Garthdee House on Campus

Senior Management Appointments

The University's Strategy & Leadership

The university’s senior leadership team support the Principal in the development and delivery of the university’s strategic plans.

Robert Gordon University is a vibrant, diverse, and committed community of students and highly professional staff from across the world.

This diversity of experience and thought broadens our creativity, innovation, and avenues for opportunity. We have an enviable reputation for transforming individuals and communities through our curriculum, research, consultancy, our focus on enterprise, and our close links with business.


Our Strategy

As the world emerges from a pandemic, the University continues to lead the way in addressing challenges associated with global sustainability and significant shifts in the regional economy. The work we do is underpinned by the following strategic aims:

  • Teaching, Learning & The Student Experience
    To provide students with an excellent experience that will enable them to raise their aspirations and thrive in their professional careers as global citizens.
  • Research & Knowledge Exchange
    To grow the quality and impact of our globally recognised, innovative and interdisciplinary research.
  • Economic, Social & Cultural Development 
    To ensure that we contribute significantly towards Scotland’s economic and social regeneration. At the core of the University’s significant achievements is the commitment and dedication of our people. The sense of partnership between our staff and students is strong and supporting our students to succeed in their studies and beyond is deeply ingrained in our culture.

These features are reflected in the University’s student satisfaction rates, which in recent years have consistently placed RGU in the top 10 of universities in the UK.

RGU has a long history of inspiring highly employable graduates. This is achieved through close, collaborative contact with employers in the design and delivery of our curriculum; the range and breadth of accreditations with professional and statutory bodies; the significant role work placements and work-based learning play within our courses; and the embedding of enterprise across all our activity. In a changing society, we will ensure the continued evolution of our curriculum so that our graduates can continue to succeed in their ambitions and make a positive impact within society well into the future. 


Our Research

The threat posed by the climate emergency and the race towards carbon neutrality will influence the prosperity and wellbeing of the region for generations to come. We will ensure our carbon footprint is minimised, and that our curriculum, research, enterprise activities, and collaborations across the globe shape, influence, and assist others to meet their environmental commitments. Collaboration and partnership are essential ingredients to the University’s regional and international influence. Our research and consultancy activities focus on the needs of society while maximising the practical application of research projects, providing major contributions in key growth sectors. The University trains a significant proportion of the region’s workforce and our continual strengthening of regional strategic partnerships - such as with North East Scotland College— ensures coherent responsiveness to the changing skills requirements in the region. Through these partnerships and our collaborative influence, we will inspire wider awareness of the region’s economic and cultural strengths as a destination for living, studying, working, and investing in. Our partnerships with other organisations and the communities we serve are also a mechanism to develop and grow our diversity. We have a strong commitment to widening and extending access to our courses, regardless of an individual’s background. We aim to increase the number of students studying online and in work-based settings while strengthening our access routes to degree education and professional employment. To achieve our ambitions, our curriculum must be global in outlook, and we must maximise the international reach of our course portfolio.

The university’s research activities are focused around 4 broad interdisciplinary themes:

  • Inclusive & Creative Societies
  • Environment, Energy and Sustainability
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Living in a Digital World

The University’s research activities must have international impact and our enterprise activities must reflect the global reach of the economic sectors we work with and the ambitions of the region. Our strategy map - developed through extensive stakeholder engagement - is designed to not just build upon our successes and achieve our ambitious targets, but to also support others towards success. Building on the numerous achievements and strengths of our University community, we aim for constant and unrelenting improvement in all our areas of operation.


Corporate Management Arrangements

The Board of Governors

The University's governing body is the Board of Governors which is appointed to exercise the functions of management and control. At an operational level, the responsibility and authority for the leadership, administration and management of the University are delegated to the Principal.

The Academic Council

The Board are required to delegate to the Academic Council those functions relating to the planning, co-ordination, development and supervision of the academic work of the University. Academic Council is chaired by the Principal and Vice Chancellor. Much of the work of the Academic Council is delivered through standing committees, subcommittees, Faculty Boards, School Committees and course panels. As a result a large proportion of the University community are involved in its activities. The Principal reports to the Board of Governors on the work of the Academic Council regularly.

The role of the Principal

The Board of Governors has delegated to the Principal the responsibility and authority for the leadership, administration and management of the University.

The Executive

The Executive form the University’s senior leadership team. They support the Principal in the development and delivery of the University’s strategic plans, objectives and priorities.

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