With our summer graduation ceremonies approaching and the University about to celebrate its Class of 2022 graduates, I am delighted to share with you that City has been recognised for its world-leading and internationally excellent research as measured by the Research Excellence Framework (REF). The results of REF 2021, which assessed research quality at all UK higher education research institutions, showed City making significant progress compared to the previous exercise in 2014.
I am particularly proud that the REF 2021 results rated 86% of City research as world-leading and internationally excellent with the proportion of City’s research rated world–leading at 40%, almost doubled from 23% in 2014. REF 2021 found excellence across all Schools leading to City moving up to 39th in the UK out of 129 universities according to the Times Higher Education rankings, an increase of 12 places since REF 2014. At a moment like this, it is important to take stock and thank everyone for their contributions in developing world-leading research, ensuring that our research has impact, and that we have a vibrant research environment putting City in an even stronger position for the next REF in 2028.
Since my last message to you, City has continued to show solidarity with Ukraine through signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kyiv School of Economics, a member of the Ukrainian Global University, an umbrella organisation representing a range of high-profile Ukrainian institutions. With this agreement, City has joined a growing coalition of higher education partners across the world showing solidarity and extending practical support to help Ukraine overcome the devastating consequences of war. This MoU reflects our commitment to the reconstruction of Ukraine, embedding the values of democracy and learning that are a key bulwark against violence and oppression.
I also want to update you on the work we have been doing to rename and restructure some of City’s Schools and Departments. City has always been committed to business and the professions, and the new structures of our Schools will enable them to be distinctive and coherent. By aligning academic disciplines, and while The City Law School and Bayes Business School remain unchanged, we aim to expand and emphasise the strengths of each School. Together with City’s new strategy which is currently in development, these changes provide a strong foundation to navigate the challenges of our time, to assert our excellence and the value of your degree from City, and ensure we focus on the areas most important to our City community. I will further update you on the strategy development and implementation plan in the next edition of City Alumni News.
Have an enjoyable summer.
Best wishes,
Anthony
President
City, University of London