One University

We are building a diverse community of staff and students from a broad range of backgrounds, demographics and cultures, and creating an inclusive, supportive and collaborative environment in which they can succeed and flourish.

Priority one: Collaborative and supportive culture

We continue to develop a positive work environment in a way that is meaningful to our whole University community.

Our bi-annual staff survey is just one way colleagues can provide us with their feedback, helping us to understand what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements. In the latest survey, colleagues shared positive feedback on important areas such as inclusion and belonging, supportive relationships with teams, and caring line managers. Insights will be used to inform our work to build a collaborative and supportive culture.

We continue to encourage and celebrate the open exchange of views and beliefs. As part of our A University Conversation events, staff and students came together to share views and perspectives on the multiple and complex humanitarian, environmental, economic and social crises facing the world. These important events provided our community with the space to explore and debate questions and topics with confidence, and in the knowledge they will be treated respectfully.

There has been a continued focus on the training and development of line managers to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to create an inclusive and supportive environment. Colleagues can also engage in informal development including mentoring, coaching, and shadowing, as well as our How To series which offers digitally blended learning modules on a range of key development themes.

In preparation for the new condition of registration for higher education providers from the Office for Students, we launched our information hub which outlines how as a university we are protecting students from harassment and sexual misconduct and signposts to the support available for students.

Priority two: Diversity and inclusion

Our diverse community is made up of staff and students from a wide range of backgrounds - each bringing their unique experiences, skills, and perspectives. This diversity of thought is crucial and that’s why we are committed to ensuring every individual feels supported and valued.

We have embedded Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) across all areas of our University. EIAs are a tool used to aid understanding of the potential impacts of new areas of work on traditionally marginalised groups and to seek to mitigate against these impacts where possible. To improve local understanding of these assessments, we’ve developed training that focuses on their use as a tool to enhance decision-making and foster a collective mindset around equality, diversity, and inclusion.

In recognition of our commitment to race equality, we received the Race Equality Charter Bronze Award. The Race Equality Charter self-assessment process was a crucial starting point for reassessing our race equality work. Following this process we have updated our action plan to reflect our work to date, as well as the actions and activities we need to take to continue to progress race equality.

Following the UK Supreme Court judgment that the word “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers exclusively to biological sex, not a person’s legal gender, we have been carefully considering the guidance and implications. We recognise that the decision will have generated strong and diverse views amongst some members of our University community and we remain committed to creating a culture that is inclusive, supportive and welcoming for all.

Creating a sense of belonging for our students

Our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and Muslim student information hubs have been co-created with students and provide tailored information, advice and guidance for prospective and current students at all levels of study.

The hubs cover all aspects of student life—from application to graduation—including wellbeing, academic and financial support, and city life. The hubs support key actions in our Race Equality, Religion, Belief and No Belief, and Access and Participation Plans, and align with Teaching Excellence Framework priorities around student voice and inclusive practice.

Priority three: Wellbeing

We are committed to creating a positive environment that champions the wellbeing of our staff and students, while also empowering everyone to take an active role in their own personal wellness.

We launched our wellbeing framework which outlines how we will adopt a people-centred approach to wellbeing. The framework is designed to articulate what we mean by wellbeing in our organisation and to ensure wellbeing is considered in everything that we do, including development of policy, culture, working environment and managerial practice.

We’ve also expanded our staff mental health and disability advisor services with appointments now available for line managers. At these appointments, managers can discuss the support that is available for colleagues, such as reasonable adjustments, how to support colleagues returning to work following disability-related absence, and how to promote a more open and inclusive culture in relation to disability and mental health.

We’ve launched two new development modules for colleagues that focus on building knowledge and awareness of disability and mental health, and how we can support ourselves and others and promote equality and respect in the workplace. These modules were created in partnership with colleagues who shared their lived experience and provided feedback on the modules.

Reasonable adjustments are one form of support for colleagues living with long-term health conditions. To raise knowledge and awareness of this support, colleagues with experience of chronic conditions shared their experiences of reasonable adjustments through a series of case studies, where they discussed the positive impact these adjustments have had on them both professionally and personally.

We also worked with our community of colleagues living with chronic health conditions to develop a new web page that brings together resources and information on managing chronic conditions in the workplace and information for line managers.

Priority four: Sustainability

We are continuing our work to make the University of Sheffield one of the most sustainable research-intensive universities in the country.

Over the past year, 11 expert groups consisting of over 100 staff, academics and students, have been working together to shape our next sustainability strategy. These groups have focused on key areas including energy and food to travel, buildings, IT and education. Their work is now being brought together into a single strategy that we’ll launch this winter.

Alongside this, we’ve been rethinking the future of our campus through the Future Campus project. The aim is to create a more efficient, inclusive, vibrant and sustainable estate – one that supports our academic mission while reducing carbon and cost.

We’ve already made strong progress in reducing our carbon footprint from energy and heat. We’ve cut emissions from building operations by around 44% since 2018, thanks to smarter controls, better space use, and cleaner electricity.

We’ve also launched a new Sustainability Network to help staff share best practice and support each other in taking action, and introduced a sustainability fund for staff and students to back local ideas and grassroots projects.

Priority five: Philanthropy

A strong alumni community is vital to our success. Their engagement provides valuable mentorship and career networks, while their philanthropy funds scholarships and research, directly enhancing the student experience and our institutional growth.

Alumni and friends of the University have created more life-changing opportunities for students, research and our City region this year thanks to the launch of our ambitious fundraising and engagement campaign, Forged in Sheffield, Shaping the Future.

Broadcaster and alumnus Dan Walker hosted an evening at the Royal Institution in autumn 2024, publicly launching Forged in Sheffield to over 200 of Sheffield’s most influential alumni and friends. The event premiered the campaign’s award-winning film, and kicked off an exciting programme of mass communications and events in Sheffield and overseas, encouraging more than 140,000 alumni and friends to get involved.

2024-25 has been another successful year for University philanthropy, raising £8.5 million against a £6.5 million annual target and exceeding a £10 million multi-year target for the Faculty of Health’s newest capital project. Fundraising for the new facility, which will support research at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) and create more capacity for medical teaching, has now reached £11.4 million. Neuroscience research once again inspired hundreds of people to take on Sheffield’s iconic community fundraising challenge, the Big Walk, raising over £100,000.

A £1.1 million legacy gift from alumnus Eric Pattison will fund a new digital learning suite at the Western Bank Library and scholarships for low-income students in the School of English. They will join around 400 new students starting at the University of Sheffield in 2025 with a donor-funded scholarship.

Over 1,100 alumni volunteers connected with over 8,000 students throughout the year, supporting employability and recruitment. The 10-year anniversary of London City Connections, our flagship alumni-student networking programme, was a particular highlight. Students were hosted by Jerome Frost, CEO of Arup Group and Wayne Garvie, President of Sony Pictures Television.

Internationally, more than 440 alumni in China attended events hosted by the Vice-Chancellor in Shanghai and Beijing. Whilst alumni based in countries such as the US, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Japan have boosted the total number of alumni joining International Alumni Groups to 9,000.

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