QUT Blueprint 2

Higher education is an international enterprise with local and national significance, and is subject to a complex array of forces which drive continuous change at many levels. Governments, students and the broader community have high expectations of universities, and rightly see institutions such as QUT as being pivotal contributors to the future—a future which will be marked by major economic, social, environmental, and technological challenges. QUT is an energetic and highly successful university which has ambitious plans for its own future, and which welcomes new opportunities to build and demonstrate its relevance and impact in ways which make a lasting and positive difference to the lives of individuals and the community. Over recent years QUT has made excellent progress against its plans, which call for rapid but sustainable growth in research capacity and performance, and in the development of the quality of our learning and teaching environments. However in the years ahead we can expect heightened national and international competition in all areas of academic activity, and increasing pressure on our resources and on the infrastructure which supports teaching and research. Technological change will also offer new opportunities and challenges across all areas of the University’s work, and demographic changes will have a major impact on both our student and staff populations. QUT is well placed to meet the challenges of the future and to continue the momentum of successful development, but it is essential that we prepare for that future by: regenerating, and in some cases reinterpreting, those characteristics that define and distinguish us; engaging with our communities and building capacity to take advantage of new opportunities and to sustain quality; setting ambitious goals and working towards them; and experimenting with new ways and approaches to our work.