Our path forward

We will focus on transdisciplinary research where we can make distinctive, long-term contributions that shape entire fields.

Building on the strengths identified in our Strategic Research Plan, we will invest in people, infrastructure, and support systems that enable excellence.

We will also create meaningful research opportunities for all students, developing leaders in discovery, creativity, and innovation, and strengthening our global research standing.

All academic programs will integrate digital literacy, data analysis, and responsible AI use so graduates develop strong technical skills and the capacity for principled, creative decision-making in technologically complex environments shaped by automation and emerging technologies.

Every student will have access to meaningful mentorship and leadership development that build confidence, judgment, and ethical capacity for academic, professional, and civic life.

We will strengthen and better coordinate mentoring, advising, and peer development so students are supported, challenged, and prepared to lead throughout their student experience.

Every student will have access to a substantial project, research contribution, placement, or creative work that requires real responsibility, sound judgment, and leadership.

Embedded across the academic mission, this signature experience will prepare graduates to address interdisciplinary, societal, and global challenges with skill and integrity.

We will advance our leadership in sustainable development through research, teaching, partnerships, and operations that address pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Building on our strength in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we will help people across the university connect scholarship, community engagement, and innovation to the areas where we can contribute most meaningfully.

We will align enrolment, program mix, and resources with institutional capacity and strengths so academic quality, research intensity, and financial sustainability reinforce one another.

This focus will allow us to excel where we are strongest and support growth in priority areas, including graduate education, postdoctoral researchers, STEM programs, international engagement, and flexible, professionally oriented learning.

We will modernize administrative systems, streamline policies and processes, and enhance digital infrastructure and data-informed decision-making to strengthen agility, collaboration, and effective stewardship across the university.

A resilient and connected community is essential to how we lead, work, and learn. By reinforcing the relationships and partnerships that unite us, we create the conditions necessary for progress toward our vision.

• Cultivate an inclusive and supportive campus culture where every student, staff, and faculty member knows they belong.

• Foster a shared sense of purpose and pride in our mission, strengthening the connections that unite our diverse community.

• Strengthen respectful and reciprocal partnerships with Indigenous communities, Kingston and its surrounding region, and partners across Canada and around the worldto advance truth and reconciliation, inclusion, sustainability, and shared prosperity.

• Collaborate with government, industry, non-profit, and academic partners to co-develop innovative responses to societal challenges, such as workforce renewal, demographic change, sustainability, sovereignty, and social resilience.

• Mobilize our research, creativity, and expertise to generate insight, inform policy, and drive innovation that benefits people and communities locally and globally.

• Engage alumni and friends of Queen’s as mentors, advisors, and ambassadors who extend the reach and reputation of the university’s mission and values.

Excellence is sustained by renewing the talent and perspectives that shape our community. By broadening who can contribute, we reinforce the conditions for discovery, creativity, and impact.

• Recruit and retain exceptional students, staff, and faculty whose achievement, potential, and diverse perspectives expand our capacity for discovery, creativity, and innovation, aligning recruitment with areas of strength and emerging societal needs.

• Foster a culture of values-driven excellence that sets high expectations, celebrates achievement, and encourages bold, innovative thinking that advances understanding and delivers meaningful impact locally and globally.

• Ensure that our excellence is continually renewed by a diversity of ideas, experiences, and talents through equitable access to learning, research, and employment opportunities.

• Honour and advance our commitments under the Yakwanastahente’ha Aankenjigemi: Extending the Rafters report, Scarborough Charter, NSERC Dimensions Charter, and related frameworks that embed access and belonging as essential to excellence.

• Broaden pathways to participation and success for students and professionals of all ages and backgrounds through flexible, responsive, and accessible educational programs that reflect evolving societal and workforce needs.

• Advance inclusive research practices that reflect reciprocal relationships and diverse ways of knowing.

A deeply integrated academic culture where research, teaching, and the student experience inform one another is essential to sustaining excellence. Strengthening these connections builds the conditions for inquiry, creativity, and innovation to thrive.

• Enhance the integration of research and teaching across the university to create academic environments that foster mentorship, creativity, and collaboration across fields and roles.

• Ground programs at all levels in inquiry and innovation, reflecting our research strengths and emerging areas of excellence.

• Cultivate a culture of shared learning where students, staff, and faculty contribute to a continuum of discovery that enriches research and teaching.

• Strengthen institutional supports for experiential and applied learning opportunities that connect academic study with community, industry, and global contexts.

• Leverage our research strengths and partnerships to guide the design of applied programs and credentials that support innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce renewal.

• Equip students and researchers with the critical and ethical literacies needed to engage responsibly with evolving knowledge systems, interdisciplinary inquiry, and digital change.

Focusing on our strengths requires strengthening the capabilities, relationships, and systems that support world-leading scholarship in our areas of greatest potential. By deepening these capacities, we create the conditions for sustained research excellence, collaboration, and global impact.

• Deepen capacity in data-intensive discovery as a foundation for innovation across research domains, ensuring that data security, privacy, and sovereignty are embedded in research practices.

• Bolster research supports and systems to exceed national standards for research inputs by increasing success in Tri-Agency, CFI, and international funding programs and expanding interdisciplinary and partnered research.

• Expand our innovation and partnership ecosystem by connecting students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and external partners to translate discovery into social and economic benefit, and by mobilizing knowledge through international collaboration across the university’s areas of strength.

• Promote leadership in national and global research facilities and partnerships to advance our reputation and influence in our areas of research strengths.

• Maintain and strengthen the conditions to achieve national and global recognition for research excellence and impact through growth in high-quality, open scholarship, commercialization and startup creation, and national and international honours.

• Develop the underlying capacities to secure our place among the top 120 universities globally and top five in Canada in relevant rankings.

Achieving alignment across the university depends on the systems and practices that support coherent planning, evidence-informed decision-making, and shared responsibility. Strengthening these foundations ensures that our choices reinforce one another and advance our collective goals.

• Build robust data and analytics systems to support evidence-based decision-making and strategic investment.

• Promote shared responsibility for financial and strategic sustainability across all level of the university.

• Develop diversified and resilient revenue streams through new partnerships, philanthropic initiatives, and innovative educational offerings that are aligned with our ambitions and values.

• Maintain a balanced, transparent financial framework that supports innovation and growth.

• Assess and support sustainable business models for continuing education, professional programs, and online learning to reduce reliance on traditional funding sources.

• Advocate collaboratively with sector partners and governments for funding models that reflect the true costs and societal value of postsecondary education in Canada.

Our ability to lead change depends on how we collaborate, learn, and respond together in a shifting higher-education environment. Strengthening shared purpose, communication, and coordinated action builds the conditions for agility, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• Strengthen leadership capacity across academic, research, and administrative roles by equipping leaders with the skills to manage digital transformation, data-informed decision-making, and change in complex environments.

• Empower faculty and staff to contribute to continuous improvement through innovation, teamwork, and professional development.

• Promote transparency, trust, and accountability through open and participatory processes.

• Encourage cross-functional collaboration to break down silos and enhance collective problem-solving.

• Develop governance and planning processes that are adaptive, data-informed, and responsive to emerging challenges without sacrificing academic quality.

• Embed continuous improvement by monitoring progress on strategic priorities through transparent benchmarking, clear metrics, and evidence-informed evaluation and feedback.

• Leverage artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and disciplined risk management to enhance institutional planning and service delivery with informed human oversight.