University Education in Britain

There are 44 universities (not counting the Open University) in Britain. Although the Government is responsible for providing about 80 per cent of universities income it does not control their work or teaching nor does it have direct dealings with the universities. The grants are distributed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

The English universities are: Aston (Birmingham), Bath, Birmingham, Bradford Bristol, Brunel (London), Cambridge, City (London), Durham, East Anglia,Essex, Exeter, Hull, Keele, Kent at Canterbury, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Safford, Sheffield, Southampton, Surrey, Sussex, Warwick and York. The federated University of Wales includes five university colleges, the Welsh National School of Medicine, and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. The Scottish universities are: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, Herriot-Watt (Edinburgh), St. Andrews, Stirling, and Strathclyde (Glasgow). In Northern Ireland there is Queen`s University, Belfast, and the New University of Ulster in Colerain.

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the Scottish Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. All the other universities were founded in the nineteenth or twentieth centuries.

There are five other institutions where the work is of university standard: the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology; the two post- graduate business schools which are supported jointly by industry and the Government - the Manchester Business School and the London Graduate School of Business Studies, associated with the London School of Economics and the Imperial College of Science and Technology; Canfield Institute of Technology for mainly post- graduate work in aeronautics and other subjects; and the Royal College of Art.

 

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Me and my University life

I am currently a student at Odessa State University, completing a degree in International Relations. As a member of the Student Union Executive Committee, I am actively involved in the day-to-day running of student life. The Committee takes responsibility for improvements to student facilities, coordinating student events such as concerts and sport days, as well as fund-raising activities. I play a large part in organizing these events, my role specifically being to oversee publicity and manage the budgets. These responsibilities test my leadership as well as my organizational and negotiating skills.

For many years I have been keenly interested in diplomacy. While I was at school, I participated in Kiev UNO Model, and in my first year at university I led the so-called parliamentary debates on the issue of Georgian invasion to South Ossetia. Organizing and leading a debate requires the ability to observe burning issues from different viewpoints, deal with arguments and work under pressure. The success of the parliamentary debates, which have been included into the university curriculum, shows that I managed to develop these abilities to a high standard.

In my free time I enjoy watching films. I am a member of a local community film club and helped to organize a short film festival last year. My involvement with this local community project has given me experience of organizing off-campus events as well as working with young people in the community.

This is how my University and active student life help me to improve and develop my natural skills.

 

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