My Imaginary University

Everything has gone global at the Olympic-style university This episode of My Imaginary University was, excitingly, recorded live in front of an audience at the recent Wonkhe Festival of Higher Education. Many thanks to Wonkhe for inviting me and special thanks to Jim Dickinson for all the help with making the recording happen. Our creative force on this occasion is Graeme Wise who is Director of Strategic Programmes and Engagement at University of London who has imagined a big and bold institution operating on a genuinely global scale. World Multilateral University - also known colloquially as Olympic University - is a worldwide research institution operating under a treaty which brings the world’s best academics together in focused groupings to address the biggest research challenges there are for four years at a time. There’s a well-staffed permanent secretariat based in a pleasant city and all staff enjoy some special privileges, including magic passports which get them through all borders without delay. Every four years the University has a two month long in person plenary session to review progress and plan the next round of research - it sees itself as the opposite of the Davos experience. Our audience chip in with some excellent questions for aspirant president Graeme covering topics ranging from strategic planning to IP to secret handshakes, We also learn that the University’s theme tune leads staff to imagine they are running along a beach whenever they hear it played. Or maybe not. Anyway, it is a terrific proposition and a really good discussion.

Let us Rejoice at the Scottish Institute for the Enlightenment In the latest episode of My Imaginary University Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, shares his vision for a Scottish Institute for the Enlightenment, a body focused on advancing human reasoning for purpose of improvement.  Working closely with the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and based in both cities this largely postgraduate and research institution is fundamentally international in outlook and covers a broad range of subjects. Embodying an interdisciplinary approach, the institute delivers high quality research and real policy impact, engaging directly with governments and big organisations.  As a light touch vice-chancellor, broader issues like the food offer really matter to Anton as does the range of cultural activities on offer, from Bonnie Tyler-focused karaoke to arts festivals, and there is a strong sense of the importance of community engagement too. It is, of course, a largely rational institution which really helps with management operations and there are few concerns with controversial speakers thanks to the enlightenment ethos. The institute's anthem is a traditional one and its Latin lyrics are no obstacle to celebrating the joys of work and study.

Fine, fine, fine This latest episode in the My Imaginary University podcast series stars Ben Vulliamy, Executive Director at AHUA, the Association of Heads of University Administrators.  Ben creates an interesting and distinctive Yorkshire-based university which is busy connecting with everyone and everything but has no time for mission groups. It enthusiastically partners with organisations and agencies across the country to deliver education and research in novel ways and places, from Grimsby to East London. Good citizenship is central to every part of student life and, working closely with the students' union, the aim is to have the healthiest students around. There are also some novel approaches to hotel-style student accommodation and food and beverage provision. Ben, unsurprisingly perhaps, sees himself as Registrar rather than Vice-Chancellor of this new university and, having a culture which fosters constant reflection among the student population is confident that everything will be just fine.

This episode of the podcast stars Professor Sir Chris Husbands, latterly Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University and now founder and Director of Higher Futures a consultancy, strategy and policy advice company. In dreaming up his imaginary university Chris made the wise choice not to worry at all about finances but rather focused on a set of core precepts drawing on his own diverse experience to ensure that every part of higher education is reflected in his institution. Chris presents us with a genuinely global university which is embedded in the community and embraces co-operative and lifelong learning. It is a university of scale and based on a federal model with its first campuses in the landmark locations of Nuneaton and Nairobi.  Distinctively, students are expected to return no sooner than 10 years after graduation to undertake a fourth year of study to round off their learning journey, responding to the notion that university is wasted on the young. Education is immersive and full-service from 18 onwards and students can expect to graduate at whatever level being able to climb every mountain. There are no single subject degrees and all programmes are genuinely interdisciplinary with all students also undertaking 25% of their degree in the community or in practice or research settings. Although this inevitably creates timetabling challenges the broad-based comprehensive model is arguably a return to more traditional approach and bears more than a passing resemblance to the California State system. The legacies of George Eliot, Ken Loach and Larry Grayson, notable Nuneaton residents are also reflected in the offer as the university looks to promote access, diversity and encourage everyone to think locally and act globally. It's a bold and distinctive model for a global university, led by academic design and with a very benign president for life overseeing all. 

