University of Birmingham

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx

Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century. Characterised by a tradition of innovation, research at the University has broken new ground, pushed forward the boundaries of knowledge and made an impact on people’s lives. We continue this tradition today and have ambitions for a future that will embed our work and recognition of the Birmingham name on the international stage.

We continue this tradition today and have ambitions for a future that will embed our work and recognition of the Birmingham name on the international stage.

Universities are never complete. They develop as new challenges and opportunities occur. At Birmingham we innovate, we push the frontiers of understanding; we ask new research questions, we turn theory through experiment into practice – because that’s what great universities do.

The University grew out of the radical vision of our first Chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain. Founded in 1900, Birmingham represented a new model for higher education. This was England’s first civic university, where students from all religions and backgrounds were accepted on an equal basis.

Birmingham has continued to be a university unafraid to do things a little differently, and in response to the challenges of the day. It was a founder member of the National Union of Students and the first university in the country to:

- be built on a campus model

- establish a faculty of commerce

- incorporate a medical school

- offer degrees in dentistry

- create a women’s hall of residence

- have a purpose-built students’ union building

The University of Birmingham was established by Queen Victoria by Royal Charter in 1900 and was the UK’s first civic or 'redbrick' university. The first phase of building work on the campus was completed in 1909 under the auspices of the esteemed architect Sir Aston Webb. We celebrated the centenary of those buildings in July 2009.

The University of Birmingham is governed by Council and Senate. It is managed by the University Executive Board, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor.

Academic disciplines are organised into five academic Colleges, each of which is divided into a number of schools. Each College is led by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College, who also sits on the University Executive Board.

The University’s Professional Services, located both centrally in Corporate Services and in the Colleges, work in partnership with academics to support the academic mission of the University. Professional Services are led by the Registrar & Secretary.

We are a global community. We believe our diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of our academic mission.

The University was founded in 1900 on an anti-discrimination ethos accepting men and women on an equal basis. Today, as a community of over 150 nationalities in one of the UK’s most vibrant cities, we remain committed to promoting equality, diversity and fairness irrespective of age, disability, gender, pregnancy or marital status, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity.

We want our students to profit from Birmingham’s culture of learning and its ethos of critical enquiry, debate and self-motivation. We will encourage and support them to engage with complex, challenging 21st-century issues. We encourage our students to choose a

field of study about which they can be passionate. In partnership with academic supervisors, students acquire skills that enable them to move successfully into the competitive graduate employment sector and to flourish professionally.

Enquiry-based learning is an approach in which learning is driven by a process of enquiry shared with the student. Depending upon the level and the discipline, it can encompass problem-based learning, evidence-based learning, small scale investigations, field work, projects and research.

Enquiry-based learning enables students to take control of their learning as they progress through their degree programme. It encourages them to acquire essential skills for today’s highly competitive graduate employment sector. Such skills are central to

the personal development of our graduates, enriching their capacity for lifelong learning.

The skills of a Birmingham student

With appropriate support from academic staff, the learning culture at Birmingham encourages students to:

- Engage with complex, challenging problems and real-world issues

- Proactively use a range of resources to address problems, construct solutions and answers, identify new questions and create new knowledge

- Question, reason, and think critically about what they see, hear and feel; weighing up evidence and the opinions of others and reaching their own conclusions

- Reflect constructively on their own learning, not least through use of feedback

- Share their knowledge and experience with fellow students and staff

- Manage their individual and collaborative learning processes well

- Understand and communicate effectively with individuals from differing backgrounds and perspectives

- Be equipped through their learning, skills and personal development for the demands of the careers to which they aspire

- Enjoy their learning, making it rewarding and fun

- Make a difference