City universities to create ‘new model’ for higher education
TWO major Birmingham universities are expanding a unique partnership in a bid to encourage more students into higher education.
The University of Birmingham and University College Birmingham (UCB) have had a long-standing relationship spanning more than two decades as the former has accredited 20,000 UCB degrees.
Now a series of initiatives are due to be announced from September in what is believed to be the only partnership of its kind in the UK. It would create a new model for how the higher education and further education sectors work together including degree apprenticeships, which will initially focus on nursing.
There will also be training of teaching staff, shared student facilities and help for international students to access education opportunities in the city.
The University of Birmingham currently has 34,000 students based at its Edgbaston campus while UCB teaches around 7,000.
University of Birmingham vicechancellor Sir David Eastwood said: “We’re one of the largest universities in the country and in UCB you have a really distinctive centre knows what it’s good at.
“Put those two into a partnership and it creates a platform whereby we can do things together.
“This alliance represents a new model for collaboration, harnessing the distinctive and collective strengths of our two universities while further strengthening educational excellence in Birmingham and the region.”
UCB vice-chancellor Ray Linforth added: “We’ve discovered that, with the link we’ve had with the University of Birmingham for more than 20 which years, many of our students are moving from UCB to the university to complete their studies.
“That progression and pathway is already there but we want to be able to offer that progression to a broader group of students.
“UCB is delighted to establish this pioneering partnership.
“It sees both our universities developing innovative education and training pathways that give industry what it needs while offering a compelling new model for the further education and higher education sectors.”