Established in 1909 as a small technical institute, Loughborough University, located in Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England, has been seeking tie-ups with the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs). With a strength of 17,008 students (15 per cent of whom are international including 159 students from India), the university has some research work to its credit. Recently, Professor Robert Allison, Vice-Chancellor and President, Loughborough University, visited India for the first time. Talking to BW Businessworld, Allison spoke about the courses provided by the university as well as benefits of tie-ups. The University is working with industry and for the UK Government through national research centres on campus to provide real solutions to real problems such as water scarcity, clean and renewable energy sources, sustainable buildings, transport and bio-engineering. They are also looking to develop fellowship schemes and getting more PhD students, as well as placements, so that faculty members and students can move freely between both the universities and reap the benefit of conducting research in a different country while being rooted at a leading university.
Why are you seeking tie-ups with IITs and other engineering colleges?Loughborough is one of the UK's leading universities for engineering and science; all of our engineering departments are ranked within the top 10 or even top 5 in the UK for teaching and research. We began teaching in 1909 and was awarded the Royal Charter in 1966, becoming the UK's first technical university. For several of our undergraduate engineering degrees, our entry requirements are the same as Cambridge, thus indicating their quality and our intent to teach the very best students. It therefore makes perfect sense for us to want to work more closely with pre-eminent Indian universities for engineering. Our relationship with IIT Delhi in fact dates back to our first research collaboration in 1977. We currently have active research projects with IIT Madras and IIT Bombay that have successfully received funding from the DST and the UK and European governments. The memorandums of understanding that have been signed during this trip are designed to nurture further collaborations.
What kind of courses will you bring through these tie-ups in India?The links are primarily at research level in the first instance; Loughborough is working with industry and for the UK Government through national research centres on our campus to provide real solutions to real problems such as water scarcity, clean and renewable energy sources, sustainable buildings, transport and bio-engineering. These are also priority areas for India and indeed most countries in the world. The IITs have strengths and research interests in these areas so there is clear synergy. We are also looking to develop fellowship schemes and PhD studentships, as well as placements, so that faculty members and students can move freely between both the universities and benefit from the different perspective of conducting research in a different country but at a leading university.
What are the benefits Indian students get from this relationship?There are a number of benefits; Indian students will be able to access not just the expertise at the IITs but also have the opportunity to access the faculty expertise and world class technical facilities at Loughborough. We will invest in scholarships of up to 100 per cent of the tuition fees in some cases to attract and reward the best Indian students.
What emerging trends have you seen in higher education space in India?The first thing to say is that India is recognised as having some of the best universities in the Asia region and indeed the world in a range of areas. There is clearly a move towards fostering entrepreneurship; so encouraging and supporting student business spin-off ideas and incubation. There is also a move towards closer links with industry in order to carry out research that has a practical application and value to solve the challenges that India faces as it looks to become the world's leading economy. These are the two areas where Loughborough has a strong track record through our established science and enterprise park on campus, where there is incubation space and business start-up services, and also through our research in entrepreneurship and innovation. Loughborough University is renowned for its partnerships with industry and our research and innovation is directed towards meeting the needs of business but also society. India's industry is both dynamic and fast developing, alongside its Higher Education sector, and we're keen to enhance our engagement with this vibrant country.
How different is Loughborough University from other universities in UK?In three very clear and very important ways; experience, employability and education quality.
To start with, Experience: we have a campus in Loughborough, 1 hour 15 minutes north of London, that is the largest single site campus in the UK at over 400 acres (120 hectares). It is safe, friendly, affordable and has the best sports facilities of any European university, winning the UK universities sports competition 34 years in a row and there is independent research which demonstrates that students who take part in sport (performance, coaching, volunteering or refereeing) earn almost £3,000 a year more when they first get a job than those who do not and around £6,000 a year more over their lifetime. We have been voted the UK's best student experience for 6 years in a row and was this year voted the best student lifestyle in the UK with the best student support. 86 per cent of students that visit our campus before they study make us their first choice. With over 2,000 students from 150 different countries we offer a truly international student community experience. We then also have a new London campus opening in 2015 on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in central London that will offer a unique experience for students wanting a bigger city lifestyle and provide programmes in new exciting areas such as Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, and Design and Digital Technologies. Loughborough students have raised over £1 million each year for the last 5 years for charity and were invited by the British Prime Minister to visit him in his residency, 10 Downing Street, in recognition of this achievement.
Employability; we offer the biggest on campus company placement fairs in the UK with over 300 companies attending every year including blue chip partners like Tata, Microsoft, IBM, Morgan Stanley, Apple, Rolls Royce, Ford, Unilever, Deloitte, PriceWaterhouseCooper, GlaxoSmithKline, Coca Cola, GE, 3Metc. Why do they attend? Because they know that our graduates have the right level of technical knowledge and application but also the personal skills and attributes to benefit their organisations. 100 per cent of our undergraduate programmes offer a paid work placement year with a company. At Loughborough, over 400 engineering students each year go on an industrial placement with over 250 different companies, and around 300 students from the Business School get placed. We are the UK's leading university for engineering placements; sending 70 per cent more students on year-long placements than any other university. Students that complete a placement year receive an additional qualification called a Diploma in Industrial Studies (DIS) these placement can be in the UK or overseas. Our graduate employability rates are at over 90 per cent, and 97 per cent of engineering graduates that complete a placement year are offered a job by a company before they graduate. We train and graduate more engineers than any other UK university and all of our degrees are accredited by the professional bodies. 70 per cent of Loughborough's research is carried out in collaboration with external partners; UK national average for universities is 20 per cent. Our student incubation centre provides students with advice and support to develop their business ideas and in 2 of the 3 years that is has been running; Loughborough students have won the national award for the UK's most entrepreneurial student with their business ideas. Our Innovation Centre has accounted for over 30 spin-out companies and 40 start-up companies.
Education Quality; Loughborough was ranked 13th in the UK this year by the Times / Sunday Times and consistently has been placed in the UK top 15 for the last decade. 14 of our departments have been ranked in the UK Top 10. In the 16 years since they were first introduced, Loughborough has also been awarded 7 of the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prizes that recognise research that is of national impact and importance, only Oxford has more with 9. In the UK government's independent ranking for research we are a top 20 university and was the fastest growing for research in the UK. As well as our success in Engineering, we are also ranked number 1 for teaching and research in Fine Arts, but also Industrial and Engineering Design, and our Business School is top 5.
What are your future plans?with our first Indian students graduated with us in the 1940's, we have links with India that go back a very long time. We want to build on this relationship, to appreciate the achievement of the past but also look to the future. This visit by the Vice Chancellor and President symbolises clearly our commitment to working longer term with Indian universities and students for the benefit of all concerned.
Any message that you would like to give Indian students?If you want a unique experience, to study at a campus where you can feel safe, valued and well supported, where you can obtain not only a top UK university degree that is globally recognised but also develop soft skills such as team working, communication and problem solving, which makes you more attractive to the top employers then consider Loughborough. We have links with industry that are unparalleled; Rolls Royce, Ford, Caterpillar, Jaguar Land Rover all have R&D facilities and training centres on our campus. We focus on major industry collaborations that make a contribution to society. But also we have a first rate student incubation centre to nurture your business skills and ideas. If you would like to be a part of this then visit our website and find out more.
