Imperial to split from University of London

Imperial College London, increasingly flexing its commercial muscle, formally agreed terms to break away from the University of London system - a major step affecting some of Europe's greatest research institutions.

The break-up, months in negotiation, has been a politically sensitive topic within the 20-member UOL – with Imperial, rising in business revenue and academic rankings, acting as an ever-more independent agent in its business dealings. The practical significance of the divorce, for corporate research sponsors or venture capitalists, was downplayed by both sides. The change takes effect in July next year.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a momentous split – as if, said UOL Vice Chancellor Graeme Davies in an interview, UCLA broke away from the University of California system to become the University of Los Angeles. He called the withdrawal “fairly disappointing” – noting that for researchers and students the federated system allows greater flexibility to share resources and staff. But, he added, “there is no impact for the business community” and research collaborations will continue unimpeded. He said no other members of the federation are leaving – and in fact last year a new institute joined.

'Poor value'

Imperial, for its part, portrayed the split as a way to get out from under a costly committee structure that it didn’t need. “We consider our brand strong enough to be on our own,” said Rodney Eastwood, director of strategy and planning. “Like the other great universities of the world – Harvard or MIT don’t need a university superstructure in Boston, and we don’t need an overall structure for ourselves.” He said membership in UOL costs Imperial about £500,000 a year – for shared library and sports facilities, and supervisory functions. “We thought we got poor value from that membership,” Eastwood said.

But like Davies, Eastwood said corporate sponsors and venture capitalists “won’t even notice” the change. “We are already an autonomous college within the university. In practical terms, there is no difference in how we do our business, or do research.”

For the research community, the change affects three of the most highly rated scientific institutions in the world – Imperial, University College London, and King’s College London, all part of the 20-member UOL system. Imperial ranks third in Europe and 23rd in the world among universities, according to a widely followed international ranking by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The Times' latest ranking puts Imperial higher, at ninth in the world. UCL ranks fourth in Europe and 26th in the world, according to the Shanghai ranking. And King’s ranks 26th in Europe and 86th in the world.

Sharing resources

The UOL system began in 1836 under a charter from William IV, with UCL and King’s. Imperial joined in 1907 when it was formed from the merger of some smaller institutions. Other members include London Business School, the London School of Economics, and a range of highly regarded specialist institutions, such as the Royal Academy of Music and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Under the system, students and staff can share resources, take courses at sister-members, and collaborate informally.

In all, including Imperial, UOL has more than 125,000 students in London, 35,000 staff and, in the 2003/4 fiscal year, more than £628 million in research funding. It awarded nearly 37,000 degrees that year; and present or former UOL researchers have collected 57 Nobel Prizes.

Imperial has been an important part of that federation – and, under the rectorship of Sir Richard Sykes, former CEO of British drug giant Glaxo Smithkline, it has been an increasingly business-minded one.

Expanding fast

It built a new business school, expanded its business contacts aggressively in the Persian Gulf and India, and opened a series of new research centres – including, it announced Oct. 5, a new Centre for Climate Change Research. It has also greatly expanded its medical facilities – becoming in short time one of the largest medical schools in Europe. Its most dramatic commercial move came last July when it floated its technology transfer office on the stock market. The new company, Imperial Innovations Group PLC, raised £26 million. On 31 December Imperial had 11,490 students and 5,824 staff. Its income from research grants and contracts was £176.7 million in 2005/6.

After the split, Imperial will grant degrees under its own name – starting with students who begin postgraduate work in October 2007 and undergraduates enrolling in October 2008. Existing students next July can choose between a UOL or Imperial degree. Some quaint formalities for the break-up remain to be completed, such as applying to the Queen’s Privy Council for a change in the Imperial charter.

The terms for the divorce were worked out this Summer, and include permitting Imperial students to continue using the federated library system – though, noted Eastwood, only about 100 of them currently take advantage of the privilege, due to the fact that most of the resources are in the humanities rather than the sciences.

Another example, said Davies, was the Centre for Nanotechnology, jointly owned by Imperial and UCL. Under the withdrawal terms, the centre will continue operating jointly, with only a minor legal change in the way it’s overseen – so “in that sense Imperial becoming an independent, standalone has no impact on research collaboration or spin-offs."