Middlesex University London

HISTORY

Middlesex University is a public university in Hendon, north west London, England. It is located within the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of the Million+ working group. As is the case with many former polytechnics, Middlesex can trace its history back to the 19th century, yet was not formally organised as a teaching institution until 1973. Since 2000, the university has been reducing the number of campuses dotted around London’s North Circular Road in an effort to cut costs and provide a better student experience by consolidating most of the university at the flagship campus in Hendon. As of the 2013 academic year, its estate strategy which has cost £150 million has concentrated the university on one site in north London. In 2012, the university re-structured its academic schools to align them more closely with the needs of industry. Courses at Middlesex are now delivered by the schools of Business, Law, Art and Design, Health and Education, Media and Performing Arts and Science and Technology, alongside the university Institute for Work Based Learning.

The university grew out of merger between different schools and colleges in North London. The oldest and perhaps the most prominent was the Hornsey College of Art, founded in 1882. Other institutions included Ponders End Technical Institute (founded in 1901) and Hendon Technical Institute (founded in 1939). All three were amalgamated to form Middlesex Polytechnic in January 1973. Before becoming a university in 1992, Middlesex expanded further by adding three more colleges in north London. While continuing to grow through mergers in the 1990s, the university had also begun developing its international presence, by opening regional offices in continental Europe. As of July 2011, it has been operating 21 such offices worldwide. Since 2000, the university launched a major restructuring programme, which translated into a total image rebrand in 2003, the closure of a number of campuses over 2005–2012, the expansion of other campuses and the consolidation of the university’s activities on fewer, bigger campuses in north London. Following the review of the sustainability of its academic programmes, the university implemented a series of cost-containment adjustments over 2005–2006. In late 2005 it decided to stop offering history courses in an attempt to reduce a £10 million deficit. The decision was met with hostility from Middlesex’s student union as well as from the National Union of Students. In other moves to save costs, the university made 175 voluntary redundancies, including 33 academic staff, a measure that was intended to save £5 million. Since 2000, Middlesex has embarked on a strategy to achieve ‘fewer, better campuses’ to reduce costs and improve its long-term sustainability. The strategy translated into the disposal of several small arts campuses in Bedford, Hampstead and Wood Green and the larger, but still uneconomic and unattractive campuses at Bounds Green, Enfield and Tottenham. The university also closed the Corporate Services building at the North London Business Park and consolidated most of the functions carried out on these sites at Hendon, where it aims to accommodate nearly all its London-based teaching. In 2010, Middlesex announced the closure of its Philosophy department, because it was judged to be not financially sustainable. This was despite the fact that it had been the highest ranking department in the university’s latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in 2008, building on its grade of 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.  An international campaign of support was quickly organised, with figures such as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jean-Luc Nancy, Slavoj Žižek, Étienne Balibar, David Harvey, Isabelle Stengers expressing their strong disapproval. Articles condemning the decision appeared in the national press and students protested on campus and elsewhere for its restitution. In early June 2010 it was announced that the postgraduate component, the CRMEP, was to be transferred to Kingston University, but the undergraduate programme was still to be phased out.

COURSES

The university is divided into six schools and an Institute for Work Based Learning.

• School of Art and Design
• School of Media and Performing Arts
• Business School
• School of Science and Technology
• School of Health and Education
• School of Law
• Institute for Work Based Learning

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Middlesex recognises a wide range of UK and overseas qualifications. They normally calculate UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 but a maximum of 3 A levels or equivalents such as BTEC qualifications.

Mature students with relevant work experience will be considered for entry to undergraduate programmes.

Students that have achieved a Foundation Degree, CertHE, DipHE, HNC, HND or a number of modules of an undergraduate degree courses at another university may be able to enter the second or third year of an undergraduate course.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

Their flexible curriculum is influenced by their internationally recognised research, real world expertise and their global outlook.

90% of all their graduates are in employment within six months of graduating with 85% of students saying Middlesex had improved their personal development (NSS 2014).

TEACHING STANDARDS

Challenging and progressive, their teaching delivers subject-specific knowledge alongside transferable skills to prepare the student fully for life after graduation. Their flexible curriculum is influenced by their internationally recognised research, real world expertise and their global outlook. They employ over 1,700 staff from around the world who are leaders in their professional areas and bring highly valuable expertise and specialist knowledge to their curriculum. Their Institute for Work Based Learning is a recognised Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.  Their innovative teaching approach challenges students to put their academic knowledge into practice with opportunities such as competitions, field trips and events to take part in.  86% of their students said their academic staff are enthusiastic about what they are teaching (NSS 2014). From award-winning professionals to pioneering researchers and specialist practitioners, their teachers are some of the best in their fields. A number of academics have had their teaching excellence recognised, achieving Senior or Principal Fellowships from the Higher Education Academy.

CAREERS GUIDANCE

In October 2013, the new Employability Service was launched to enhance graduate employment and create a place for students to gain advice on a journey into employment and gaining skills.

The new innovative service includes:

MDX Employability Support – 24/7 support service on a one-to-one basis for students who need advice on their job search and selection process –f rom application to interview. Students can gain support through telephone, email and webcam technologies. The service is available to students for life.

MDXJobs.com – an online employability portal packed full of resources, templates and self-assessments to help students identify and develop skills that employers look for as well as thousands of vacancies including those sourced specifically for Middlesex students.

Employability Business Partner – dedicated one-to-one support from a partner from their Schools, to help students secure a placement, internship or volunteering opportunity.

MDX Employability Self-Assessment – an online tool enabling students to access employability skills against the CBI definition of employability and support on their skills gap.

Skills workshops and employability events are available, tailored to programmes through which students can network with employers, alumni and professional bodies at the same time as developing valuable employability skills.

Their Enterprise Development Hub, sponsored by the Business School, is dedicated to nurturing student ideas. They offer one-to-one mentoring and workshops to help students start or grow their own business and an annual Enterprise Week crammed full of events to put students in direct contact with successful Alumni and other entrepreneurs.

Part of the School of Science & Technology, redloop, is their centre for design and innovation that offers work experience and placements that enable students to take part in delivering projects for commercial clients and at the same time develop their employability skills.

At Middlesex, the student will gain valuable industry insights and professional contacts through regular events with employers.