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Brunel University

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Brunel University
Established: 1966
Type: Public
Endowment: £1.8 million [1]
Chancellor: Lord Wakeham PC
Vice-Chancellor: Professor Chris Jenks
Staff: 2,162
Students: 15,510[2]
Undergraduates: 10,350[2]
Postgraduates: 5,160[2]
Location: London, England
51°31′58″N 0°28′22″W / 51.53278°N 0.47278°W / 51.53278; -0.47278Coordinates: 51°31′58″N 0°28′22″W / 51.53278°N 0.47278°W / 51.53278; -0.47278
Campus: Suburban
Affiliations: Association of Commonwealth Universities
European University Association
Website: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/
Statue of Brunel at the University

Brunel University is a highly accomplished[citation needed] and well-respected[citation needed] university situated in West London, England. In the most recent institutional audit, the government’s Quality Assurance Agency awarded Brunel a vote of ‘broad confidence’ – the highest possible rating.[3] In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, Brunel gained national or international standard in the large majority of areas, including Psychology, Biological Science, Mathematics and Statistics, Engineering, Law, Anthropology, Economics, Politics, Sociology, Business, IT and Design.[3] Over £14 million has been invested on new research-led staff and centres in the last three years.[3] The university has also spent £250 million on a five-year building programme, completed in 2008, intended to upgrade and centralize its teaching, research and sporting facilities.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

Brunel is one of a number of British universities created in the 1960s following the Robbins Report on higher education (often called the plate glass universities).

Originally Acton Technical College, based in Acton London, it was decided in 1957 that the college should split into two sections – Acton Technical College continued to cater to technicians and craftsmen, whereas Brunel College of Technology (named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the British engineer) was dedicated to the education of chartered engineers.

In 1961 it was awarded the status of College of Advanced Technology, and it was decided that Brunel College should expand at another site in order to accommodate the extra buildings that would be needed. Uxbridge, Hillingdon was chosen to house the new buildings, and work hadn’t even started before the Ministry of Education had officially changed the College’s status. From April 1, 1962 it was officially named Brunel College of Advanced Technology – it was only the 10th Advanced Technology College in the country, and the last to be awarded this title.

The first buildings were due to be finished in 1967. However, in 1963 it was decided that the College should become a technological university, and the Royal Charter was awarded on the June 9, 1966 giving university status. Uxbridge was now a campus of Brunel University.

A view of Brunel University, Uxbridge

The University continued to use both campuses until 1971, when it left the Acton site, and for the next nine years used only the Uxbridge campus.

In 1980 the University merged with Shoreditch College of Education, located at Cooper's Hill, Runnymede since 1951. This became Brunel's second campus, although in later years it contained only halls of residence. In 1995 the University expanded again, integrating the West London Institute of Higher Education, and adding campuses in Osterley and Twickenham. This increased the number of courses that Brunel University was able to offer – traditionally its strengths had been engineering, science, technology and social sciences. With the addition of the West London Institute, departments such as arts, humanities, geography & earth science, health and sports science were added, and the size of the student body increased to over 12,000.

Then Brunel put together a £250 million Masterplan,[5] to sell off the sites at Runnymede, Osterley and Twickenham, using the revenue to renovate and update the buildings and facilities at Uxbridge. Works already carried out include the library extension, a state-of-the-art sports complex, renovated students' union facilities, a new Heath Sciences teaching centre, and many more halls of residence.

Student facilities, including Library and Computing

  • The library holds over 457,934 books, has 1,244 study places and is home to a well-equiped Assistive Technology Centre.
  • The Medical Centre offers standard NHS services.
  • Free counselling service, staffed by professionally qualified permanent staff, available to all students.
  • Brunel International recruits, admits and supports overseas students including provision of language and other short courses.
  • Arts Centre organizes concerts, shows and recitals and offers free music tuition, painting, drawing and other classes.[3]
Academic strengths
  • All students are encouraged to undertake practical placements and projects as an integral part of their courses (a founding principle of the sandwich degree structure) and have access to specialist laboratories in, for example, electronic imaging, bioprocessing and experimental techniques, as well as academic archives in cult film and contemporary writing.
  • Academic facilities, also accessible to students, include flight, driving and train simulators, 3-D body scanner, motion-capture equipment and MRI scanner, occupational therapy suite, and extensive sports and performing arts facilities.
  • Courses draw on much of Brunel’s internationally-renowned research in, for example, Cancer Genetics, Environmental Science, Human-Centred Design, Materials Processing, Contemporary Music and Digital Performance, Able Children’s Education and Sports Medicine.[3]

