Lancaster University

Vice Chancellor’s Message Professor Mark E. Smith Vice Chancellor, Lancaster University

When Lancaster University was first established in 1964, being ‘international’ was seen as part of the mission of the institution. Now, one in five of our students is from a country outside the UK and we have approximately 100 nationalities resident on campus. Lancaster measures its internationalism in a number of ways. Almost 30 percent of our full time research and teaching staff are non-British and we recruit our staff from over 60 countries, including India. These staff have contributed to the recognition in the most recent UK Government’s Assessment of Research that over 90 percent of the research at Lancaster is world leading or internationally significant and that some key areas of research are ranked top in the UK. Not only is so much of the research of the highest academic standard, increasingly the research is of real international importance. It is making a difference to the lives of people all over the world. No doubt this is one of the reasons why Lancaster is ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide. We are convinced that in the future universities will also be judged by the quality of their international partnerships. Lancaster University has been actively pursuing the establishment of a network of collaborative teaching and research partnerships in key countries around the world. India is a very high priority for Lancaster. We are delighted that our partnership with the GD Goenka Group which provides high quality undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in the very capital of India is deepening and growing. The partnership, which places great emphasis on employability, has already delivered industry-ready graduates equipped with the skills required for the competitive employment market. We look forward to helping future generations of students fulfil their potential and will be watching their progress with interest.