Transcript: Vice-Chancellor's start of Michaelmas term 2025 message

Thank you for watching my start of term message. I hope you were able to take some well-deserved rest over the summer and are as energised as I am for the start of the academic year.

I am delighted to welcome you to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, which opened last week. Seven academic faculties and two research institutes have now moved in. Congratulations and thanks to all those involved. It is open to everyone in the University and the wider community, whether for lectures, exhibitions, performances or visiting the café, and I encourage you to explore it.

Another milestone follows shortly: the Life and Mind Building opens in the coming weeks, bringing Experimental Psychology and Biology together to address challenges from mental health and behaviour to biodiversity and sustainability.

We have also seen remarkable recent successes: two Oxford spin-outs acquired in multi-billion-dollar deals, and a £118 million partnership with the Ellison Institute of Technology to harness AI for vaccine research – these are powerful reminders of how our ideas translate into real-world impact.

And as this term begins, I have also delivered my annual Oration. It sets out my reflections on the challenges and opportunities before us, emphasising the importance of story-telling through hope and kindness. I warmly encourage you to watch or to read it in full.

But there is more to celebrate. For another recording-breaking and now tenth consecutive year, Oxford is ranked number one worldwide by the comprehensive and rigorous Times Higher Education. This reflects the dedication of you - our staff and students - across all disciplines, and the strength of our partnerships. Thank you all.

Looking ahead, we remain ambitious. Our Strategic Plan, shaped by your feedback, will guide us to 2030. Committees are considering it this term; and a final proposal will go to Council before the end of Michaelmas.

Supporting our ambitions means supporting our people. The recent uplift of the Oxford University Weighting together with the UCEA national pay award forms part of our commitment to staff, alongside the Pay & Conditions programme, to help staff manage the cost-of-living pressures here in Oxford.

We have also taken an important step in digital transformation. Oxford is the first UK university to provide free access to more secure ChatGPT Edu tools for all staff and students. So I encourage you to visit the GenAI at Oxford site to learn more, explore training, and use these tools responsibly in support of our mission. Our digital transformation continues in other areas too. You will also see a new Oxford-wide intranet and a web platform later this term, improving communications both inside the University and beyond.

There are several events this term that I encourage you to join:

• Mishal Husain will deliver the 2025 Romanes Lecture, Empire, Identity and the Search for Reason, at the Sheldonian on 14 October
• The Open Forum on 20 October will present Oxford’s new philanthropy campaign
• And the Sheldonian Series kicks-off with 'Cancel Culture' on 21 October
• My next conversation event with staff will be on 6 November at the Oxford Martin School – your questions are very welcome.

Details and sign-up links are provided at the bottom of this page.

Finally, and as more fully mentioned in my Oration, I would like to thank PVCs Martin Williams and David Prout for their many years of valuable service. Thank you also to Chas Bountra who has stepped down as PVC of Innovation. Recruitment to these posts is underway. And I am delighted to announce that Professor Freya Johnston is now PVC Education, and Dr David White has been appointed Chief Digital Information Officer. I know you will give them both a very warm welcome.

Well, that’s it for now. Thank you for all you do and I wish you an enjoyable and productive Michaelmas term.

Staff are invited to share any reflections or feedback on the Vice Chancellor's message with the Internal Communications team.

Related links

• Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
• Oxford University spinout: Oxford Ionics
• Oxford University spinout: OrganOx
• £118 million partnership with the Ellison Institute of Technology
• Vice-Chancellor’s Oration 2025
• Times Higher Education rankings
• Announcement of this year’s pay award
• Generative AI at Oxford
• University Officers

Events

• 2025 Romanes Lecture: Empire, Identity and the Search for Reason, 14 October (waiting list) 
• The Open Forum: Oxford’s new philanthropy campaign, 20 October (online spaces only)
• Sheldonian Series: 'Cancel Culture’, 21 October (almost full)
• Conversation with the Vice-Chancellor, 6 November (registration opening soon)