Aston University
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| Aston University | |
|---|---|
| Image:Aston logo.jpg | |
| Motto: | Forward |
| Established | 1895 (as Birmingham Municipal Technical School), 1966 Aston University |
| Type: | Public |
| Endowment: | £1.9 million [1] |
| Chancellor: | Sir Michael Bett, CBE |
| Vice-Chancellor: | Professor Julia King, CBE, FREng |
| Staff: | 1,000+ |
| Students: | 8,915 [2] |
| Undergraduates: | 6,505 [2] |
| Postgraduates: | 2,410 [2] |
| Location | Birmingham, West Midlands, England |
| Campus: | 50 acres, city centre, self contained, grass and paving, small lake and other water features |
| Affiliations: | Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities Association of Commonwealth Universities |
| Website: | http://www.aston.ac.uk/ |
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university, situated on a 40-acre (0.16km²) campus at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.[3]
Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School,[4] Aston achieved university status on 22 April 1966. Following from its background in Technology, Business, Sciences, Engineering and applied subjects, Aston continues to have a focus on industry and commerce.[3] The University also has a thriving School of Languages and Social Sciences. A majority of students are registered on courses leading to a BSc[5] and over 70 per cent of undergraduate students at Aston are enrolled on four-year "sandwich" courses, spending a year abroad or on industry placements.[3][6] The university emphasises its focus on industry placements and graduate employment record:[7] in 2004, 81.4 per cent of first degree graduates found employment within six months of graduation, compared to the UK national average of 72 per cent.[8]
Aston is a relatively small university in terms of student numbers, serving just over 7,000 full-time undergraduates,[2] compared with the 16,340[2] of its nearest neighbour institution, the University of Birmingham. Aston also has 1,800 postgraduate students (861 full time) on MSc, PhD, PGDip and MBA programmes. Aston's smaller size in part contributes its reputation as a friendly University with a lively programme of student activities. Aston Business School (part of the University) celebrated its 60 year anniversary in 2007, one of the most established in the UK.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] History
Founded in 1895 as The Birmingham Municipal Technical School, it officially became the University of Aston in Birmingham on receipt of its Royal Charter on 22 April 1966. Sir Michael Bett took over the position of Chancellor on October 21, 2004 from Sir Adrian Cadbury, whose younger brother Sir Dominic Cadbury is Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. Part of Birmingham City University's Institute of Art and Design is also located on the Aston University campus - called its Gosta Green site.
The last gas lamp in Birmingham stood on the Aston Campus. It was removed in 1975.[9]
[edit] Branding
The University’s Arms were granted on 18 March 1955 by Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms to the Birmingham Corporation for use by the former College of Technology. They were designed to show the College’s connection with the City and with the teaching of technology. The arms consist of a shield and crest. The shield has two sections – the field (the main background) which is coloured blue and a chief (the broad band across the top of the shield) of silver. On the field is a diagonal line of five gold diamonds joined one to the other, similar to the first quarter of the Arms of the City of Birmingham and incorporated in the Arms of the College to show its connection with the City. This was adopted by the family of Bermingham, which derived its name from the then hamlet of Birmingham, and provided the Lords of the Manor from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. On the chief is depicted an open book bound in red placed between two black hammers, showing the connection of the University with technology, the book representing learning and the hammers engineering and allied trades.
The crest is also designed to stress the pursuit of knowledge. It consists of a red torch held erect by a forearm between two branches of gold laurel. Having been originally worn on the helmet of a fully-armed person, the crest is always placed on the top of the helm. The method of joining the crest to the helm was usually concealed by decoration and, in the University’s arms, this is effected by the use of a wreath and a crown. The wreath is silver, red and black, these colours being taken from the shield. It is surmounted by a mural crown (resembling a wall) which is reserved in modern grants for persons and organisations connected with public corporations. The cloth mantling which hangs down from the top of the helm is the survival of the cloak which was originally worn to protect the armour coloured in the two principal colours of the shield, blue and gold.
The motto of the University is the same as that of the City of Birmingham – "Forward".
