The Leicester Distance Learning Programme

At the heart of the UK, Leicester is a leading university committed to international excellence, world-changing research and high quality, inspirational teaching. Celebrating diversity among our staff and students; widening participation in higher education; engaging with local, national and international communities – all of these are part of what we do and who we are.

Founded in 1921 as a memorial to the Great War, the University of Leicester has a proud history of ambitious projects that lead to amazing discoveries. This is where genetic fingerprinting was invented in 1984 and home of the team who found King Richard III. In our second century, we will continue to aspire to be the very best in everything that we do.

OUR STRATEGY

We’re discovering innovative ways to change our world for the better.

Our Strategic Plan has been shaped by staff and students at the University to help us to realise our aim of pioneering a distinctive elite of research-intensive universities which are open to anyone with talent.

Who will we be?

We aim above all for excellence. Already one of the very best British and global universities, we enjoy an enviable record of research discoveries, a flair for teaching innovation and proven success in broadening access to higher education. We are long-established yet focused on a future that will see us pioneering a distinctive elite of research-intensive institutions, open to all who have talent. Our plan consists of eight separate themes. These themes are what make us distinctive as an institution.

Discover…

  • Our culture of collaboration
  • Inseparable teaching and research
  • Success built on partnership and innovation
  • A focus on students and commitment to social mobility
  • A culture of equality where everyone is valued
  • Our local impact
  • Our international focus
  • The unique character of our University

How will we do this?

Our commitments will give us a set of aims which we will stick to throughout the course of the strategic plan and will allow us to achieve our aims. Four main pillars of activity will be supported by a series of ambitious delivery plans and the commitments will be threaded throughout these and cut across all our colleges, departments and divisions. We will hold fast to these values and commitments.

What will we do?

We have a number of different priorities for the years to come, from a new Space Park which will provide a new anchor for vital British technological industries to providing one of the most flexible higher education curriculums through our Pathways Initiative. With a focus on the student learning experience at all times, we aim to transform our campus while continuing to provide the fantastic education which Leicester has always been renowned for. Our priorities will be refreshed as we learn from our successes, and respond to the challenges and opportunities that emerge from a changing local, national and global context. They are also grouped under the four main themes.

Students and staff at the heart of the University

Our values reflect our motto – ut vitam habeant, ‘so that they may have life’. To do justice to the hopes and the expectations of those on whose shoulders we now stand, we strive to make a difference in everything that we do. Our students and staff helped to create and shape the plan and their voices are at the heart of it. We have included staff and student ideas wherever possible and our shared values inspire and permeate the plan:

  • Sharing a commitment to excellence
  • Respecting and appreciating people in a culture of trust and integrity
  • Championing academic freedom and the importance of constructive debate
  • Recognizing and celebrating achievement and success
  • Ensuring that the decisions we make about education are always student-centred
  • Nurturing innovation and solving problems creatively
  • Being aware that we work better when we work together
  • Being adventurous and acknowledging that without mistakes, change and innovation are impossible
  • Being accountable for our actions and promises
  • Leading by example and doing what we say we will do

Facts and Figures

The University of Leicester is a leading UK university committed to international excellence through the creation of world changing research and high quality, inspirational teaching. Leicester is consistently one of the most socially inclusive of the UK’s leading universities with a long-standing commitment to providing fairer and equal access to higher education.