This blog has been written by Jolanta Edwards, Director of Strategy at London Higher.
It has been a year since I joined London Higher as the Director of Strategy, and I’m loving it! But I want to see proper, strategic thinking for the sector!
What a year it has been. My previous role was as a civil servant and in that post I was expected to serve the government of the day, to keep my opinions to myself and often found myself moving between different policy areas relying on stakeholders for information and detail.
I now find I am one of those stakeholders.
Having worked for the civil service for over twenty years, I am now in a much smaller organization, but with a much louder voice. Internally, I’ve been able to shape London Higher’s operational plan and strategic plan. We have a clear idea of what we want to achieve and how we want to operate.
I now want that same clarity for the higher education sector! I know this will not happen overnight, but the bashing (in some areas) of our high-quality sector needs to stop.
I should declare that higher education is dear to my heart, and it is great to be immersed in it, galvanizing some of the issues most concerning to the sector, but I’m often asked “why is higher education important?” My answer is that it is an investment in our future, it is about equipping people with both knowledge and skills, and in an increasingly complex and global world these people can address skill shortages, blend knowledge and skills, be creative and innovative, undertake research, which all leads to growth, development and wealth. We will need people to deal with a plethora of health issues, climate change interventions, the development of AI, tech and robotics. Across the world countries are recognizing this and seeking to support their students, both at home and abroad.
Now, as most of you know, London Higher represents around 50 higher education institutions in the capital, and amongst other things my role is to engage formally and informally with policy makers (including former colleagues), government and the Opposition on behalf of these members to ensure developments are being properly considered. One example of this has been on HE Reforms, where I have spoken to many members about the impact of potential new policy proposals and how any changes would come on top of changes already coming into the system. I’ve been saying for some time that we need a better vision, we need to think about the sector as a whole, and we need to think about regulatory burdens. I’ll be engaging more on this with various departments – and will share more of my thinking with you on some of the challenges at a later date.
I’m also keen to ensure that the NHS Workforce Plan takes into account the realities of training and educating more nurses, doctors and allied health professionals. A recent General Medical Council document showed that plans to increase number of medical school places has the risk of increasing pressure on doctors with training responsibilities, when their workload is already too high and they are at extreme risk of burnout. But more on this in a future blog.
Because, make no mistake, HE is important. The UUK-LE report on the impact of HE on the UK economy highlighted that [overall for 2021-22], the UK HE sector made an economic contribution of £115.7 bn to the economy while directly supporting 385,500 FTE jobs, and supports a further 382,500 FTE jobs in the wider economy. In London, the report shows we support 126k jobs and HEIs generate the most economic impact of any area, at £27bn.
What I would like to see, and it is starting to be discussed, is a real vision for higher education which recognises the value to the economy, to students, to our wider success. Now is the time to be bold, to think about what we need for our society, for our economy and to grab tech and other opportunities to propel us into the 22nd century.
That also means making the most of all our people, which is where widening participation comes in. I’m working with our AccessHE team to make this a reality.
In the civil service we often talk about the importance of diversity. Here at London Higher, through that local connection and understanding of the barriers faced by pupils, and we do much more than talk, we transform the lives of individuals. We work with higher education institutions to consider the skills people need to succeed in employment, indeed in life. We can put names to the faces of those for whom our engagement has made that difference. How exciting is that?!
I’m looking forward to the year ahead. There’s lots of work to do helping Government and the Opposition in their thinking to support and grow our sector.
