Campus in de herfst
Campus in de herfst

A new strategy: from thinking to doing

The strategy project team recently submitted our the new institutional plan, Connected for Impact, to the university council and supervisory board for approval. This institutional plan outlines Radboud University's new strategy for the next six years, succeeding A Significant Impact. We have been working hard on this since last Spring, in close consultation with faculties and divisions. Now is the time to start preparing for implementation. After all, drawing up a strategy is step 1, but the real work begins with its implementation. To this end, it is important to engage in dialogue with colleagues and students about how they can contribute to the elaboration of the strategy.

Five ambitions guide our strategy: We are a broad-based university; We excel in specific themes; We are a catalyser for the region; We are a connecting community; and we are an agile and resilient organisation. To move from thinking to doing, we are currently working with more than 150 colleagues from across the organisation to develop concrete work plans for the various ‘workflows’ within those five ambitions. In these plans, we are working out how we can measure the success of these ambitions, when we are going to do what, and who and what is needed to achieve this. This will result in a number of clear priorities with clear implementation plans. Of course, we are also taking into account the necessary cost-saving measures, digitisation and “normal” ongoing work. Balancing all these issues is a task in itself, one of which we are well aware and which must be carried out carefully. We are also linking up as much as possible with the many good initiatives already underway in faculties and divisions!

Take a bird's-eye view of the strategy

Join the conversation, contribute your ideas, get involved

The new strategy is more than just a document; it provides direction, helps us to make choices and set the right priorities in our daily work. We will continue to actively discuss this, as we did during the Radboud Reflects lecture in November. In 2026, sessions will again be organised to explore what the strategic objectives mean for our work from different perspectives. In addition, a podcast will be released shortly in which Alexandra van Huffelen and Arjan-Tim Ferweda answer questions from staff and discuss the ambitions and initiatives in more detail. Your input is also important, because our strategy belongs to everyone and can only be realised together. So if you have any questions, input and/or ideas, please share them with the strategy & transition team at strategie2025-2031 [at] ru.nl (strategie2025-2031[at]ru[dot]nl)

Finally

In 2025, a great deal of excellent work was done by many colleagues and students to arrive at our new strategy. We are very fortunate to have had the commitment of everyone who contributed to this. Thank you very much for this – and we look forward to further collaboration in 2026!

Contact information

If you have any questions, input and/or ideas, please share them with the strategy & transition team at strategie2025-2031 [at] ru.nl (strategie2025-2031[at]ru[dot]nl)