Last month I had the joy of standing outside at our Whiteknights campus, where, from one vantage point, I could see children chasing bubbles across the lawn; students sharing food from every corner of the globe; and families listening to live music, getting involved in science experiments, learning and laughing together.
Our Community Festival was more than just a good day out. It was a glimpse of what a university at its best can be: open, alive, connecting people and ideas, and where people feel they belong.
Wokingham and Reading’s diversity is reflected in our community of students, who come from 160 countries. They bring with them intellectual curiosity, as well as unique perspectives, rich cultures and strong values. Such diversity helps to shape our research, enlivens our teaching, and helps all our students and colleagues to understand the world better.
Being an outward-looking, global university is part of our values and our core purpose. And while in some parts of the world, political conversations around international students may have grown colder, at Reading, we’ve chosen to remain open, engaged and principled.
That belief is powerfully expressed through our work as a University of Sanctuary. Reading academics have supported refugees throughout our history, and in more recent years, we offer fully funded scholarships and additional support for students who are fleeing war or persecution. These are individuals whose education has been interrupted by catastrophe, and who come here seeking a better future, as well as a degree.
During Refugee Week later in June, I look forward to welcoming you to a lively programme of exhibitions, talks and workshops at the University. Many of them will be led by people with lived experience of displacement. It’s a week that challenges all of us to reflect on what it really means to offer welcome, and why sanctuary must be more than symbolic. Sanctuary is not just about providing the immediate essentials for survival – it’s about creating the conditions in which people can thrive.
Providing sanctuary is a responsibility for everyone in society, yet in common with all University priorities, this work is rooted in our purpose. This means doing research that tackles climate change and social inequality, and which creates new ideas that secure jobs and grows the economy. It means teaching courses that help to support resilient, compassionate graduates, ready to face their careers with confidence. And it means opening our doors and our campuses to our local community and people from all backgrounds, recognising that any lofty global ambitions must be built on strong local foundations.
Through our engagement with local schools, charities and cultural institutions in Reading and Wokingham, and via our global hubs in Africa and Asia, we’re committed to the idea that local and global responsibilities go hand in hand.
Prof Robert Van de Noort is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading
