for challenging conventional thinking make us the partner of choice for a growing number of organisations and other universities around the world.
At the same time, our unequalled links with business, industry and the public sector – and our leading role in two innovation districts – empower us to tackle local, national and global problems, respond to the grand challenges of our time, and bring solutions and services to market more quickly.
Through our 1000 academic staff, we are at the forefront of international research across our four faculties – Engineering, Science, Humanities & Social Sciences and our Business School.
We are ranked amongst the top universities in the world for our positive contribution to achieving the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The excellence of our research is evidenced by the growth in range and scale of our research collaborations and by our performance in the Research Excellence Framework 2021, where almost 90% was rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
Strathclyde’s ambitions – laid out in our Strategic Plan, Strathclyde 2030 – and our contribution to excellence in research, innovation and education have been recognised through a series of national awards.
We have been named Times Higher Education UK University of the Year in 2019 and 2012 – the only university to have won the award twice – and the Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2020. We are also a four-times winner of the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, most recently in 2023 in recognition of our strength in Photonics. We are placed 8th in the Daily Mail’s UK University Guide and are in the UK top 20 in The Guardian’s University League Table and Sunday Times Good University Guide.
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The Candidate Pack for this role is available to download and view by clicking on the thumbnail to the right. Have a look through the candidate pack to read all about The University of Strathclyde, the role and the job description.
Watch the video above to find out more about studying at The University of Strathclyde.
Watch the video above to hear from the students at The University of Strathclyde Campus.
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Applications should consist of a full curriculum vitae detailing career and achievements, as well as a covering letter addressing the role description and person specification. Applications should be uploaded via the website here quoting reference 7595.
The closing date for applications is 9:00 am (GMT) on Friday 13th December 2024.
Perrett Laver will conduct preliminary interviews with long-listed candidates in mid-January 2025, following which the Committee will meet to decide upon a shortlist of candidates.
These individuals will be invited to assessments and informal interactions in February and March 2025. Subsequently, Final Interviews will take place on Tuesday 25th March 2025.
Jill is Managing Partner, Scotland & Joint Sector Lead, Higher Education, UK
Her experience of senior level executive search includes advising on Chair, Trustee, Chief Executive and executive team searches across the Non Profit and Social sector and Senior Academic and Administrative appointments in the Higher Education and Research and Global Non-Profit sectors.
Jill holds an MA in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. She has lived and worked in Japan and spent her early career in the UK charity sector.
Sukhpal Uppal is a Consultant in the Higher Education sector.
His senior level executive search experience covers a range of appointments across governance, communications, marketing, human resources, and academic and research leadership. This includes a number of Vice-Chancellor appointments at, among others, Durham University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Birmingham.
Sukhpal holds a First Class Honours degree in French and Spanish from University College London and speaks fluent French and Spanish.