[edit] Rebranding
In 2007, the University, under new Vice-Chancellor Julia King undertook a rebranding initiative in partnership with Spencer du Bois'[10] with the aim of properly reflecting its status as a modern, dynamic institution. The new branding, which cost at least £65,000[11] to develop consists of a scalene triangle, in one of 12 colours, with the text 'Aston University Birmingham' written underneath it.
Student opposition to the rebranding was initially strong, with students signing up to the Facebook group I strongly believe that the new Aston University logos are horrible, which had a membership of 1300 as of 28/12/2007. Students also registered their complaints against the new branding through the Students' Guild, blogs and direct protests to the administration. The protest has now died down - less than 200 students (out of a population of over 8,000 and many thousands more alumni) signed a Facebook petiition against the new brand and a meeting with University managers attracted less than 100 students.
[edit] University league tables
- Aston University is ranked 13th out of 109 higher education institutions in The Times 2007 Good University Guide[12]. These league tables also ranked Aston as 9th in the UK for employability of its graduates with 76% entering “graduate level” employment or further study within 6 months of graduation, against a UK average of less than 65%. This makes Aston University the highest-ranking university outside the South of England/London on this factor. Aston also ranked highly on criteria such as low drop-out rates, strong staff-student ratios, a high proportion of First and Upper second class degrees and a high level of spending on student facilities.
- Aston University is also rated No 1 for Student Life, and one of the UK's Friendliest Universities as voted by FHM & Virgin student. [1]
- In the Guardian Guide, Aston University was ranked 18th overall out of 122 Universities and Colleges. Aston has featured in the top 20 of the Guardian Guide three years running. The Guardian tables focus on variables such as teaching quality, spending on student facilities, entry grades, staff-student ratios and graduate success/job prospects.
| Year | Times Ranking | Guardian Ranking | Good University Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 15/113 | na/na | 12/113 |
| 2007 | 13/109 | 18/122 | |
| 2006 | 13/109 | 19/122 | |
| 2005 | 22/119 | 17/122 | |
| 2004 | 32/119 | 13/109 |
http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/gug/gooduniversityguide.php?AC_sub=Business+Studies&x=10&y=13&sub=3
Aston has also been ranked 12th out of 113 Universities in the new "Good University Guide 2008", sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and featured in The Telegraph (30/7/07) - www.thegooduniversityguide.org.uk This ranking is produced by the same people and uses the same methodology as previous Times Good University rankings.
[edit] Chancellors of the University
- 1st Lord Nelson of Stafford - May 1966 to September 1979
- 2nd Sir Adrian Cadbury - September 1979 to September 2004
- 3rd Sir Michael Bett - September 2004 to present day
[edit] Students' Guild
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The Guild is run by a team of permanent staff and by an elected team called the executive who follow the rules set out in the Guild Constitution. The executive is made up of full-time sabbatical officers and a number of part-time officers, the current president is Dilly Rehal. The executive are overseen by Guild Council, which anyone can attend. The council implements policy changes and holds the executive to account. Policies range from the serious, for example anti-discrimination policies, to the more ridiculous, for example policy binds the Guild to end every night out with Frank Sinatra's New York, New York. The council meets every three weeks and is currently chaired by Luke John (LJ) Davies, assisted by Vice-Chair James Keane.
A full list of the current Guild Executive is:
President- Dilly Rehal
Vice-President of Finance and Communication - Michael Kavanagh
Vice-President of Education and Welfare - Matt Daley
Vice-President of Student Involvement - Nadine Al-Kudcy
Guild Chairperson - Luke John Davies
Equalities Officer - Dannielle Acock
International Students Officer - Mayur Soni
Representation Officer - Mohammed Aqdes
Widening Participation Officer - Katie Craythorne
Website Officer - Amber Pleass
Fundraising Officer - Sarah Challis
Postgraduate Students Officer - Carole Parnaby
Aston Times Editor - Allan Boyd
Entertainment in the Guild is split into rooms. The bar downstairs (Lower Ground), known as Einstein’s is open throughout the day serving food and drink. The bar also has a projector screen, a number of flat screen televisions showing SUB-TV and live sporting events throughout the day, pool tables, a jukebox and arcade machines. The ground level contains the The BASE (Guild Hall) and the Blue Room bar; the latter houses a Subway.
