| University Campus Suffolk | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1 August 2007 |
| Location | Suffolk, England |
| Campus | Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft |
| Affiliations | University of East Anglia, University of Essex, West Suffolk College, Great Yarmouth College, Lowestoft College, Otley College, East of England Development Agency, Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk County Council |
| Website |
University Campus Suffolk |
University Campus Suffolk (UCS) is an educational institution located in the county of Suffolk, United Kingdom that welcomed its first students in September 2007. Until then Suffolk was one of only three counties in England which did not have a University campus[1] (the others being Wiltshire and Herefordshire). UCS is collaboration between its parent universities, the University of Essex and the University of East Anglia, its partner colleges and local government.
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In 2003, Suffolk County Council reinvigorated long-held ambitions for a university for Suffolk by establishing a stakeholder group, made up of senior representatives from University of East Anglia, University of Essex, Suffolk College, East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Suffolk Learning and Skills Council, Suffolk County Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk Chief Executive's Group and Suffolk Development Agency.
Following funding pledges from Ipswich Borough Council and Suffolk County Council in 2004, UCS was backed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) with £15m worth of funding in 2005.[2] In the same year Lowestoft College, West Suffolk College and Otley College joined Suffolk College as partner colleges.
In 2006 Great Yarmouth College joined as a partner college. UCS appointed Professor Bob Anderson as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive [1], UCS obtained a £17.5m grant from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and detailed designs of its first academic building in Ipswich were released [2]. The building was officially opened in 2009 by HRH The Earl of Wessex [3].
UCS officially welcomed its first students in September 2007.
University Campus Suffolk's teaching is split into five schools across six centres: Bury St. Edmunds, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Otley, Suffolk New College and Ipswich as the hub.
Offers degrees in the arts ranging from Fine Art to English Literature to Computer Games Design. The Suffolk School of Arts courses often require students to work with peers, participate in research projects and undertake work placements.
One initiative is the Centre for Design Innovation (CDI) which runs the M.A. Design Context and Practice programmes. The CDI aims are stated as to "provide an environment within which innovative design problem solving may thrive, unconstrained by the strictures of commercial competitive practice". The creator and current head of the CDI is Dr. Mike Doherty and the current external examiner is Colin Davies, Head of Design at Liverpool John Moore University and contributor to FACT, Liverpool. Recent students include chip tune musician and technological anthropologist Matthew C. Applegate (aka Pixelh8) and the centre has performed collaborative research with other universities, government and commercial organisations. UCS awarded the first MA Design Context in Practice in 2010.
The School of Applied Social Sciences currently has over 800 students and 33 members of staff based in Ipswich delivering a range of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level in Early Years, Psychology, Sociology, Criminology, Youth Studies, Social Work and Education. The School is also a key provider of teacher training in the region, through the SCITT schemes based in Ipswich and Clacton. The School claims to bring together high academic standards with real world professionalism and works closely with various national and local government agencies such as the Children’s Workforce Development Council| and the General Social Care Council| to transform and professionalise the workforce.
The School of Business, Leadership and Enterprise comprises two Divisions: the long established Division of Business and the newly formed Division of Leadership and Enterprise. The Division of Leadership and Enterprise will build on the academic developments which have already taken place in this area.
The School has around 500 students (including a small but growing international intake). The School has courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including a full and part-time MBA. It is currently reviewing its offer with the expectation of further developments particularly at postgraduate level.
Links with business are strong, especially locally in the East of England, with involvement in curriculum development, continuing professional development, research and consultancy. The School is planning for significant growth in student numbers, further development of its external links and ongoing internationalisation of the curriculum.
