The first new “greenfield” university in Britain will launch on Thursday 5th March 2015, with the support of a strong coalition of leading universities, engineers, businesspeople and politicians. It will open its doors to the first 300 students at its city centre campus in Hereford in September 2017.
The New Model In Technology & Engineering seeks to radically change the way engineering and related technologies are taught in Britain. Its aim is to help tackle the growing shortage of graduates who combine such degrees with the broad range of additional applied analytical thinking, innovation, interpersonal and leadership skills that employers seek. It is inspired and supported by the radical and renowned Olin College of Engineering in America
Karen Usher, co-leader of the Development Team (who has been involved since its very inception) said: “Tomorrow marks the point at which Britain gets a new university to help address the country’s chronic shortage of suitable technology and engineering graduates. The combination of widespread backing from three world-class academic partners means that our doors will open in Autumn 2017 for the first students to enter this new university in a brand new campus in Hereford’s historic centre.
“It will be the first university in Europe to fully adopt the tried and tested approach of America’s Olin College of Engineering. It will be about not just giving Britain more engineering graduates, but importantly graduates who will be equipped additionally with the broader business, innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership skills that British employers need but find to be in very short supply.”
The launch includes the unveiling of:
· Its backing by UK universities Bristol and Warwick;
· The name of the new university – New Model In Technology & Engineering (NMITE);
· Confirmation of the zone in which the Hereford campus will be built;
· Outline designs of some of the initial university buildings.
The launch was marked by the planting of an oak tree in Hereford High Town by the Development Team members and three students who inspired the project’s inception back in 2012, when they spoke passionately of the need for a university in Hereford at a Herefordshire Council public consultation.”
Sir Eric Thomas, vice-chancellor of the University of Bristol, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in this new venture in Hereford, drawing on our expertise in delivering high quality engineering programmes to provide advice on curriculum development and the deployment of innovative teaching methods.”
Sir Eric added: “All universities have a responsibility to equip their students with the skills needed for their future lives, and we will be working with NMITE to see how these methods can be used for the benefit of their students, the engineering and technology sector, and the UK.”
Professor Pam Thomas, pro-vice-chancellor (for People and Public Engagement) at the University of Warwick, said: “We have been delighted to have been asked to help and advise our colleagues at NMITE on areas such as syllabus and pedagogy. We are now beginning to advise and explore with our NMITE colleagues as to how degrees could be awarded to students in the early years of its operation.
“The fact that this would be the first new greenfield university in 40 years has a great deal of resonance with the experience of the University of Warwick as this very year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Warwick’s creation on a greenfield site, and our rise to become one of the UK’s top ten research-led universities.”
Dr Richard Miller, president of the Olin College of Engineering (Massachusetts, USA), said “Olin College of Engineering is supporting the initiative by providing consultation and advice. Olin College is a new institution with a national mission to change higher education in ways that have been needed for a generation. It is more than a highly selective and respected undergraduate programme in engineering—it is a kind of privately funded national laboratory for STEM education.
“Founded in 1997 thanks to a nearly $500m investment by the F.W. Olin Foundation for the specific purpose of ‘becoming an important and constant contributor to the advancement of engineering education in America and throughout the world,’ it has been visited by more than 480 universities in the last 5 years alone.”
Alistair Neill, chief executive of Herefordshire Council, said: “Herefordshire Council strongly supports this transformative project, and we will continue to work very closely with its project leaders in preparing for the university to be established.
“We live in a knowledge economy, nationally and internationally – and our future success and that of our young adults depends heavily on being genuinely competitive in this very challenging international arena. Herefordshire’s new university will gear the county to achieve its share of that success. It is also an incredibly powerful economic generator and will introduce very significant new investment into the county.”
Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford & South Herefordshire, said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed his support for the project in his speech in the Midlands last month, and I am working closely with Treasury officials and the Universities Minister to help take the project to the next stage.
“I first made the argument for a university of Herefordshire in 2009. The project has the potential to serve as a model and a testing ground for innovation in UK higher education, whilst also transforming Herefordshire’s economy, and the opportunities available to our young people.”
