London South Bank University
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London South Bank University is a central London university with around 20,000 students and 1,700 staff in the London Borough of Southwark. The Chancellor is the newscaster Sir Trevor McDonald and the Vice-Chancellor is the historian Professor Deian Hopkin.
History
The Borough Polytechnic Institute opened in 1892. In 1970, it changed its name to the Polytechnic of the South Bank and in 1989 it changed again to South Bank Polytechnic. In 1992, it became one of the Conservative government's new universities, calling itself South Bank University (often suffixed "London"). Most recently, in 2003, it changed its name to London South Bank University.
The university hosts the oldest bakery school in the world, the National Bakery School, founded in 1894.
Students
Of those students from the United Kingdom, a third are from the London Borough of Southwark, a third from the rest of Greater London and the remaining third from the rest of the United Kingdom. There are nearly 2,500 international students from more than 90 different countries giving the university a very cosmopolitan and culturally rich feel. 56% of the student population are from ethnic minorities and a large proportion of the students are classified as mature (over 21 when they start their course).
Campus
The main campus is located in a district called The Borough, south east of Waterloo, south west of London Bridge and north of Elephant and Castle stations. The site is about 5 minutes walk from London's South Bank, a bustling arts zone on the Thames that includes the National Film Theatre, the Royal Festival Hall and further along the river, the Tate Modern. To the north of the campus is Borough Road, where the main entrance is located, to the west is London Road and to the east is Southwark Bridge Road. At the northeast corner is St George's Circus.
In particular, the university has gained recognition for achievements in health & social care, business & computing, arts & humanities and engineering & built environment, making international contributions in such fields as formal methods and software engineering (see the Institute for Computing Research, for example). Recently the university ranked 8th in the UK for graduate salaries – a fact it attributes to strongly vocational courses and good links with employers.
There are two smaller campuses in East London; at Whipps Cross Hospital in the London Borough of Waltham Forest and at Harold Wood Hospital in the London Borough of Havering.
Degree days
The University uses the local St George's Cathedral for its degree day ceremonies, with receptions afterwards in the grounds of the Imperial War Museum. Southwark Cathedral is used for honorary degree day ceremonies, often with a reception at the Glaziers Hall next to London Bridge.
Notable alumni
See also
External links
- [London South Bank University website]
- [Phone book]
- [Library information (Lis@)]
- [HERO information]
- [Museum information]
- [Centre for Knowledge Transfer]
- [Centre for Applied Formal Methods]
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