The School team presently support approximately 800 full and part-time students studying Foundation degrees, Diplomas, Honours degrees, Continued Professional Development (CPD) and postgraduate awards. To support these programmes we have 40 academic staff based in Ipswich and across the region, who each have extensive expertise and qualifications. The majority of the team hold a professional registration mainly with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and in addition are qualified lecturers in higher education and hold postgraduate and doctoral qualifications. [5]
The School [6] is a key provider of professional healthcare courses across the East of England and works closely with employers, the NHS, local government and other not-for-profit organisations, key stakeholders and industrial partners as well as the Suffolk County Welfare Group. In addition to Health related pre-registration courses at Honours and Foundation degree level the School also provides both Masters degrees and CPD courses.
Head of School, Professor Brendon Noble, Is an expert in bone diseases, stem cells and regenerative medicine. Members of academic staff undertake research and consultancy in a number of fields including cell therapy manufacture, medical devices, exercise and ageing, drug discovery, nursing practice, public health and virtual environments and non-invasive imaging.
The school has raised some £1.97m research funding in the last year.
The Ipswich Campus is the hub of UCS and is located on the waterfront in the Ipswich Education Quarter, situated near the centre of the county town. The Waterfront Building, located in the heart of the Ipswich Waterfront, is the first dedicated teaching, learning and social space for UCS.
The building has six floors, two main lecture theatres each seating 140 people and 34 teaching rooms seating between 18 and 80 people. Adjacent to the reception is an exhibition space, which hosts a range of exhibitions throughout the year, showcasing the work of students, alumni, staff and guest artists.
Every teaching room has AV equipment. In the Learning Resource Centre (on the second floor) students have access to over 50 iMacs. The dual function technology allows students to choose between Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac software, allowing students to utilise the technology that best supports their chosen field of study.
The campus was designed by RMJM Architects and is intended to be a landmark building and the focus for the "Ipswich Education Quarter".[3]
The James Hehir Building, named after the former Ipswich Borough Council Chief Executive who was dedicated both to education and the Waterfront, is a new six storey, 4013m² building which stands less than a quarter of a mile from the main Waterfront Building at the University Quay site. This £21m building is home to specialist teaching facilities including clinical skills laboratories, physiology and sports science laboratories, and an iLab, as well as general teaching and study space.
The ground floor is home to the new UCS Union bar, Kai, which offers students a café and bar space to socialise in. The first and second floors offer students informal learning spaces as well as the new iLab and a clinical skills area. The 3rd floor caters for both staff and students with an open plan office accommodating 17 members of staff and a new exercise lab. The 4th floor is the final area used by UCS students and it offers state of the art science labs.
The 5th floor space is being leased to the Eastern Enterprise Hub. The Enterprise Hub will enable communities in the East to have a central focus for enterprise learning that capitalises on the region’s strengths in such areas as R&D, while aiming to broaden the area’s economic base, particularly in support of new sectors. The new hub will also seek to overcome the twin challenges of youth unemployment and low skills while stimulating and supporting new business start-ups in the region.
The James Hehir Building was completed within the 18 months timescale by the professional team for the Ipswich Campus developments project which includes Wilmott Dixon Construction and archiects RMJM. The building has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent rating which was also achieved by the UCS Waterfront Building in 2008.
The James Hehir Building stands next to the 600-bed student residence, Athena Hall, and is a welcome edition to the Ipswich Waterfront and to UCS.
The University Quay site will continue to develop over the next five years, future modules of the academic building will include an extensive library and learning resources centre [7].
Suffolk New College [8] is located in the Education Quarter of Ipswich, adjacent to the UCS Ipswich campus. The college now occupies a new, £70 million building situated on Rope Walk, just to the north of the previous college site.
The college offers seven Higher Education courses in the area of Construction and the Built Environment.
FdSc Architectural Technology [9], FdSc Civil Engineering [10], FdSc Construction Management [11], BSc (Hons) Civil Engineering (progression route) [12], BSc (Hons) Construction Management (progression route) [13]
The Otley Centre is located at the site of Otley College, situated eight miles north of Ipswich.
At the Otley Centre there is an HE Support Tutor whose role is to ensure that students have access to all the facilities and help required in order to get the most out of their studies. HE students also benefit from their own dedicated study area and base rooms.
