An independent advertising supplement distributed in the Guardian on behalf of Edge Hill University, who take sole responsibility for its contents.
We’re Edge Hill University, THE University of the Year!
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ased in Ormskirk, near Liverpool and Manchester we have a 130 year history of providing education and opportunity to people from all backgrounds.
From our origins in 1885 as the country’s first non-denominational teacher training college for women to being named University of the Year in the 10th annual Times Higher Education awards, we’ve achieved a lot - and there’s a lot to discover at Edge Hill University. Our 160-acre campus is home to more than 2,000 students – and we have almost 10,000 full time students, another 3,000 part time and around 5,000 postgraduates on a wide range of programmes. In the last decade the campus has seen an investment of £250m, including Creative Edge, a £17m media, music and computing facility with equipment on a par with Salford’s Media City, and a £30m sports complex, our international-standard training and leisure hub.
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At the same time, our research profile has grown at an impressive rate, with a 225 per cent increase in research submitted to the Research Excellence Framework – the highest percentage increase in the sector. All subject areas returned by the University to the REF featured ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading research’. As a result, our Higher Education Funding Council for England funding allocation has increased by 355.3 per cent since 2008 – the highest increase in research funding in the sector. Dr John Cater, the country’s longest serving current ViceChancellor, has overseen the development of Edge Hill from College to University, and to the institution with one of the most secure financial bases in the sector. “It’s really hard to put your finger on exactly what makes us stand out,” he said. “But everyone who comes onto our campus comments on the unique and welcoming atmosphere at Edge Hill. We believe that education should be a transformational process, improving lives and life chances, which is why we put our students at the heart of everything we do and are dedicated to changing lives of the people who come into contact with us.”
Our satisfied students have rated Edge Hill highly in the National Student Survey yet again and based on the responses to all 23 questions in the survey (which cover teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, personal development, overall satisfaction and satisfaction with the students’ union) Edge Hill occupies a top ten position amongst all English universities. We’re also top in the UK for academic support on Biology degrees, top in the UK for Geography, Physical Geography and Environmental Science degrees (based on the average response across all questions) and top in the UK for teaching on Public Relations degrees.
Our ground-breaking partnerships with the country’s top employers also help to maintain our outstanding employability of 95 per cent of our graduates in work or further study six months after graduation. With placements from Saatchi and Saatchi to the new Star Wars film and collaborations with Barclays Bank, the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, Liverpool FC, TalkTalk and many more focusing on student-led initiatives including volunteering, public health, performance, women’s sport and mental illness – We even have our own student-led record label and University Literary Press for student to get ahead in the graduate jobs market.
And it isn’t just our students who are satisfied, as our staff voted the University the Best University Workplace in the Times Higher Education’s 2015 survey.
With so many opportunities for our students to learn and grow, a beautiful campus with state of the art facilities and numerous chances to gain real-life professional experience in some of the most competitive industries, at Edge Hill University we continue to demonstrate why we’re head and shoulders ahead of the competition. Discover for yourself.
“When I found out that Edge Hill University began life as the first non-denominational teacher training college for women, I knew immediately that here was an institution rooted in profound and fundamental educational and social innovation. Looking at its many excellent courses, so many vocational, Edge Hill continues its pioneering and inspired educational tradition. It was an honour to be asked to be the first Chancellor of this fantastic university and a privilege to accept!”
Professor Tanya Byron Clinical psychologist, writer and broadcaster
“Spaces are just as important as the skills and friendships you build while in education, especially in the creative industries where much good work comes from networking and firming up friendships. We can learn from our peers as well as our teachers and [Edge Hill University] is the perfect place to do this.”
“A fitting tribute to a brilliant institution.” Stuart Maconie Writer, broadcaster and Edge Hill alumnus
Frank Cottrell-Boyce Writer and honorary graduate
Times Higher Education has named Edge Hill University the University of the Year – the most prestigious accolade in the Higher Education sector. We were also shortlisted in 2007-8, 2010-11 and 2011-12.
