UCL Merges With The Institute of Education

SAM FEARNLEY REPORTS ON TODAY’S MERGER BETWEEN UCL AND THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

From the 2nd of December, the Institute of Education (IOE) will be merged with UCL. The student population of UCL will become the largest in London with a total of 35,000 students, surpassing Kings College London. The combined research income will reach over £1 billion.

In addition, UCL will become the largest postgraduate institution in the UK, with 19,000 postgraduates, and will have more than 11,000 staff.

Both parties have confirmed there will be no redundancies at either institution.

The merger is similar to that in 2002 with the school of Pharmacy, in that the Institute of Education will become a single faculty school, and will be known as the ‘UCL Institute of Education’.

It is hoped that the move will benefit both universities. It has been suggested that the IOE’s research will complement much of the work being done at UCL. This is one of the main reasons for the partnership.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has said:

“This bold move by one of the world’s greatest universities and an international leader in education and social science will ensure they continue to lead the way on the world’s higher education stage.”

The Institute of Education was founded in 1902, and became part of the University of London in 1932. Its campus is part of the Bedford Way complex, which also houses a number of UCL departments. The Institute of Education is known as a world leader in Educational Research, and is currently ranked as the number one university for education in the 2014 QS World University rankings.

UCL and IOE are officially merged from today.