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Swansea University

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Swansea University
Prifysgol Abertawe
Coat of arms of Swansea University
MottoGweddw crefft heb ei dawn
(technical skill is bereft without culture)
TypePublic
Established1920
ChancellorHRH The Prince of Wales (Chancellor of University of Wales)
Vice-ChancellorProf. Richard B. Davies
Students10,300
Location
Swansea
,
UK
CampusUrban
AffiliationsUniversity of Wales, EUA, ACU
Websitewww.swan.ac.uk

Swansea University (officially the University of Wales, Swansea) is a constituent institution of the federal University of Wales, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom.

Overview

Swansea University was founded as University College, Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales, following the report of the Haldane Commission into University Education in Wales. It later changed its name to the University of Wales, Swansea following structural changes within the University of Wales. The current title was adopted in 2006; however, the name has not yet officially been changed.

The university campus is located on the north coast of Swansea Bay, east of the Gower Peninsula, just outside the city of Swansea — the second largest city in Wales. Swansea was granted its own degree-awarding powers in 2005 in preparation for possible changes within the University of Wales.

Swansea maintains a strong rivalry against Cardiff University, against whom they compete in an annual varsity match, known as the Welsh version of the Oxbridge event.

Governance and Structure

Swansea received its royal charter in 1920 and like many universities is governed by its constitution that is set out in its statutes and charter. Swansea University is governed by three bodies: the Council, Senate and Court.

  • The Council consists of 38 members including various academic members such as the president, vice-chancellor and students along with representatives of the city and council of Swansea. The councils remit is in the management and administration of the property and revenue of the university and the conduct of all of its affairs. The council mainly works though a committee structure.
  • The Senate consists of 140 members, all of whom are academics. The senate is chaired by the Vice-chancellor , who is the head of the university both academically and administratively. The senate is the main academic body of the university and is responsible for teaching and research.
  • The Court consists of over 300 members, who represent the stakeholders in the university and stretch from local to national institutions. The court meets annually each December to discuss the university's annual report and its financial statements, as well as to discuss current issues in higher education

Faculties

Swansea university’s academic departments are organised into 10 schools as follows:

  • The School of Art: English; French; German; Italian; Hispanic Studies; Welsh; Russian; Translation departments; Centre for Applied Language Studies and the Media and Communication Studies Departments
  • The School of Engineering: Aerospace Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Civil Engineering; Electrical & Electronic Engineering; Information, Communication & Computing Technology; Intergrated Schemes; Materials Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
  • The School of Humanities: American Studies; Classical, Ancient History and Egyptology; History; Philosophy and Politics and International Relations Departments (Inc. Callaghan Centre for Conflict Studies)
  • The School of Law: Law; Department of Professional Legal Studies (Graduate Diploma in Law; Legal Practice Course (LPC))

Recent developments

Expansion and Department Closures

As of 2004, the university had over 10,300 students. In the past year, it has undergone major restructuring, expanding popular areas such as History, English, Geography and Computing but controversially closing the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the Centre for Development Studies and the Department of Philosophy. The Department of Chemistry has also ceased to take undergraduate students, although it continues to carry out research and post-graduate teaching. Its engineering and computer science departments are considered to be amongst the top in the UK, particularly in the Civil and Mechanical Engineering disciplines.

In November 2005 the University unveiled plans to radically overhaul the University campus through one of three proposed methods, the most controversial of which involves relocating the University to Llanelli. The University have indicated that their preferred option would be to have Fulton House, the main building on campus, delisted and to demolish the building. The independent advisors who examined the University and recommended the plans have stated that the University would require Fulton House to be de-listed by June 2007 in order for the plan to be feasible.

In 2005 the controversial closures led to the suspension of philosophy lecturer Colwyn Williamson on charges of computer hacking, which some students saw as an attempt to silence him as a whistleblower. It was the last of several attempts to dismiss Williamson, who once uncovered a plagiarism scandal at the university.[1] However, Williamson reached the age of mandatory retirement before the question of his employment could be settled. The closures have also resulted in an outstanding legal case between the student body and the university and demonstrations by students.

The Department of Electrical Engineering is also being visibly reduced, with an impending relocation to the 2nd floor of the Faraday Tower, opposite the Digital Technium. The currently expanding Computer Science department is taking over large portions of the 4th and 5th floor, even though it already completely fills both the 2nd and 3rd floors of the same tower block.

The Western Britain chapter of the International Conference for the Study of Political Thought was moved to the Department of Politics & International Relations from Exeter University earlier in 2006.

Institute of Life Sciences

Swansea University is in the process of building the new £50 million Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), with a new IBM Blue C computer (the fastest computer dedicated to the life sciences anywhere in the world) in the “Deep Computing Visualisation Centre for Medical Applications“. The ILS has been funded through several organisations, and will form not just a research branch but also a commercial branch of the university’s school of medicine.

The institute will do research mainly in the fields of:

  • Medical Visualization
  • Deep Computing
  • Bio-Engineering
  • K-Economy (Knowledge economy)
  • Techniques in diagnostics and therapeutics
  • Public Health (Especially in emergency care and clinical epidemiology)
  • Clinical and Bio-medical Research

The above research foci will be grouped into two: Bio-medical research and the centre for Health Improvement Research and Evaluation. Work has already begun on the six-storey tower, which will house state-of-the-art laboratories, dedicated business centre along with a micro-technium centre.

Institute of Advanced Telecommunications

In November 2005, the University announced the creation of an Institute of Advanced Telecommunications (IAT). It is a £30m collaboration between the Welsh Assembly Government, Swansea University and a wide range of the world's leading multinational telecommunications companies, including Marconi, Sony, IBM, ALPS, BT and Agilent. Construction giant Laing O'Rourke and Traffic Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government's traffic information service, are also key partners. IAT will be based at Swansea University. The Institute will open up new research in areas including deep space telecommunications, optical systems and networks, wireless communications and telematics. In March 2006 the IAT reiceved a grant of £20 million to conduct research in heterogenous IP networks, the grant was awarded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

University Rankings

The Times university Top 100 league table recently listed the University as the 43rd best university in the UK, up from 50th position in 2004 but down from 42nd in 2005. In addition, the University has been ranked as the "best student experience" in the UK, in a 2005 survey by the Times Higher Education Supplement ([1], [2]). The survey was roundly criticised by some staff such as Mike Cohen, as it was carried out by the Student Panel. Detractors claimed that the sample was self-selected and therefore unscientific.

Library

Swansea University library holds the papers of the late Richard Burton, after being donated by his wife Sally Burton. It is hoped that the collection will form the hub of a learning resource dedicated to the actor’s life and work.

Plans to integrate the Natural Sciences Library (NSL) with the main library cause widespread protest by students concerned with losing a valuable asset to the Geography and Biology departments.[2]

Xtreme Radio1431AM

Xtreme Radio is the student radio station of the University and broadcasts around Swansea and on the web at www.xtremeradio.org The is to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. It is broadcast on 1431 MW.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ Michael Davies: 'The Davies Report: The Great Battle in Swansea' (Thoemmes Press, 1994. ISBN 1-85506-366-2)
  2. ^ "Don't close our library!" by Hannah Thomas, The Waterfront, issue 139, retrieved 22 March 2006

See also

Extra curricular

Commercial

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