Striving for Excellence

1
Striving for Excellence

• Professor Jim Ward
• Registrar Deputy President

2
Performance Analysis for NUI Galway

• NUI Galway has collaborated with 80 of the Top
  50 Universities in the World and 9 out of the Top
  10, since 2003.
• NUI Galway is in the Top 1 of Universities in
  the world in the field of Clinical Medicine. NUI
  Galways published papers in Clinical Medicine
  have increased by 104 since 1998.
• NUI Galway citations in Clinical Medicine have
  increased by 589 since 1998.

3

• NUI Galway out performs every other Irish
  University in the field of Business, Management
  and Accounting in the terms of citations per
  paper.
• Top 2 in Ireland
• Earth and Planetary Sciences (NUIM 1)
• Energy (UCC 1) (Almost equal on this)
• Economics, Econometrics and Finance (UCC 1)

4

• Top 3 in Ireland
• Environmental Science (UCC 1, DCU 1)
• Psychology (TCD 1, UCC 2)
• Chemical Engineering (DCU 1, UCD 2)

5
Source Managing Successful Universities,
Michael Shattock
6
Source Managing Successful Universities,
Michael Shattock
7
Conclusion from League Tables

• Most striking conclusion is that a group of seven
  universities seem consistently to perform better
  than the rest, whether in research alone or in
  the tables which give much greater weight to
  student related measures.

Source Managing Successful Universities,
Michael Shattock
8
Contextual Factors

• The association of the age of the university with
  research prestige
• Only 8 per cent of Europes most research
  intensive universities were founded in the
  post-war period.
• Of The top cluster of 64 universities, the
  majority had their roots in the Middle ages.

Source Managing Successful Universities,
Michael Shattock
9

• Older institutions can have a halo effect based
  on historic reputations which attract the best
  staff and the best students and it is the
  interaction of these two constituents which can
  create an outstanding intellectual community,
  generate leading research, produce excellently
  trained students and provide continued
  self-reinforcing success.
• Location in large centres of population appears
  to offer considerable advantages
• Elites tend to be self perpetuating

Source Managing Successful Universities,
Michael Shattock
10
Managing Universities for success

• Teaching and research represent the core business
  of universities and those universities that excel
  in these areas also tend to attract the best
  qualified students and lead the field in
  industrial supported research or in extending the
  boundaries of the university in social and
  economic activities
• There are no absolute predictors of what makes a
  university successful, whether age of foundation,
  location or disciplinary base, although these
  factors may make a large contribution,
  institutional management in its broadest sense
  make a critical contribution.

Source Managing Successful Universities,
Michael Shattock
11

• Maintenance of financial stability is an
  important component in achieving academic success
  but can only be attained from a diversified
  funding base
• Leadership is essential but distributed, rather
  than charismatic or personal, leadership will be
  most likely to produce sustainable high
  institutional performance
• Institutional reputation and image is a far more
  important corporate asset than many universities
  realise
• Ambition is a key to success but institutional
  ambition must be translated into all those
  activities which are essential components of
  institutional performance

12
8 Attributes that characterise excellent
innovative organisations

• 1. Bias for Action
• Problem Solving
• Experimenting
• Working Groups
• 2. Being Close to our Customer / Those we teach
  provide services to
• Providing unparalleled quality, service,
  reliability.
• Listening
• eg, Student Evaluations, KPIs

13

• 3. Autonomy Innovation
• Leaders innovators at all levels
• Creativity risk taking
• Support risk takers
• 4. Everyone is a source of ideas
• Respect dignity a pervasive theme in
  excellent organisations

14

• 5. Value Driven
• What do we stand for?
• What do we do that gives everyone more Pride?
• Every excellent organisation is CLEAR on what
  it stands for.

15
University Workshop Conclusion Proposed Brand
Values for NUI Galway

• Real World Learning
• Discovery-led inspiring creativity
• Connected a vibrant city community
  networking with the world
• Challenging Challenging you to achieve your
  potential
• Driver of Innovation and Development

16

• 6. Build on Strengths Competences
• 7. Simplicity in Structure
• 8. Simultaneous Loose Tight Properties
• Autonomous units, driven by clear central
  values