UCL Learning and Development Network

Richard Martin

Faculty Operating Officer (Engineering)

Imperial College London

Secondment Abroad

Working outside the constraints of existing practice

Establishing UCL’s first overseas campus

1. How the opportunity came about

2. The challenges that it entailed

3. What I gained from the experience

Context

- UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia

- Rapid implementation following signing of agreement with key sponsors

- Need to operationalise processes developed in planning phase

- Preference for secondments during establishment phase- Opportunity v Risks- Duration of secondment- Substantive post

Activities: infrastructure

- Opportunity to design student workspaces from scratch- Acting as “user” rather than project director- Using lessons learned from student spaces in Bloomsbury

- Installation of video-conferencing and room recording facility in all teaching rooms- Hybrid of local and corporate ICT provision

Activities: financial systems and staff

Financial set-ups and systems

- Registration as a legal entity

- Requirement for new systems and interfaces with London

- Outsourcing to third parties

Staff

- Building a team and processes completely from scratch

- Taking opportunity to establish team culture afresh

Activities: Accreditation

- State and Federal legislative process

- What is this University College of London?

- Challenged everything taken for granted in “steady state” institution

Activities: shaping the student experience

- Opportunity to put this even more at the centre of our approach

- Scope to innovate/“experiment”

- High-level fee paying model core to sustainability

- Very “hand made” application process

- Intensive teaching mode; tailored to industry

- Saturday exams – on campus and across country

- 9-month industry placement

- Bologna compatibility

What has the secondment meant for me?

• Out of comfort zone (professionally and personally)• Opportunity to innovate• Profile raising locally and at home institution• Legacy.......

• Stretch yourself

• Don’t turn down opportunities

• Consider working in smaller unit (or vice versa)

• Commercial/entrepreneurial exposure

• International exposure

Thank you