I arrived in HE by a very serendipitous route, writes Patrick Finch, outgoing Director of Estates and Bursar at the University of Bristol. Prior to joining the HE sector, I worked in the property consultancy and corporate real estate sectors. Desiring to move out of London when my first daughter arrived, I cast an eye over the careers market and was intrigued by a post of Director of Physical Resources, advertised at the University of Portsmouth. The more I saw of the opportunity, the more I liked it. The rest is history!

The great thing about the University real estate experience is that two days or indeed two years are never the same. The reach and diversity of the Higher Education sector bring boundless opportunities. I have been involved in planning new campuses, in major urban regeneration projects, in building research and teaching buildings, a new Student Union, one of the UK's leading sports complexes and the planning and implementation of a new Science Park. There are not too many sectors that can offer such scope. 

There are of course the perennial challenges of fluctuating sector finances, challenging maintenance budgets, fluctuating student numbers and the ever-pressing need for carbon improvement, which I suspect most Directors will be grappling with. They are however accepted as part and parcel of the overall experience. 

I can see great opportunity for Directors of Estates in the future. The claims that virtual environments and online learning will render physical campuses as redundant seem currently to be well wide of the mark. The need to provide an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective environment, which also creates a real sense of place, will be with us for many years to come. I believe that students will continue to see the campus experience as an essential part of their own development and for staff, the physical environment around them will be an important measure of wellbeing.

The need for UK universities to be fully integrated into their communities has also never been greater. Universities across the UK are rising to this challenge and often leading the way in regenerating brown field areas and reinvigorating urban neighbourhoods. Directors of Estates will have a critical role to play in helping institutions plan and manage these challenges and opportunities, ensuring that their physical resources play a key role in fostering positive impressions for all that engage locally, nationally and in many cases globally

Estates Directors have often been early pioneers and will continue to be champions of sustainability.  It is not overstating the problem to say that the world's future depends on the steps that governments and organisations of all sizes will take to reduce their carbon footprint. I hope to see my fellow directors continue to lead the way, supported by the considerable expertise that the HE sustainability sector now boasts. If not HE in leading the way, then who?

AUDE's role will be critical to that success. AUDE is a great enabler in the sector, bringing people together to share experiences and build lasting relationships. The need for professional and personal development has never been greater and AUDE has a vital role to play here. It is also a great influencer and will play an important role in promoting the estate profession and its inherent capabilities to a wide audience. By way of example, the professionalism of the AUDE Annual Conference marks it out as one of the very best in a crowded marketplace and one that exerts influence far beyond the Estates and Facilities professions. 

AUDE has been an important part of my twenty-year career in the sector. As an ex Chair, you might think that I would say this, but I have been and remain a huge enthusiast for this wonderful organisation. I have made lasting friendships and enjoyed great camaraderie, as well as real help and support when I needed it professionally. I am in no doubt that my career would not have developed in the way that it has without engagement with AUDE, and through it with a host of my fellow directors and their teams. 

I have greatly enjoyed being a Director of Estates and am not sure what I would have been doing otherwise. My early aspirations to become either a football goalkeeper or an East African game warden mysteriously failed to take off and I suspect that ultimately, I would have remained in private practice as a (dare I mention it) commercial estate agent.

My passion outside of my profession is for wildlife and wild places. I have been inspired throughout my life by people like Jacques Cousteau, Gerald Durrell and David Attenborough and more recently by wildlife photographers like Jonathan and Angie Scott and Adrian Steirn. Listening to David Attenborough speaking at the opening of the University of Bristol's new Life Sciences Building was a special moment for me and another reminder of the amazing opportunities that a University Estates Director can engage in.

I am not sure what the future holds at present. Probably a restful summer is the highest priority and a chance to de-stress. After that, I hope to continue in the surveying profession in some part time way and have a couple of opportunities to explore further. Whatever I do, I hope to be able to observe AUDE's continued progress and to see some of the wonderful and ground-breaking work that I have no doubt will continue to emerge from the sector that has brought me so much job satisfaction

I wish everyone at AUDE and all of my fellow directors the very best of fortune in the future.

Patrick Finch

Director of Estates and Bursar

University of Bristol