More branch campuses opening in the city
But most of them belong to UK universities, not overseas institutions. According to last year’s OBHE report there are six international branch campuses in London (four from US universities and one each from Malaysia and Iran). There are many more offices and outposts too. However, the growth seems to be coming from UK institutions opening offshoots to offer courses, primarily professional and postgraduate, in the major market of the metropolis.
The latest arrival, according to Universities News, the University of Liverpool:
Liverpool University will open a campus in London for students attracted by studying in the capital.
It is the first of Britain’s leading universities to open a campus in London and may prompt other institutions to follow suit.
Many Liverpool undergraduates want to continue studying for master’s degrees but want to do so in London. Opening a campus in the capital is a way to “keep them in the family” according to Professor Sir Howard Newby, vice-chancellor of Liverpool.
The university has leased a former bank building on the edge of the City of London and about 150 students will enrol on the first courses there in September.
At full capacity the campus will hold up to 1,500 students, mostly postgraduates studying courses such as business and law. Many of them are expected to be mid-career professionals who need a master’s degree to progress in their field.
But Liverpool are far from first to open a London branch. Coventry, Sunderland, GCU, Glyndwr, Ulster, Anglia Ruskin, Bangor and Cumbria universities all have outposts in the capital.
So there is some way to go before London catches up with UAE’s 37 branch campuses but it is still an interesting trend.