Work experience, wine and rhubarb at a brand new Poly This latest episode of the series, in which a notable higher ed figure creates an entirely new university out of thin air, features Martin Edmondson who is CEO of AGCAS, the Association of Graduate Careers and Advisory Services. Martin wants to bring Italian style plus work experience to a Yorkshire higher education cold spot and has created the Politecnico di Wakefield - PoliWak for short - to fill a big gap in the rhubarb triangle. PoliWak has a strong arts and music focus as well as dynamic work-based learning opportunities for all leading to super-employable graduates. In addition to the obvious rhubarb focus for research, wine-related developments are important as is the investment in sports science with the aim of enhancing the prospects of the Vice-Chancellor's beloved Bradford City football club. A generous benefactor has ensured that there are excellent residences on campus and outstanding shared social, learning and working spaces for all in the centre of town. Students from around the world - including Lancashire - are welcomed with a Yorkshire onboarding pack which comprises a range of essential local delicacies. Despite the inclusion of crisps within this pack, their consumption in lecture theatres is strictly forbidden - such is the VC's distinctive brand of benign direction. Finally Martin has also chosen a popular anthem for the ages, albeit from a Londoner rather than a Yorkshire musician.

The latest episode of the podcast finds me talking to Richard Brabner, Executive Chair of UPP Foundation and Director of ESG about his very specific imagined university. James Timpson is Richard's (non-cricketing) hero and the university embodies his approach to social purpose, combining this with the civic university ethos championed by the much-missed Bob Kerslake. The university's home will be a campus in Harold Wood - hence the name -  a less than prosperous community to the north east of London in the London Borough of Havering where Richard grew up. Not only will it be a will be a beautiful, inspiring and sustainable campus, with no concrete visible, it will also have community learning zones distributed across the borough. Student housing will be based on a new model with some on- and off-campus provision. The undergraduate offer is centred on five novel interdisciplinary degree programmes and includes a major service learning element as a core feature as well as strong community engagement activity. The university also has, unsurprisingly, an innovative approach to widening participation including a bridging module for the homeless, care leavers and ex-offenders to provide them with an opportunity to start a degree. As Vice-Chancellor Richard will be aiming to maintain a strong focus on the core mission of the university and keep structures as simple as possible (although he does not rule out expansion to other locations if a big Timpson donation can be secured). He has employed a Director of Happiness to support the well-being of all staff and will seek happiness feedback on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, the only thing banned at Harold Wood Uni is the banning of other people. Finally, the  institution's anthem is a quirky number by the Kinks which is sure to cause some debate at graduations.

In this edition of the podcast we hear from Jenny Shaw, Higher Education External Engagement Director at Unite Students, who has developed an imaginary university which is genuinely intended for everyone and can be found everywhere. The University for Everyone is a distributed national operation which takes elements of the Open University, the Workers' Educational Association and Community Organisers to come up with a very broad range of offerings suitable for everyone who is curious and wants to learn something. Nothing is standard and lots of material can be drawn from other providers as learners define their own course, supported by a learning mentor, but always with a purpose. Funding comes from a variety of sources - some of them very entrepreneurial - and the University is very open to collaboration with similar institutions as it seeks to reach all educationally underserved parts of the UK both rural and urban. Jenny is a pretty relaxed Vice-Chancellor who lives the University's values and believes strongly in the importance of the Students' Union but she is keen to ensure that there is a strong internal regulatory framework too. Most importantly the University and its members are going to spend a good deal of time working through all the challenges of the moment in relation to free speech and respectful dialogue. It's a genuinely novel and wide-ranging offer and the University's anthem is one which will surprise everyone I am sure.

This episode is another landmark in the My Imaginary University podcast series. For the second year in a row the podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at the Wonkhe Festival of Higher Education at Senate House, University of London.  This time, my guest is Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, the Higher Education Policy Institute, who creates an intensively residential institution, the seductively named Vale University, rooted in the English tradition and based in the worst place in the country to live. The aim is for the university to be the first of a chain of institutions with particular specialisms in coldish but interesting spots around the country, with outstanding architecture and exceptional transport links (including HS2). The residential experience is critical though as is ensuring everyone is in the same position so the aim is to have no more than one student from every 6th form and all of them will experience identical semi-Spartan accommodation and communal dining. There are no en-suite or self-catering offers at Vale,  illegal drugs are banned but there is a huge range of social and community activities to keep students and staff engaged every day. Vale's prospectus is a broad one with a particular emphasis on languages and French history (reflecting the origins of its principal campus building) and a strong extra-mural programme to cater for a highly engaged local community. All staff, including the VC, are very involved with students and do their utmost to care for everyone. Sport is for all and no-one cares about rankings although there is close attention paid to academic standards and the impact of research. There are many other exciting features to Vale including an anthem commissioned from a famous badger-loving rock star. And the questions from the floor (which have had to be relayed by the host because of poor recording quality -apologies!) extract even more detail from Nick about this remarkable institution. 