The guild hall has been transformed into The BASE, providing a relaxing area, with tables, soft seating and LCD TVs for people to relax in during the day. By night the space is used for meetings and the odd event. Thursday sees Karaoke Night in Einsteins until 2am.
The Guild also provides a full range of services including:
- The Guild website [www.astonguild.org.uk]
- The Entertainment website [www.astonents.co.uk], which contains event information and photos
- The Aston Times – the student newspaper published three times a term
- Wotsup? – a weekly listings newsletter
- Student representation – the core service of the Guild
- Campaigns and Entertainment Committees
- Services provided by the Equalities, International Students and Postgraduate Officers to meet different groups’ needs
Other Guild services include:
| Lower Ground Floor | Ground Floor | First Floor | Second Floor | Third Floor | Fourth Floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Einstein’s bar | Guild Hall/ The Base | Students’ Advice Centre (SAC) & JobShop | The Loft | Executive secretary office | Aston RAG office |
| Toilets | The Blue Room | Student activities area | Toilets | Executive office | Toilets |
| Bubbles Studio | Subway | Students’ CopyShop | . | Aston Times office | Meeting room |
| Pool tables | Students’ shop | Natwest bank | . | Housing manager | Mature students' common room |
| Live Music Soc (LMS) practice room | Photo Me Booth | Secondhand bookshop | . | General Manager | Aston Links |
| . | Alliance & Leicester cashpoint | Appleby hair salon | . | Marketing Coordinator office | SIS office |
| . | Reception | LGBT Office | . | Finance office | AIESEC office & Islamic prayer room |
Outside:
- Nationwide and NatWest cashpoints either side of the guild steps.
[edit] Accommodation
Aston University has both standard and en-suite accommodation on campus. All campus accommodation is less than 5 minutes' walk from the main building, and approximately 10 minutes' walk from Birmingham city centre.
The university recently published details of its plans to renovate all the student accommodation on campus, starting in 2008 and finishing in 2014. The project will see the 3 1970's tower blocks - Dalton, Lawrence and Stafford - and the 1970s low-rise accommodation demolished in-order to make way for three new accommodation blocks, from 2014 the University will have over 3000 rooms on campus. All the new accommodation is to be en-suite but rooms/flats will be differentiated in terms of size and facilities in-order to provide students with a range of different priced rooms. The plan also includes the creation of a new artificial football pitch and a 250-place underground car park.
See the following link for more information on campus development http://www.emporis.co.uk/en/bu/nc/ne/?id=101869
[edit] Alumni
- Jasper Carrot, comedian
- Lord Drayson, vaccine manufacturer and Government minister
- John Lodge, musician
- Terry Pitt, political adviser and Member of the European Parliament
- Adam Ryland, computer games programmer
- Kevin Warwick, professor of cybernetics
- David Willey, professor of physics
[edit] References
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
- ^ Financial Statements 2005-2006. Aston University. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ a b c d e Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
- ^ a b c Tarleton, Alice (2006-08-01). Aston University. A-Z Unis & Colleges. The Independent. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Uni. finder > West Midlands > Aston University. HERO. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Our Degree Programmes. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Undergraduate Study at Aston University. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ About Aston University. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Aston University Annual Review 04/05 (PDF) p.3. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ The Last Gas Lamp 1975. Retrieved on 2007-04-11. “The last gas lamp was taken down on Duke Street, Gosta Green in 1975. In the 1930's Birmingham had 35,000 gas lamps, as late as 1967 11,000 still remained.”
- ^ http://www.creativematch.co.uk/?action=viewnews&ni=95079
- ^ http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_method=full&objectid=20128420&siteid=50002-name_page.html
- ^ Good University Guide, The Times, 2007
[edit] External links
de:Aston University eo:Aston University fr:Université Aston zh:阿斯頓大學
