Our strengths in research and teaching combine with our vibrant, diverse community, international partner campuses and research collaborations to position Lancaster as a truly distinctive university.

Our strategy is to become truly globally significant – a leader in higher education and a university which engages locally and internationally to add to knowledge and address the issues that concern us as a society. Over the past 12 months we have extended our reach and influence through exceptional work.

We were delighted to learn that Lancaster was selected as the Times and Sunday Times University of the year 2018. It has also taken the top spot for Best Campus University and continues to be rated the Best University in the North West.

Lancaster has been the top university in the North West of England for over a decade and this year rose three places to finish sixth place in the Times and Sunday Times league table, securing it a top 10 ranking for the second consecutive year and its highest ever ranking.

Earlier this year the University was also awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework – the new government-led teaching ratings published in June. This is for delivering an outstanding learning environment and excellent employment outcomes for its students. This result puts Lancaster in a small group of newly emerging universities who can claim to be genuinely elite – ranked highly for both research and for excellent teaching.

Our international profile advanced this year through the second intake into Lancaster University College with Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) China based in Weihai, Shandong Province. This year almost 90 students from Lancaster University Ghana have graduated in the inaugural degree ceremony at the West African campus. Lancaster is the first UK university to have established its own campus in sub-Saharan Africa in a partnership with Transnational Education. The new campus aims to produce graduates who have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of Ghanaian society and the wider African economy. Plans are underway for a new campus to accommodate predicted growth in student numbers. We continue to explore new opportunities to extend our teaching and research links around the world and were pleased with the GCRF-funded RECIRCULATE project looking for safe sustainable water solutions in Africa was funded this year.

Lancaster University’s role as an economic anchor and driver of innovation has been recognised nationally and we have helped thousands of businesses grow, especially in the North of England.

This year we announced a major investment that will help improve advances in health care and significantly contribute to the regional economy. The Health Innovation Campus (HIC), funded by the University and through the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership's Growth Deal Fund and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will be focused on tackling the biggest challenge in healthcare today - helping people to live as long and as healthily as possible. The construction of the £41 million first phase of the building, adjacent to the University's campus, has now fully started on site, with completion in 2019.

Our students continue to be at the heart of everything we do. Some of our greatest strengths include overall student satisfaction and employability. Following the vote to leave the EU, I have assured all our current and future students and our staff – whatever their background – that Lancaster is a welcoming community that includes people from 142 countries, and this will not change.

Professor Mark E. Smith

Vice-Chancellor