Sunderland University Vice-Chancellor reveals impact of pandemic as it emerges from the “grimness of Covid”

Like all universities, Sunderland has certainly not been immune from the effects of Covid, but the institution is currently coping better than Sir David first feared.

He said: “I remember sitting around this table with other members of staff in May 2020 and wondering what was going to happen. We were in a really difficult position and were thinking with everything that is going on, are people really going to want to come to university, both from the UK and abroad?”

Despite losing students from certain international regions, the University has bucked the national trend and has seen its overall numbers increase, although a significant proportion of this rise has taken place in the University’s London campus, Hong Kong and other oversees locations.

Sir David added: “Our global student numbers are actually up over the last two years by around 10 per cent, which is a pretty good outcome. We re seeing fewer students from South East Asia but have seen a rise in the number of students from African nations where the restrictions haven’t been as harsh.

"Overall, in the middle of a global pandemic, we have actually seen our international numbers increase.”

The university is particularly proud of the level of face-to-face teaching it has been able to maintain, with some universities still offering a high proportion of remote learning. Durham University faced criticism earlier this month for starting the first week of term with online remote learning for non practical subjects.

Sir David said: “One aspect of teaching which has changed, is we currently don’t operate traditional large scale lectures with large numbers of students in lecture halls.

"We are currently operating at around 80 per cent in-person learning. Many of our courses such as teaching, healthcare and engineering have a large practical element which requires in-person teaching and, where we have been allowed, this is something we have continued throughout the pandemic.

"I actually think during the pandemic we have, and continue to get the balance right.”

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And it’s not just Sir David who feels the university has excelled in the face of adversity.

He added: “A national student survey carried out across all universities placed us in the top 10 in the country for how we have dealt with the pandemic – which was a really pleasing outcome. I think a key feature of this is how open and transparent we have been with both students and staff.”

A recently published House of Commons report indicates that overseas fee income for universities – one of the biggest sources of revenue - is expected to be down by around 10 per cent. However the city’s university has emerged from the pandemic in “surprisingly good financial shape”.

Sir David said: “Financially we have so far done pretty well and are currently operating with a four per cent income surplus which gives us a margin to continue to invest in the university. This is similar to our pre-pandemic levels.

"This is in part due to where we have saved money on other budgets – particularly travel, as obviously very little of this has been taking place.”

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