As all our campuses are now filling up with students once more, I wanted to write primarily to thank everyone for the huge amount of work to get us to this point and have everything ready for the new term.
All our campuses look absolutely fantastic: better than ever this year. Welcome Week for the new students is in full swing, and it’s wonderful to see our students enjoying all that is on offer. Please do stop to ask if you can help any student who looks confused or worried – for some of them, it will be their first time away from home, and I hope that we can do everything possible to make them feel as welcome and supported as possible.
I know that all staff across the University have worked incredibly hard to get us to this point: thank you so much to everyone involved.
Student recruitment and enrolment
I wrote to you previously about our student recruitment position and it is worth returning to this again, as our new students are currently enrolling. Thanks to the hard work of colleagues across the University we are in a fantastic position: we have received over 103,000 applications for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes starting in September, which is an all-time high and shows the popularity of our University. We closed this year’s undergraduate cycle 423 over target, and are much further ahead than we are usually at this point with enrolment, with less than 750 undergraduate students still to enrol. At PGT level, we are expecting to end up somewhere between 250 and 500 students over target. Well done to everyone!
As I mentioned before, there is complexity beneath these top-level figures: in some areas, targets were exceeded quite significantly and we are focusing our extra resource on those areas to enable them to manage their large intakes. In other areas, unfortunately we did not meet the required targets for some degree programmes and we will be looking to see how we can manage this going forward. At University level though it is a truly fantastic result, and I am very grateful to all of you for your hard work and commitment.
New campus open and welcoming its first cohort
This month, the London City Institute of Technology (LCIoT) opens its doors to its first cohort of students at London City Island. The LCIoT is a partnership between Queen Mary, Newham College and a wide range of employers. The Institute will deliver higher technical education and apprenticeships with a focus on STEM subjects, such as engineering, digital and construction. This exciting collaboration opens the doors of opportunity to an even wider range of potential students, and will help accelerate those students into the careers of their choice. For more information, visit our website.
Our patron Queen Elizabeth II
The sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II affects us all in different ways. The Queen was our patron, and visited our University several times: visit our website for more information. The national and international response to the Queen’s passing has demonstrated how much she was respected and the big role she played in so many people’s lives. On Monday, we screened the State Funeral on three of our campuses in London, and I understand many staff and students gathered to watch the Funeral together.
Please remember if you are struggling with recent events, or with anything else, there is support for you via our employee assistance programme. Do reach out if you need help.
Thanks again for all your hard work, and do please continue to look after yourselves and each other.
Professor Colin Bailey, CBE, FREng, BEng, PhD, CEng, FICE, FIStructE, MIFireEPresident and Principal