Promotion to reader and professorial levels depends on research performance. There are three main elements in the University's Research Strategy, as follows. The University aims to ensure that all departments and centres have the necessary intellectual and physical infrastructure to support research of the highest international quality. Ensuring that departments and centres have access to the funds necessary for all academic staff to attend those national and international conferences that are important to their research. Providing all academic staff with generous sabbatical leave entitlements.
All staff enjoy one term's paid research leave for every six terms' service.
The University provides additional funds for research leave, over and above sabbatical entitlements, to allow staff to publish the results of important projects that would otherwise take longer to reach publication. All academic staff can bid for these funds, which are allocated twice annually. Providing seed funding for new research projects which promise to make an important contribution in their respective fields. Again, all academic staff can bid for these funds which are also allocated twice annually. Returning a proportion of overheads to individual research accounts as reward and incentive to successful research grant holders.