From the Vice-Chancellor

The Annual Review gives us an opportunity to pause in order to reflect on just some of the activities and achievements of the past 12 months in the life of the University. It has been a year during which much of the discussion about higher education has focused on the complex issues surrounding undergraduate funding. This is an important debate, but one that has inevitably diverted attention away from an equally significant aspect of Oxford’s educational mission: its role as one of the world’s leading centres for academic research.

Wherever you look across the University, the range and quality of research is truly remarkable. This Annual Review showcases just some examples. We take engineering as our theme in Mathematical, Physical & Life Sciences in order to examine research achievements in fields as wide-ranging as robotics, harnessing tidal energy and developing greener jet engines. From Medical Sciences we report on one of the ways in which Oxford research is making a difference and helping to save lives – here, by exploring Oxford’s work on a malaria drug that has driven a change in World Health Organisation guidelines. We focus on teaching within Social Sciences, and our outstanding work through the PGCE course in developing the next generation of teachers. We have also showcased two very different collections: the major acquisitions by the Bodleian of the Edward Heath and John le Carré archives, and the creation in the Botanic Garden of the unique Medicinal Plant Collection.

Together, these examples demonstrate why we continue strenuously to make the case for sustained funding for academic research and for the graduate students without whom many of the roots of our research would wither and die.

This Annual Review reflects our success in generating research income and the new milestones being reached by Oxford Thinking, the Campaign for the University of Oxford, which is now fast approaching its initial target of £1.25 billion. Increasing support for graduate scholarships is a major campaign priority. Lack of funding is the single biggest reason why those to whom we make offers look elsewhere. It is also a strong motivation for our strategic objective: to provide full funding packages, covering fees and living costs, to the majority of students studying for a doctorate or a master’s degree.

Competition for the best students and the best academics is a real challenge. But it would be wrong to suggest it is all about competition. Collaboration is important to us too, and a significant proportion of the leading-edge research carried out across Oxford is in partnership with other outstanding universities and organisations and, indeed, countries. In this Annual Review, our focus on the reinvigoration and strengthening of our longstanding and varied links with India is an excellent illustration of this collaboration. In this feature, we highlight an innovation – the inaugural Oxford-India Day – and we report it in an Annual Review that is, for the University, an innovation in itself.

The format of this publication has been the same for a number of years. This time, however, we are moving from a predominantly print-based publication to one that draws more extensively on the rich portfolio of new media. We are making fuller use of online channels, which allows us to tell the story of our year with dynamic content – including video – to accompany the text, and the print run will be considerably reduced with the environmental and cost efficiencies that that entails.

Although the format may change, the commitment within the University, as demonstrated in the Annual Review, remains the same as it has always been: to provide outstanding teaching, scholarship and research. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Andrew Hamilton, FRS