This episode of My Imaginary University features Debbie McVitty, Editor of Wonkhe and prominent higher ed commentator who creates a rather special institution, the University of All the Feels or Feels Uni, a place where, as their slogan has it, "when we do something we meant to do it that way." Debbie gives us a broad sweep of information about the university covering many dimensions of curricula, structure and the student experience. Feels Uni takes the emotional side of things really seriously, soul enrichment is foundational, but students are also expected to look after themselves physically - 6am jogs aren't absolutely compulsory though. Disciplines are organised a bit differently and students are actively involved in co-creating project-based activity too. It's generally a very curious institution and in addition to lots of questioning students are active participants in governance in a quite distinctive way. As VC Debbie is very much a benign facilitator but leads the way on free speech and emotional maturity. She has also selected an earthy anthem for Feels Uni which everyone can get behind. A real feel-good higher ed creation.

In the latest episode of the podcast in which notable sector figures are invited to dream up a fictional university we have Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham, who delivers a novel idea to improve Parliament, politics and public discourse. Adam presents us with Democracy University, a very special kind of institution which provides compulsory training for all legislators, who will in future be required to graduate from DU before taking up their elected places. MPs and others receive rigorous training featuring different ways of thinking - from Hobbes to Rawls - well as studying literature and learning how best to evaluate evidence, quantitative and qualitative.  On this leafy midlands-based campus students enjoy a compulsory and stratified residential experience, mixing with other legislators from across the world. The university offers a home to think tanks from across the political spectrum too, to ensure all points of view are covered in both teaching and research. In addition, access to the internet is severely restricted by a vice-chancellor who enjoys all the powers of an absolute monarch. DU's anthem is, appropriately, an impressive Gil Scott-Heron political epic. I hope you agree it's an excellent episode.

Season 2 of My Imaginary University kicks off with a thoroughly novel creation from Professor Mark Peace, the newly appointed Academic Director of the King's Experience at King's College London. Mark presents Cuckoo University, an incredibly lean organisation with no buildings and very few staff, which is dedicated to enabling students to make the most of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, assuming full implementation. (For those with questions about where we are with the LLE under a new government they are advised to have a look at this recent article on Wonkhe.) The university operates in different places at different times, provides intense learning experiences for students - mainly in newly built hotels - and essentially is the lubricant enabling meaningful learning journeys for a broad learner population. Cuckoo U offers just one degree, focusing on the unifying discipline of Deliverology, and also uses its convening power to bring institutions together to support wider societal challenges. The university's graduates are exceptionally successful and as VC Mark has a strong pedagogical rather than managerial focus. He is though banning both acronyms and a number of fonts and powerpoint templates. Although doubts remain about the university's name it does have a very heroic theme tune.

Our latest imaginary vice-chancellor is Paul Clark, formerly of HESA and UCL and now an independent strategy consultant. Paul has created a novel institution which is rooted in the past but with an eye very much to the future. There aren’t huge numbers of students on campus at this super-connected ivory tower of an institution but it does have a large online presence. It's a full service university but with a strong leaning towards the humanities, a huge research budget and a temperate northern European location. The university enjoys a light touch regulatory environment and a campus which combines the tradition of All Souls with the modernity of Apple's Californian HQ. Paul sees himself as something of a compassionately ruthless VC but is nevertheless extremely supportive of the student experience, even if he is largely in favour of banning most academic dress. It certainly ain't no party and it ain't no disco at this most distinctive of universities.

