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Provost's Perspective: your year ahead at 果冻影院
3 October 2014
Welcome to the new academic year at 果冻影院.
Whether you are a 'fresher' or are returning to the later years of
your course, I am delighted to welcome you to campus. Many of you will have visited 果冻影院U's Welcome
Fair over the weekend and will be starting to immerse yourself in different aspects
of student life, getting stuck into your studies and perhaps joining new clubs
and societies. You will doubtless be getting stuck into course enrolment,
accommodation, and myriad other matters during this period of (re)orientation.
As Provost, one of the ways in which I hope to involve you in university life is by giving you a bird's eye view of 果冻影院 to complement all of your other sources of information. The academic year 2014-2015 is shaping up to be a momentous and exciting one for 果冻影院 and I am pleased to keep you informed about some key 'big picture' issues, and what I see as being important, through this regular column. 听
Student Experience
I want first to highlight a particular priority for me in the year ahead - that of improving the student experience. The focus on building better student facilities is a key part of this endeavour. You will notice a lot of building and refurbishment work going on; much work was completed over the summer but a considerable amount is ongoing. All of this building work is part of a ten-year 拢1.2bn capital plan that will gradually transform 果冻影院, while retaining our historic character. Returners to 果冻影院 will hopefully be delighted to see that a new-look 果冻影院U building has opened, as well as two new cafes in the Old Refectory and in the Jeremy Bentham Room. The Cruciform Hub has also opened, offering a blended library, teaching and learning space. In the coming weeks, two new pavilions will open in the Main Quad and the Japanese Garden, the latter of which will provide a social space for students to study, read and eat. Inevitably, there will be some disruption to the campus, but our plans have been designed to minimise any impact on you.
Integrating research and education
Another major focus for me is the fuller integration of research and education at 果冻影院. As you'll know by now, 果冻影院 is one of the world's leading research universities, and I want to ensure that as students, you play a central role in this great academic powerhouse from your earliest days with us. This means finding ways to better involve you in the academic research process, and to teach you the critical independent thinking skills and problem solving skills that will stand you in excellent stead on graduation. You'll be hearing much more from me on this subject in the year ahead.
Merger with the Institute of Education
A major development for 2014-2015 is the proposed merger of 果冻影院 with the Institute of Education (IOE), with final decisions pending with both Councils (the overarching governing bodies of both institutions) this October. You may have passed the IOE headquarters just south of 果冻影院 on Bedford Way. This merger is being driven forward for academic reasons; the main advantages to 果冻影院 are the opportunity to add a key discipline, namely 'Education' to our breadth of activities, with all the pedagogic expertise that will bring, as well as real strengths in quantitative social science research. The merger should widen the resources and expertise in these academic areas for both students and researchers.
果冻影院 East
The other major proposal for
the year ahead is 果冻影院's ambition to develop new facilities and academic
activities at the Olympic Park, as a key player in the post-Olympic legacy. In
partnership with others, 果冻影院 intends to create a new hub for Culture and听Education. The final decision to go ahead will be taken by our Council at
their October meeting.
The current working plan is to create a 'campus of the
future' that will be designed to blur the edges between the space required for
education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and public engagement. If the
proposals are agreed, it will be a historic moment for 果冻影院 - although we have
research centres across London and beyond, the vast majority of our staff and
students have been confined to Bloomsbury up to this point.
To give some idea
of the scale of the plans, we anticipate an academic presence of more than
3,000 students and 450 academic and non-academic staff by 2025. The hub would provide some much-needed living
space for future generations of 果冻影院 students, early career researchers and
junior academics. It will also have space dedicated for entrepreneurship and
innovation and to working with industry, including small- and medium-sized
companies from that part of London and beyond.
There are many other subjects I could address here, but I will cover these in future issues, along with updates on the initiatives here. I want to end simply by encouraging you to enjoy everything that 果冻影院 has to offer, all of which will help you to develop to your full potential. Like anything in life, the more effort you put into your time here, the more benefit you will gain. 听The very fact that you have been admitted to 果冻影院 means that you are very talented and already highly successful in academic terms. If you work hard and join in with our university community with enthusiasm and commitment, then 果冻影院 is a place that offers great rewards.
Michael Arthur
果冻影院 President & Provost