Helen Langton prepares to leave the University of Suffolk

It was a very new institution. It had fantastic new buildings in a prime position on the town's Waterfront - but because it was so new it had little history or reputation to build upon.

The majority of the students were - and still are - reasonably local and while it was starting to make a name for itself in a few subjects, it still had to establish its own identity.

Prof Langton said: "If you looked in the league table for student experience we were 119th out of 121. Now we're comfortably in the middle of that table."

She said one of the main changes that came was increasing the amount of research being done.

"In the years before I arrived, the efforts were focussed on getting then university up and running, making sure the buildings worked and completing the transition from University Campus Suffolk to the University of Suffolk.

"There were few staff doing much research - there was a small amount of important research being done, but we had to increase that."

The University of Suffolk became an independent body in 2016 - two years before Prof Langton became vice chancellor. (Image: Newsquest)

The university now has 19,000 students. Its base is on the Waterfront at Ipswich but it also has students at East Coast College in both Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth and at West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds.

It also has links with universities across the country and worldwide - it has 5,000 students in Sub-Saharan Africa studying online.

There are 6,000 students based at the Ipswich campus - the majority of whom are studying full-time.

When the university started it attracted a large number of older, local, students who were taking a second chance at studying after missing out straight after school.

There is still a high proportion of local students - but there are now more 18-year-olds coming through so the average age of students is falling.

The university is also developing a strong reputation for some of its subjects - especially those related to health.

Its nursing and similar courses are highly-regarded and a new dentistry school is due to open early next year which will also offer dental care to Ipswich residents who have struggled to find anyone to look after their teeth.

But Prof Langton emphasised that universities have to be about more than just vocational courses linked to potential careers - and was concerned that governments emphasising the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects sometimes gave the impression that arts subjects were not so valuable.

The University of Suffolk is one of the newer universities in the country and is still growing - and improving its student offer.

An artist's impression of the new sports fields planned for the University of Suffolk. (Image: Velocity Sports)

Until now it hasn't had its own sports facilities but now it has linked up with Inspire Suffolk to develop sports pitches on its site - and Prof Langton hopes that work will soon be able to start on a new indoor sports centre near its main Waterfront buildings.

The university doesn't have its own catering facilities - although it does have an independently-run coffee shop in the main building.

But there are halls of residence for students who don't live nearby and the numbers of overseas students coming to the Ipswich campus is gradually increasing.

Prof Langton's exact departure date has not yet been fixed - but it will be in the first half of 2024.

She will be retiring to South Wales where members of her family live - but Suffolk has been part of her life since childhood and she is likely to keep on coming back to the coast she loves so much.