In recent years Brunel University has been the subject of controversy as its approach to higher education has been both market-driven and politically conservative. The decision to award an honorary degree to Margaret Thatcher in 1996, following the University of Oxford's refusal to do so, provoked an outcry by staff and students, and as a result the ceremony had to be held in the House of Lords instead of on campus. In the late 1990s, the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Engineering were closed. In 2004, the then Vice-Chancellor Steven Schwartz, initiated the reorganisation of the university's faculties and departments into schools, and announced the closure of the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences[6]. The present Vice-Chancellor, the sociologist Christopher Jenks[7] who took office in 2006, may be developing a less rankings-driven approach.

[edit] Halls of residence

Kilmorey Hall at Uxbridge
Lancaster House, Osterley campus

The Halls of Residences on the Uxbridge campus are arranged into four complexes, Bishop & Lancaster Complex, MFG (Mill, Fleming, Galbraith), Faraday (some en-suite and some older, non-ensuite roomed halls) and the Isambard Flats.

Many of the halls of residence around the Uxbridge campus are named after bridges that Isambard Kingdom Brunel either built or helped to design; other halls are named either directly after him, or after other notable engineers or scientists. For example:

Other Halls of Residence include:

  • Gordon Hall
  • Bishop Hall
  • Kilmorey Hall
  • Lacy Hall
  • St Margaret's Hall
  • Maria Grey Hall
  • Lancaster Hall
  • Southwark Hall
  • Stockwell Hall
  • Borough Road Hall

Videos of all halls of residence can be found here [Brunel University Accommodation][1]

All residences (on campus) have a network connection which provides limited and monitored access to the Internet.[2]

[edit] League tables

Brunel has fallen slightly in the league table rankings in recent years. In the past Brunel performed well in both The Guardian and The Times tables at least in part due to the university's good performance in the Teaching Quality Assessment (every subject received a score of 20/24 or better). However, the compilers of both league tables have moved away from using the TQA and now use National Student Survey (NSS) results to calculate the rankings.

The Independent University Guide 2010 ranks Brunel 41st in its league table.[3]

The Times Higher 2010 places Brunel 47th overall in The Times league table.

The Guardian Good University Guide 2007/8 ranks Brunel 50th overall out of 122 institutions in the UK - a drop of 18 places from the 2006/7 rankings.

An independent review publication, The Complete University Guide 2009, ranked Brunel University 41st in the UK in its 2009 ratings.[8] This represents a strong rise and reflects Brunel's good performance in the RAE 2008.

The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) world university rankings 2008 placed Brunel University at 296 in the world. [9] This made it the 38th listed UK institution, which reflects with remarkable accuracy its returns in the RAE 2008 which saw it ranked 37-39 (joint) in Research Power by the Research Power Table. [10]

People & Planet - Green League In 2008 The People & Planet Green League ranked Brunel at 84th[11] this is a down 57 places, however the accuracy of this result has been disputed by the Energy and Sustainability manager of Brunel University during a meeting with the Brunel People & Planet group. Raising such issues as to why the Environmental policy[12] was not included. In 2007 the University was ranked 27th[13].

UK University Rankings
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
Times Good University Guide 47nd 51st[14] 50th[15] 43rd 43rd[16] 46th 50th[17] 52nd 53rd 53rd 54th= 50th 51st 39th= 33rd= 32nd= 29th=
Guardian University Guide 54th 50th[18] 32nd 32nd[19] 28th[20] 30th[21] 67th[22]
Sunday Times University Guide 50th[23] 49th 50th=[24] 44th[24] 43rd[25] 41st[25] 51st[25] 44th[25] 45th[25] 50th[25] 48th[25]
Daily Telegraph 52nd=[26] 35th=
FT 51st[27] 50th[28] 51st[29] 51st[30]
Independent - Complete University Guide 41st[31] 52nd[31]

[edit] Formula Student

Brunel was one of the first UK universities to enter the Formula Student[32] engineering competition. It is an annual event in which universities from around the world compete in static and dynamic events using formula style racing cars designed and manufactured by students.

The Brunel Racing[33] team is composed of undergraduate and postgraduate students, each being allocated an area of the car to develop. The students on MEng Mechanical Engineering courses act as team leaders and manage BEng students throughout the year to ensure a successful completion of a new car each year.