The Centre offers a range of Foundation degrees for those students interested in studying for a higher education qualification with a specific vocational element plus a top up to Honours degree as well as teacher training.
Animal Science & Welfare [14], Animal Science & Welfare (Equine Health) [15], Arboriculture [16], Fishery Management and Sustainable Aquaculture [17], Landscape and Garden Design [18], Sustainable Land Use Management [19], Teaching, Training & Development [20], Wildlife Management and Conservation [21], Professional Studies (progression from Foundation Degree to Honours) [22], Certificate in Education / Professional Graduate Certificate in Education [23]
The Bury St Edmunds Centre is located at the site of West Suffolk College, an established centre for Higher Education with a twenty year pedigree.
The Bury St Edmunds Centre delivers a range of courses to the local community and beyond.
Since 2009, UCS Bury St Edmunds began offering 26 degree titles to over 700 students. There is a wide range of career-related foundation degrees, which combine work with study, honours degree programmes and postgraduate level qualifications.
Courses available include Architectural Technology; Salon Management; Teaching, Training and Development; Computing and Management; Graphic Communication.
There are two Access to Education awards – Access to Humanities and Access to Health and Social Care.
In September 2007 the new Arts and Science facility opened in Leonardo House. The next stage of a five year building plan will be a new Technology Centre.
In recent years, West Suffolk College has created a £1.5 million building for students in the Faculty of Humanities and Health and spent substantial amounts on refurbishments across a whole range of subject areas. There are plans to build a further 19,000 square metres over the next few years. The redevelopment will make better use of the large woodland area adjacent to the campus.
Other changes are designed to improve car parking and traffic flow to the site, in conjunction with the Public Service village being created by St Edmundsbury Borough Council.[4]
The Lowestoft Centre is located at the site of Lowestoft College.
The Centre provides higher education courses to serve the academic, vocational, employment and professional needs of the communities in the east of England. UCS Lowestoft has recently developed the courses it offers, and now has a suite of Foundation degrees. UCS Lowestoft offers a combination of more conventional subjects such as Business Management and Children’s Care, Learning and Development [24] with some more unusual options including Football Development and Coaching [25].
The campus is currently undergoing a major transformation. The development is set to integrate existing buildings with new purpose built blocks covering all academic areas. The master plan is based on a quadrangle design. The cost of redevelopment is estimated at £50 million and the anticipated completion date is 2012.[26]
UCS Great Yarmouth[27], located at the site of Great Yarmouth College.
UCS Great Yarmouth offers its students a range of Foundation and Honours degrees.
The majority of lecturers teaching Foundation and Honours degrees still work in, and are active in, their specialism’s and have forged lasting relationships with employers.
UCS is the lead partner on the LEAP (Learning and Enterprise Access Points) project. The LEAPs are education and training points located in market towns across Suffolk. The aim of the LEAPs is to provide access to a range of education opportunities from basic skills to Higher Education. UCS developed LEAPs around Suffolk by working with the local government and the East of England Development Agency.
The Ipswich Campus has a 600 room halls of residence offering contemporary living for students and features 24 hour security, a washing room and a games room for all residents to use. Off-campus accommodation is accredited and supported by the UCS Accommodation Team [28]
University Campus Suffolk operates as a "Centre for Applied Sustainability" which means in their day-to-day operations they are playing closer attention to; minimising waste produced by the organisation, which includes recycling; reducing the consumption of energy; saving/ being more efficient with consumption of water; helping students and staff travel in sustainable ways; and constructing and refurbishing buildings sustainably [29].
An example of UCSs work with sustainability is the Phase 1 campus development which has been awarded a BREEAM (BRE's Environmental Assessment method). This signifies that the development is setting the "best practice in sustainable development" [30].
University Campus Suffolk Union provides representation, support and other services for its membership, the students of UCS. The Union operates a bar, café, shop and six sports clubs on campus.
The Union was formed on 1 August 2007, the same day UCS was officially launched.
The current President is Jonathan Wright. He was elected in April 2011.