Time for a further landmark in the My Imaginary University podcast series. It is another live recording but our first at an international conference. This recording was made at the 2024 HUMANE annual conference at the University of Amsterdam and features not one but two imaginary higher education institutions. Our creative presenters are Leon Van de Zande, Secretary General at the University of Amsterdam, and Marianna Bom, Chief Financial Officer at Aalto University in Finland.  Leon's imagined university is the home of Peace and Quiet, a very non-hierarchical institution where there is genuine parity of esteem between teaching and research. The university is city-based with strong civic engagement, an international outlook and a very laid back Vice-Chancellor. No-one there cares about rankings but they do have a nice social environment, just quieter and more peaceful than most and therapy dogs to support students in all parts of the campus. Marianna presents Transition U, an institution designed for those 50 and above who have messed up their first career and have time to learn to have another go as well as having plenty of disposable income. It’s not just a university for failures though as students at this start up also go on to great careers (indeed some even offer careers advice to students at the University of Peace and Quiet). The university's symbol is a phoenix rising from the ashes, a very apt image for those seeking to move on from their mid-life crises. The contrast in the anthems for our two universities could not be more striking with upbeat hits facing off against something a lot more peaceful. Both imaginary vice-chancellors do a great job of handling questions from the floor, making this a really entertaining episode.

Our innovative creator in the latest edition of the My Imaginary University podcast is sector stalwart and HE consultant at large, Aaron Porter. Aaron's bold university idea is to create an institution dedicated to serving the public sector and educating prospective public service professionals  from nurses to teachers to fast stream civil servants. With campuses based in former department stores in both Blackpool and Belfast the university has struck a novel student funding deal with government in return for its strong public service ethos. Student selection is via a potential-judging personality test and the student experience is very much focused on representation rather than nightclubs. The university also runs an academy for aspiring MPs and councillors and guest lectures from Nadine Dorries have proved to be surprisingly popular.  As Chief Executive, Aaron is happy to delegate extensively but is always keen to turn up to graduation. Governance across the Irish Sea is surprisingly straightforward, bans have been banned by government order and the university's anthem is very much not one for the kids.

 My guest on this episode of My Imaginary University is Alistair Jarvis, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Partnerships and Governance at the University of London. Generously supported by a billionaire philanthropist, Alistair's university is based on three campuses on estates by the sea on the south coast of England, Dubai and Nigeria. The three campuses are equal in every way and every student is mobile, studies other languages and all fees are paid.  The university's campuses really are a special feature: they all have nice beaches and are open, integrated into their communities and offer great food as well as work and 'compulsory volunteering' opportunities. In educating future socially conscious global leaders the university has a strong access mission, recruits world-wide on the basis of potential and has also just decided to launch into the online realm. However, it remains without a name or an anthem so is running competitions to come up with suggestions for both. Let's hope they are sensible ideas.

This episode of My Imaginary University stars Johnny Rich, who is Chief Executive of the Engineering Professors' Council and of Push, the independent university guide, among other roles. Johnny is proud to be the Vice-Chancellor of Camford University, a post he was appointed to some years ago with a bold remit to change the ancient institution. As VC he has instituted a radical approach to contextual admissions and the university is now using AI to support identification of potential, including deploying an alternative version of dating software to help with selection. The university has also adopted a radically holistic student experience which is employability focused and concerned with developing rounded graduates with the ingredients of knowledge, skills and broader character attributes including values. Students can see the mix of ingredients they need for their chosen career path and engage with an exciting and innovative curriculum which includes real world projects involving local businesses - no town and gown divide here - and student-led elements throughout. Johnny, although he might don a mortar board every now and then, is not the kind of VC, or 'vision captain', you will find wearing a tie. Camford benefits from its rich history as well as being cutting edge and indeed has the most haunted university building in the world which just happens to  be home to a research centre dedicated to proving it isn't actually haunted. Nothing is banned here except a closed mindset and the university is dedicated to helping graduates build their social capital with the strong support of alumni. Finally we learn that the university's anthem, as voted for by staff and students, is a really revolutionary tune by a very popular contemporary artist.