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Beautiful Campus:
Over the last decade we’ve invested more than £250m in our beautiful campus .....................................................
DIVERSE COMMUNITY: We’re home to 2,091 undergraduates in over 40 halls across 160 landscaped acres - with more accommodation planned on site for 2016. We’ve even got 175 mallard ducks, three pairs of Canadian geese, 24 doves and 18 wood pigeons. .....................................................
GREEN FLAG: We’ve won the prestigious Green Flag award for the fourth year running which recognises the University’s huge efforts in minimising the environmental impact of its activities, maintaining natural habitats through its commitment to biodiversity, and developing a sustainable environment for the enjoyment of students, staff and the local community. .....................................................
SAFE AND SOUND: Statistics published by the independent Complete University Guide show that Edge Hill has the lowest crime rates of any University in the North West of England and remains in the top 10 of the safest universities nationally. .....................................................
COMPETITIVE EDGE: The University’s £30m sports complex features one of the UK’s largest running tracks (complete with two 100m straights), professional 3G soccer pitches, 25 metre pool, solarium, steam room and sauna, double sports hall and even rooftop sun loungers.
ehu.ac.uk/beautiful
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Our Partnerships
Edge Hill University boasts strong links within the creative sector, with innovative collaborations within the arts, media, film, performing arts and music.
This not only provides essential industry experience allowing our students to get ahead in the competitive job market, but also provides opportunities for research, knowledge exchange and innovation within the sectors.
Literary press launch Edge Hill University has launched its own literary press, as a joint enterprise with Glasgow-based independent publisher Freight Books. The new EHU Press imprint has secured funding for four years, with four books confirmed to be published during the period. The initiative builds on the University’s already established literary profile which includes the nationally recognised Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story. Now going into its 10th year, the Edge Hill Prize is the only UK award that recognises excellence in a published collection of short stories. The first book from EHU press will be released in Summer 2016 and will take the form of an anthology featuring previously shortlisted authors from the Edge Hill Prize. A host of acclaimed writers including Colm Tóibín, Kevin Barry, A L Kennedy, Ali Smith and Neil Gaiman are already confirmed as contributors. EHU Press will also offer internships to six Edge Hill students per year. The students will be assigned a variety of roles working alongside the Freight Books team, giving them real publishing industry experience.
The Label Recordings add to Edge Hill’s back catalogue Since The Smiths made an early live appearance in the 80s, Edge Hill University has endeavoured to develop its musical heritage. In 2013 it launched its own independent, not-for-profit record label, The Label Recordings, dedicated to sourcing the finest unsigned acts. Through the Label, our students now gain valuable experience in A&R, music production, design, video production, journalism, marketing and management. First signing Hooton Tennis Club were snapped up after one release by Heavenly Recordings, home of Manic Street Preachers, Doves, Temples and Stealing Sheep.
Carrington Leonora The Pomps of the Subsoil, 1947 © 2015 Estate of Leonora Carrington / ARS, NY and DACS, London.
Edge Hill professor informs Leonora Carrington exhibition Edge Hill academic Professor Roger Shannon, who uncovered a number of Leonora Carrington pieces that had never been publically displayed, was the catalyst for Tate Liverpool’s successful Spring exhibition for the celebrated artist. An internationally celebrated member of the surrealist movement, Carrington turned her back on her upper class upbringing in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley in the 1930s and eventually settled in Mexico. Professor Roger Shannon said: “When I first became aware of Leonora Carrington’s work, it struck me that a significant aspect of the North West’s cultural heritage had been under recognised. Carrington’s work encompassed many aspects of the visual arts (including film, which is my own professional focus) and through the span of her creative life she frequently drew on significant influences from her Lancastrian nurturing.” As part of Edge Hill University’s relationship with Tate Liverpool and the Leonora Carrington exhibition, it also hosted an evening ‘In Conversation’ with Tate Liverpool’s Artistic Director, Francesco Manacorda and journalist and cousin of Leonora Carrington, Joanna Moorhead as well as organising a reading of new work inspired by her surrealist creations.
