Birmingham City University : Key facts

Key facts

A large, multicultural and vibrant university with around 25,000 students situated in Britain’s second city.
Over 8,000 part-time students and 2,000 international students from over 80 different countries outside the EU.
The university with the highest rise in UCAS applications in 2008.
A ‘rising star’ for research – we aim to double our research in the next five years. Ranked 65 in the Times Higher Education research league table, the fourth highest post-1992 university.
A pioneer in learning and teaching recognised for our excellence in new technologies
An exemplar in employer engagement boasting links with the likes of Microsoft, Cisco and NHS West Midlands.
Originally Birmingham Polytechnic from 1971, we became the University of Central England in 1992 and Birmingham City University in October 2007.
Ranked 63 in the Guardian 2010 League Table. Three subjects ranked in the top 20 in the UK – Media Studies, Communication and Librarianship (11); Drama and Dance (16) and General Engineering (19) – and five more in the top 30 – Architecture (23), Art and Design (23), Education (26), Mechanical Engineering (25) and Music (22).
Fourth highest new university, ranked 76 in the Times Good University Guide 2010. Five subjects ranked in the top 30 – Architecture (27), Art and Design (28), Education (25), Communication and Media Studies (21) and Music (27).
Ranked 59 (up 10 places on last year) in the Independent Complete University Guide 2010. Four subjects ranked in the top 30 – Communication and Media (19), Building (22), Education (27), Music (21), Town and Country Planning (27)

Research:

A research-engaged university whose goal is to double both the quantity of research and number of postgraduate students over the next five years.
Research is central to our corporate strategy ensuring our teaching includes the most up-to-date knowledge and increasing our capacity to undertake third-stream activities with business and the community, such as knowledge transfer and enterprise engagement.
A ‘rising star’ in the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 (RAE-2008), we out-performed the majority of other new universities. Ranked 65 in the Times Higher Education research league table, the fourth highest new university.
Almost one-fifth of the total RAE-2008 submission received ‘world class’ ranking – more than any other post-1992 university – and three-quarters achieved ‘internationally recognised’ status
Art and Design is ranked in the top 10 in the UK for research – the best outside London.
Birmingham Conservatoire is ranked third in its sector for research – the best outside London.
Research funding has doubled with HEFCE awarding the University almost £1.8m of quality-related funding.

International:

An international university, attracting over 2,000 international students from over 80 different countries – 70 outside the EU.
Birmingham Institute of Art & Design is the second top recruiter for art and design in China and Malaysia, and teaches animation courses onsite in Hong Kong and Thailand.
Hosts liaison offices in China, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nigeria, and plans to launch offices in India, the Middle East and America soon.
Has a dedicated International Office to promote and develop our links and partnerships with business, public service organisations, local community, overseas governments and international organisations.
Provides a meet-and-greet service at Birmingham International Airport and an orientation week tailored to help international students settle in smoothly.
International students are given priority in the allocation of campus accommodation for the duration of their course.
In 2008, became the first Midlands university to sign a contract with the Egyptian Ministry of Education to provide teacher training for them.

Teaching:

Committed to a ‘learning by doing’ approach, our courses provide practical experience and produce graduates with the real-world skills employers need.
A pioneer in the use of new learning technologies – from cutting-edge virtual and simulation learning technology in Health to the virtual classroom software in Education and online scenario-based learning offered in our 3D city Shareville. One of the first UK universities to launch an iTunesU site.
As part of a £5m Department of Health initiative, the University was one of the first in the UK to install the first Virtual Linear Accelerator, which enables students to develop technical skills to treat patients with cancer in a virtual setting before they go on clinical placements.
The New Generation Arts Festival is the largest showcase of emerging graduate talent in Europe.
Innovative ‘Dragon’s Den’ offers Nursing students the chance to ‘sell’ themselves to university staff and invited guests from local hospitals to hone the employability skills.
Production and Technology students are using the virtual world Second Life to produce films.

Business:

Leads the Knowledge Exchange for the West Midlands, taking a national lead in the creation, co-ordination and evaluation of the 22 English Knowledge Exchange programmes.
On behalf of the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM), the University has managed the Interiors and Lifestyle industrial cluster and the Screen Image Sound cluster.
We have one of the highest numbers of KTPs of any university in the country.
Working with industry to develop solutions for learning – we teamed up with The Working Manager Limited to develop new courses and accredit existing management programmes used by over 50 organisations, many of them in the Times Top 100.
Our Engineering experts are working with Morgan Motor Company, Sirus Automotive and Rolls-Royce on a range of projects from crash analysis and in-house IT engineering systems to redeveloping the Aero Super Sports model for sale in the USA.

Estate:

Ranked 12 in the UK for Services and Facilities spend in the Times Good University Guide 2010.
Awarded the Bronze EcoCampus award in 2009 and hopes to progress to Silver in 2010.
Playing a lead role in the regeneration of the city’s Eastside district through the development of a multi-million pound City Centre Campus.
An £8.5m Sports Village opened in January 2010 featuring an indoor sports hall, 80-station fitness suite and dance and aerobic studios, as well as changing and social facilities.
A £4.5m Pavilion featuring 12 grass pitches, an all-weather pitch, two rugby pitches and two cricket nets.

Services:

We have libraries on all campuses – around 950,000 books and 9,000 print and electronic journals.
The main Kenrick Library holds more than 320,000 books, 2,000 print journals and carries more than 4,000 electronic journals online.
Following a £3m refurbishment in 2007, Kenrick Library features a suite of new individual and group study areas.
The digital library provides flexible electronic access to course material and other resources to support learning and research.
There has been substantial investment in fixed workstations and loan laptops with additional wireless network access points.
Launched a brand new e-mentoring scheme in partnership with The Brightside Trust in 2009 to give first-year students the opportunity to be mentored by second-, third- or fourth-year students, while second- and third- year students can be mentored by prospective employers to help raise aspirations of the world of work.
Our Careers Service holds the national Matrix quality standard and has been labelled ‘first rate’ by the Guardian.
Our Careers and Job Prospects Service launched The West Midlands Graduate Internship Scheme in 2009 in conjunction with Advantage West Midlands, Jobcentre Plus, and various business groups to secure quality, graduate level work experience and training for local graduates with regional employers for up to six months, at no cost to the employer.
Our two Ofsted-inspected nurseries for children aged six months upwards hold both the Sure Start Award and the Gold Award for Quality Framework.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

In December 2011, we achieved the Gold EcoCampus award and are now working towards the Platinum award.
We are ranked 9th in the UK for recycling according to the HESA Environmental Information Study 2009/10.
We are the only UK university to have a made a senior appointment dedicated to developing its CSR strategy.
Our Birmingham Conservatoire organised 25 free concerts at its Adrian Boult Hall in 2010/11, with an estimated audience of 3,000.
Through its City Centre Campus project, is one of the first UK universities to commit to reducing the amount of construction waste it sends to landfill, after signing up to the WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) Halving Waste to Landfill voluntary agreement.
One of our Students' Union's major CSR successes has been the establishment of a student group, 'First Aid Africa', which sent 17 students to Africs to teach first aid in Tanzania and Kenya.