This edition of the podcast stars Professor Julie Sanders, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at Royal Holloway, University of London. Julie offers a novel concept, Greenworld Univerisity, a constellation of campuses based on the notion of green world spaces in Shakespeare or spaces of possibility. Her university has a very broad offering - not just Shakespeare - and provides huge flexibility in learning patterns for students who can enjoy the right to roam academically and expect a transformative experience. Greenworld University has quite a porous structure and also brings in broader support including from the wider community. Many things are green including the campuses whether on leafy or post-industrial sites or indeed online. Research is very fluid too and integrated with education - there are opportunities for collaboration and mobility for staff and students across sites and in and out of industry too. We also learn about governance, which is distributed across the half a dozen sites in the UK and the others further afield, and the importance of belonging, conviviality, food and spaces of encounter at Greenworld. Distinctively, the university focuses less on competitive sport and more on the shared experience of frequent dancing although there is no space for prima donnas. Cross-national and inter-generational learning is important too, including in student accommodation and in the wider university spaces and there will be plenty of time for Julie, as VC, to interact with staff and students instead of in meetings. Finally, in an inspired touch, we learn that the Greenworld University anthem is a very fitting tune for those seeking to dream impossible dreams.

This episode of My Imaginary University is rather longer than usual and follows a slightly different course to previous editions. My guest this time is Professor Sir David Eastwood, most recently, until his retirement, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham but someone with over 25 years of senior leadership in the sector. David explores some of the history of higher education, starting with medieval universities and their surprising employability focus before moving on to the development of the University of Birmingham and subsequent civic institutions. Noting that many universities now are looking to rediscover a civic mission, recognising that this is not at odds with sustaining an international outlook, we also explore the changes in university governance which used to have a much greater civic input.  We explore the pioneering interdisciplinary approach of Keele from 1950 and the distinctive success enjoyed by the University of Warwick following its very different approach to dealing with the 1981 university cuts. Noting the importance of scale for university success David observes that creating a substantial challenger university is always going to be difficult. Nevertheless, he is prepared to try and moves on to outline his imaginary university which he is confident he can make succeed within the current UK HE environment (assuming a massively generous endowment). Whilst he loves the undergraduate offer this would be an exclusively graduate university with a strong research base.  The university will offer some big set piece events including major presentations by visiting lecturers with the aim of elevating public debate. And it is going to offer some distinctive musical choices from Beethoven to Mahler. It's a great long view of universities through the ages and a novel idea for an extremely well funded imaginary graduate institution from someone with the experience to deliver.

This episode is a bit of a landmark in the My Imaginary University podcast series. For the first time we recorded the podcast in front of a live and indeed lively audience at this year's Wonkhe Festival of Higher Education at Senate House, University of London. My imagineer this time is Amatey Doku, Senior Consultant at Moorhouse Consulting and he presents us with a genuinely novel package of higher education innovations. Amatey holds up a black mirror to higher education with his creation of Bandersnatch University, derived from a TV show from a few years ago with a variety of viewer-driven endings. Amatey sets out a really bold vision for his strongly student-oriented university based on five campuses in a number of higher ed cold spots which are a bit different from the norm but each with a huge atrium to host the very important Wednesday night dinners which bring the whole community together. We learn about the typical week for every student, coaching, individual study, novel learning sessions and a big end of week show and tell session. The university is not concerned with league tables but prospective students find the model very attractive and fans of Call of Duty can find a home here too. Other novelties include committee meetings which last no more than 15 minutes, compulsory plates for catering and rotating famous and yet unmemorable presiding officers at graduation in lieu of a chancellor. I hope you will agree it is a landmark episode in more ways than one.

The latest episode in the My Imaginary University podcast series stars Vicki Stott, Chief Executive Officer of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Vicki's imagined institution is very much in a utopian vein with a near unlimited funding stream (thanks to Bill and Melinda) and little regulatory intervention. The university is described as a coalition of mavericks but where everyone has responsibility for delivering social benefit as well as education and research. Remarkably though the university moves to a different brownfield location every 25 years or so once its key local goals have been met but leaving a powerful legacy behind. Completely contextual admissions, civic engagement in every course, no exams and free lunches for all are other distinctive features of the institution. Leadership is distributed among those staff who measure up to Vice-Chancellor Vicki's severe criteria which include tattoos and creative swearing. Perhaps surprisingly there is a question mark about the place of the students' union although nothing is banned on campus. It's a fantastic social experiment with massive social, economic and health benefits and one which I am sure will find favour with many (although Vicki's audibly snoring dog clearly disagreed). Finally there is an exciting and highly relevant crowd-sourced Spotify playlist to listen to afterwards. You can find the playlist, which has some entertaining selections, here.