Edge Hill was also Liverpool Sound City’s 2015 Industry Connection Partner giving students from across the University chance to perform at the festival, participate in the conference, and work on film projects across the new site on Liverpool’s docklands. • The Label Recordings is shortlisted for THE awards 2015 in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts category
Journalist, co-writer of Surreal Friends and cousin of Leonora Carrington Joanna Moorhead joined Francesco Manacorda, Tate Liverpool’s Artistic Director, to discuss the intriguing history and artistic practice of Leonora Carrington at one of a series of ‘In Conversation’ events.
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Our Research
Edge Hill’s research profile has grown at a startling rate, with a 225% increase in research volume submitted to the Research Excellence Framework – the highest percentage increase in the sector.
All subject areas returned by the University to the REF featured ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading’ research.
“By understanding the movement of mosquitoes we can better understand the possibility of diseases coming into the UK under the radar.” Thom Dallimore, Research Technician and PhD Researcher
Mosquito traps protect our ports Academics from Edge Hill University’s Biology Department are working with Liverpool Port Health Authorities (LPHA) to protect British ports and prevent potentially deadly mosquito-borne diseases from entering the UK. Using a number of different traps to attract mosquitoes, scientists and the port authorities are acting as border controls, looking out for visitations of well-known carriers of disease. Biology Senior Lecturer Dr Clare Strode and Research Technician Thom Dallimore are working on the collaborative project. Clare Strode, Senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University said: “There is concern that invasive mosquito species that transmit diseases such as dengue and chikungunya can be transported passively into the UK via air and shipping cargo. One of the most invasive species, the Asian Tiger Mosquito, has recently spread successfully and rapidly across Europe and therefore we need to be vigilant in carrying out surveillance at potential entry points.” Part of the surveillance work carried out by Edge Hill University will also investigate the diversity of native British mosquitoes.
Are we all hardwired racist?
Lifesaving mental health partnership
Could the way we perceive our own and other races be hardwired in our brains?
A partnership between Edge Hill University and a hospital in Mysore, India is delivering a lifesaving mental health programme in one of the worst-affected regions of the country with the world’s highest suicide rate.
New research by Professor Geoff Beattie from the Department of Psychology has been exploring whether the lack of BME individuals in senior positions in many organisations could be linked to implicit prejudice. One study asked participants to shortlist two candidates from four CVs. In the experiment the same CVs were sometimes attributed to a white candidate and sometimes to a BME candidate. The results showed that white participants were ten times more likely to select two white candidates than two BME candidates, while non-whites were 6.5 times more likely to choose two BME candidates than two white candidates. One theory is that this kind of implicit prejudice originally served to give us an evolutionary advantage, helping us secure the longterm survival of our own groups. This groundbreaking research demonstrates not only that this prejudice still exists, but also identifies other factors that can have an effect on these automatic and unconscious processes, such as time constraints or cognitive load.
Edge Hill University’s Every Child Counts programme has put our research into action by helping over 100,000 children across the UK and beyond improve their literacy and mathematics skills.
A team from the University’s Faculty of Health and Social Care and colleagues from the CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore have secured £24,310 from THET (Tropical Health and Education Trust) who manage grants under the Department for International Development (DFiD) funded Health Partnership Scheme. The training will focus on improving mental health interventions for those who have attempted suicide and/or are at a vulnerable stage in their life. There is an acute shortage of mental health trained professionals in Mysore and with 2000-2500 people being referred to just two doctors each year after suicide attempts this is a major public health concern.
The research, which culminated in a book, Our Racist Heart? An Exploration of Unconscious Prejudice in Everyday Life, also has implications for other areas including sustainability.
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