Brunel Racing were UK Class 1 Formula Student Champions in 2002, and were the leading UK team at Formula ATA 2005, the Italian Formula Student event. In 2006 Formula Student Event, Brunel Racing were also the highest finishing UK competitor using E85 (fuel comprising of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol.)

The university also runs a second racing team, comprising exclusively of post-graduate students from the MSc Automotive and Motorsports Engineering course, called Brunel Masters Motorsports.[34] The 20 students on this course are from 10 different countries, with various cultural backgrounds and a with a wide range of industry experience.

The BMM team were the UK Class 2 Formula Student Champions in their first year, 2005.

Brunel's Formula Student teams have won prizes at the annual competition every year since they first entered in 1999.

[edit] Notable alumni

see Alumni of Brunel University

[edit] Politics

[edit] Sports

[edit] Media

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Financial Statements 2007-2008". Brunel University. http://www.brunel.ac.uk/397/Finance/financialstatements200708.pdf. Retrieved on 2000-02-21. 
  2. ^ a b c "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls. Retrieved on 2008-04-05. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6497
  4. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/good_university_guide/article2166330.ece
  5. ^ Brunel Masterplan
  6. ^ Geography and Earth Sciences
  7. ^ Staff Profile - Professor Chris Jenks
  8. ^ http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6524
  9. ^ http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings/
  10. ^ http://www.researchresearch.com/getPage.cfm?pagename=RAE2008-Power&lang=EN&type=default
  11. ^ http://peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/greenleague2008
  12. ^ http://www.brunel.ac.uk/427/policy/OverallEnvironmentalPolicySept08.pdf
  13. ^ http://peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/greenleague2007/table >
  14. ^ "The Times Good University Guide 2008". The Times. http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/gug/gooduniversityguide.php. Retrieved on 03-11-2007. 
  15. ^ "The Times Good University Guide 2007 - Top Universities 2007 League Table". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,102571,00.html. Retrieved on 03-11-2007. 
  16. ^ "The Times Top Universities". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/displayPopup/0,,32607,00.html. Retrieved on 03-11-2007. 
  17. ^ "Times Good University Guide 2003 - Ignore the 2002 typo in the doucument". http://www.nottingham.edu.my/News/News/Documents/2002/Nottingham%20wins%20in%20popularity%20stakes.pdf. 
  18. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. http://browse.guardian.co.uk/education?SearchBySubject=&FirstRow=29&SortOrderDirection=&SortOrderColumn=GuardianTeachingScore&Subject=University+ranking&Institution=. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  19. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. http://browse.guardian.co.uk/education/2006?SearchBySubject=&FirstRow=20&SortOrderDirection=&SortOrderColumn=GuardianTeachingScore&Subject=Institution-wide&Institution=. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  20. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide2005/table/0,,-5163901,00.html?start=40&index=3&index=3. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  21. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide2004/table/0,,1222167,00.html. 
  22. ^ "University ranking by institution". The Guardian 2003 (University Guide 2004). http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/unitable/0,,-4668575,00.html. 
  23. ^ "The Sunday Times Good University Guide League Tables". The Sunday Times. http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/stug/universityguide.php. Retrieved on 03-11-2007. 
  24. ^ a b "The Sunday Times University League Table" (PDF). The Sunday Times. http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/stug2006/stug2006.pdf. Retrieved on 03-11-2007. 
  25. ^ a b c d e f g "University ranking based on performance over 10 years" (PDF). Times Online. 2007. http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/univ07ten.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. 
  26. ^ "University league table". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=HXFCSGXMNVABTQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/07/30/ncambs430.xml. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  27. ^ "The FT 2003 University ranking". Financial Times 2003. http://www.grb.uk.com/448.0.html?cHash=5015838e9d&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9&tx_ttnews%5Buid%5D=9. 
  28. ^ "FT league table 2001". FT league tables 2001. http://specials.ft.com/universities2001/FT3HLLAN6LC.html. 
  29. ^ "FT league table 1999-2000". FT league tables 1999-2000. http://specials.ft.com/ln/ftsurveys/industry/pdf/top100table.pdf. 
  30. ^ "FT league table 2000". FT league tables 2000. http://specials.ft.com/ln/ftsurveys/industry/scbbbe.htm. 
  31. ^ a b "The Independent University League Table". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/the-main-league-table-2009-813839.html. 
  32. ^ http://www.imeche.org.uk/formulastudent/
  33. ^ Brunel Racing - Formula Student 2006/07
  34. ^ Brunel Masters Motorsport

Manar Ahmed

[edit] External links


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