i went to university at university college, london and i came across an article
that ucl and imperial colleges are going to merge to try and get more research
grants. i am very proud of having gone to ucl which is one of the top
universities in the country.
one of the best aspects was the fact that we were being lectured by world
leaders in their chosen fields. we were all aware (and told several times) that
the university put research first and teaching second but we benefitted because
it was a small group of students and some very talented professors. what is
being talked about now is a university with 27,000 students where it is certain
you will be treated as just a number rather than a person like i was.
i genuinely hope that this merger does not go ahead and that both colleges find
the funding they need from other sources otherwise this will be the precursor
to a very few megaversities which pump out students much as schools do now.
the whole point of university, from the students’ point of view, is that you
are given a chance to express yourself in a more flexible environment but if
the size of an institution grows too large it will inevitably mean that there
is less room for individuality as testing and meeting targets become the
primary aim of the teaching staff.
