Dear colleagues,

Welcome to the start of another academic year and a particular warm welcome to those of you joining the University of Oxford for the first time. I am confident that you will be very happy here. I hope everyone is rested, re-energised and ready for Michaelmas term – let’s make it a good one.

I am mindful that the academic year begins in the context of extremely worrying external tensions, with particular concern about the ongoing conflict in Israel, Gaza and now Lebanon. Over the past year, we have taken a number of steps to support those impacted, including the launch of new scholarships, offering support for impacted students and academics displaced by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, and providing education resources for those in the region. These have now been updated on our dedicated webpage.

In these challenging circumstances, it is essential that we work together to ensure Oxford remains a welcoming and inclusive place. There’s a lot of kindness in Oxford and we’re all motivated to do what is best. So, while the world and our own students and staff are struggling to make sense of ongoing conflicts and have found different ways to express their frustration, remember that kindness, generosity, sympathy and understanding will be essential to take Oxford forward in putting that empathy into useful action for those suffering, and to remain focused on delivering on our core mission: to teach and deliver ground-breaking research. I am grateful to those who have shared their perspectives with me so that we can try to support everyone in our community as best we can. Updated information for staff and students can be found on the University website.

I am talking to you today from the Old Road Campus, part of the Medical School up at the Churchill site and I’m standing in the Institute of Developmental & Regenerative Medicine – an extraordinary place dedicated to the development of new drugs and therapeutic strategies to tackle cardiovascular, neurological or immune system chronic illnesses that have a developmental origin. It proudly hosts nearly 20 world- leading research groups comprising 240 scientists integrating their expertise to foster multidisciplinary collaborations: just another example that exemplifies what Oxford does – strives for the seemingly impossible in tackling great challenges. We don’t do easy.

Let me start with some congratulations – both on a successful last academic year and on being ranked by the Times Higher Education top University in the world for a record-breaking 9th successive year. This fantastic achievement is a testament to you – our extraordinarily talented and committed academics, researchers and staff – and your delivery of exceptional standards of teaching and globally impactful research. Thank you all.

But for now, it’s back to work, as we remain committed to our core mission: the advancement of learning by teaching and research and its dissemination by every means. To enable our mission, we must keep focus on improving the experience of working here for our staff.

Since my message to you all about the outcomes of the Pay & Conditions review at the end of June, colleagues have been busy making the immediate changes as promised, including introducing an Oxford University Weighting to boost pay across grades 1 to 10 and steps to improve pay for Associate Professors. The structure of grades 1 to 3 has been improved to give a clearer path for progression, and we’ve also increased the value of pay awards for formal staff recognition. One of the key changes to look out for next include the extension of paternity leave from 2 to 12 weeks. This is all helping us to attract and retain talent across the University and ensure we are a great place to work.

In 2023, almost 9,000 staff participated in the Staff Experience Survey and your feedback has since informed a wide range of institutional people-related projects; thank you. I have also been delighted to hear about the excellent work taking place within divisions and departments to address workload concerns and improve wellbeing support, target bullying and harassment, support personal and career development and demonstrate commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We’ve been a proud signatory of the Researcher Development Concordat since 2021. As part of embedding our commitments, a short Charter for the Career Development of Researchers will be published in the Staff Handbook this term. Building a world-leading research culture is a journey, and we recognise that departments and faculties are at different stages of implementing the commitments. Please stay tuned for more information and consider what you can do to further strengthen our research culture.

Our final University-wide undergraduate Open Day of 2024 took place on 20 September and was a huge success – thank you so much to everyone, especially those in colleges, who helped inspire the next cohort of outstanding students to choose us. Talking of students, I was so thrilled to see that the Vice-Chancellor’s Colloquium I announced last year was brought to life by our incredible academics and postgraduate students into a fantastic, interdisciplinary teaching programme for 200 of our undergraduate students. Rest assured we’ll run it again, and are aiming to increase the capacity this year and have even bigger ambitions for the future.

Well, that’s it for now. I look forward to being in touch again later this term, but for now: good luck with the new term, and take care.

Related links

• University response to recent events in Israel, Gaza and the Middle East
• University guidance on demonstrations or protests
• Oxford named best university in the world for a record ninth consecutive year
• Pay & Conditions
• Staff Experience Survey 2023
• Charter & Concordat Commitments for the Career Development of Researchers
• The Vice-Chancellor's Colloquium