In the run-up to a new strategy, the UT has formulated a new mission statement and vision for the period up to 2030. The draft mission statement and vision will provide guidance as we shape the future of our university in line with current and expected developments. The Executive Board will meet with the University Council on 19 June and the Supervisory Board on 12 June, to discuss the drafts.
Our draft new mission statement and vision are ambitious and distinctive. They radiate pride and provide us with guidance for setting our own course. We have spent recent months tapping into various sources of inspiration to develop a new draft mission statement and vision.
The kick-off took place on a strategy day that was held in January. All faculty boards were present, along with the scientific and business directors, the Advisory Panel and representatives of the University Council and all support services. The strategy day was followed by a series of eight inspirational sessions during which speakers shared topic-specific trends with UT staff, who also provided feedback. This ample input served as inspiration for the formulation of the draft mission and vision, although it will primarily be used as a foundation for defining the UT strategy for the next three years. The Executive Board is very grateful to the 645 UT staff members who attended one or more of the sessions, thus making a contribution to Shaping2030.
Round Tables were devoted to an in-depth discussion of specific topics together with UT subject-matter experts. The University Innovation Fellows organized Moonshot Meetups, during which students developed their own vision for the university for presentation to the Executive Board. During Create Tomorrow participants in the UT case study were given a specific issue to consider, namely how can successful innovation be best organized in the future?
Moreover, the Executive Board devoted extensive attention to the development of the draft mission and vision together with the Strategic Council, the University Research and Education committees, University Operational Management committee and the University innovation committee. The Shaping2030 Advisory Panel also had an important role to play in advising the Executive Board on the development of the draft mission and vision. Finally, extensive discussions are ongoing with external parties, including the municipality of Enschede, the ambassadors network, UT alumni and other institutes of knowledge.
MISSION – VISION – STRATEGYShaping2030 is the trajectory in which the University of Twente designs a new mission, vision and strategy. Finally, the strategy focuses on concretizing and achieving the objectives. |
UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE DRAFT MISSION STATEMENT
The draft mission statement reads as follows:
The University of Twente is here to empower society through sustainable solutions.
We choose to be the ultimate people-first university of technology.
UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE DRAFT VISION
The draft vision consists of three components:
- We identified three areas we respond to in our vision: SOCIAL, SUSTAINABLE and DIGITAL.
- Six convictions will help us accomplish our ambitions:
- LEADING THE CHANGE:
we want to lead the changes prompted by technological progress, digitalisation and geopolitical developments. - STUDENT-CENTERED:
Our goal is to strive for proximity: to be where our students are, and to be relevant at all stages in their careers. - PIONEERING:
We are taking entrepreneurship to the next level. We will invent new standards for industrial and societal collaboration. - NETWORKED:
By 2030, the University of Twente will be at the core of an ecosystem. - EMPOWERING:
The level of excellence at the foundation of our basic processes allows us to innovate and experiment elsewhere and to respond quickly to changes and opportunities in our surroundings. - PERSONAL GROWTH:
The University of Twente nurtures talent and leadership in its staff and students.
- LEADING THE CHANGE:
- The characteristics of our UT community and the environment in which we operate, with UT staff and students as problem solvers, a community which is inclusive and the responses to large and small changes at global, regional, local or virtual level.
Read the full text of the draft mission and vision here.
PROCESS FOLLOW-UP
In the months to come we will continue to work on the UT strategy for 2020-2022 based on the new draft mission statement and vision. Four working groups will be convened that will focus on developing the strategy.
The Executive Board will discuss the rough outline of these components with the Strategic Council on 3 July. In the following months, further iterations will be discussed in greater detail throughout the UT organization. Ultimately, an integrated mission statement, vision and strategy will be submitted to the University Council and the Supervisory Board in December 2019.
SHAPING2030 IDEA CARDS AND BOXES
Do you have an idea for UT’s strategy for the next three years? Fill in an Idea Card and drop it the #SHAPING2030 Idea Box! You will find cards and boxes at the service desks in all UT buildings.
For more information: www.utwente.nl/shaping2030
