University of Bedfordshire

The University of Bedfordshire

Welcome from Vice Chancellor Professor Les Ebdon CBE DL

I am delighted to welcome you to the University of Bedfordshire, a modern, vibrant university in touch with the needs of students, staff and employers alike.

The University has a growing, global reputation. The number of applications to the University continues to rise with around 20,000 applications from hopeful students trying to secure a place this year (2011) – a rise of nearly 16 per cent on last year. That’s five applications for every place available.

University is your best career move and students who come here enjoy a number of benefits:

• High quality teaching. Many of our staff are experts in their field and a number have received National Teaching Fellowship Awards for outstanding contributions to teaching and learning.Visitwww.beds.ac.uk/learning/support/fellows/2011
  
  
• Enhanced job prospects. Some 92 per cent of our graduates are either in work and/or further study within six months of graduating (Destinations of Leavers survey 2009) See what some of our graduates have been up to www.beds.ac.uk/alumni/wherenow
  
  
• Strong student support (including, for instance, our generous scholarships and bursaries). Visitwww.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/money/funding/scholarships
  
  
• Access to world-class facilities. We are investing £180m in new facilities. Our Bedford campus has undergone a multi-million pound redevelopment including a new Campus Centre. Further investment is now taking place in Luton. A new £34m Campus Centre opened in October 2010. New £40m halls of residence are due to be up and running in September 2011 and a £20m postgraduate and continuing professional development centre is planned to open in 2013. Visitwww.beds.ac.uk/aboutus/facts/investment
  
  
• Helping students beyond the curriculum through mentoring, volunteering, work placements and internships. Visitwww.beds.ac.uk/studentlife/current/careers

We are a university which is going from strength to strength. We have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2011, one of the most prestigious corporate honours any business can win.

We have been awarded the Gold standard in Investors in People which shows our commitment to continuous business improvement through our people and we have emerged as one of the highest climbers in the independent People & Planet Green League 2011. This table studied the environmental and ethical performance of 143 universities and awarded us a 2:1.

We have also won the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Award 2011 in the category Outstanding Finance Team.

What's more, the University of Bedfordshire has achieved top marks – a ‘confidence’ rating – in the most recent Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) audit 2009, which checks how UK universities maintain their own academic standards and quality.

And in the Government’s most recent UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 much of our research was described as ‘world-leading’ and of ‘international significant’. As a consequence, our researching funding more than doubled.

We have a clear vision of where we are going and I look forward to welcoming you.

Professor Les Ebdon CBE DL
Vice Chancellor
University of Bedfordshire

Want to know more: 
Call: + 91 22 26403270/71 / + 91 989 2899072