January 2014

University builds welcome links with China

Details of a significant new partnership between a leading Chinese institute and Salford University have been welcomed by student accommodation provider Portergate Property Management.

The first phase of the link between China’s leading institute for built environment research and the university has been sealed with the launch of a new Joint Doctorate programme in the Built Environment.

The new collaboration with the China Academy of Building Research (CABR) has been facilitated by Manchester China Forum, a business-led initiative aimed at increasing Greater Manchester’s commercial connectivity with the Asian economic powerhouse.

The partnership will see the university build upon its existing and highly-regarded research capabilities in the fields of smart cities and building information modelling, big data and e-health, inclusive housing design, and low carbon retrofit.

The doctorate is to be promoted across China and will be available to postgraduates of building-related and engineering disciplines. In addition to the joint supervision of PhD students the programme will also incorporate a research staff exchange and a series of research collaborations.

Professor Martin Hall, Vice-Chancellor at University of Salford, said: “This is a very important relationship with such a prestigious Chinese Academy and the School of the Built Environment and the School of Computing, Science and Engineering which are our flagship research centres.”

“This partnership will complement the £800million Manchester Airport City project where Beijing Construction and Engineering Group is now a primary contractor.

“It is also an exciting opportunity for the University of Salford to develop further partnerships as over 50% of world construction is currently in China.”

Those studying for the PhD qualification will spend half of the course in Beijing and half in Salford, working with CABR representatives. The programme is expected to deliver initially 20 PhD awards per year.

The doctorate has launched as the first phase of a wider programme of work between the two institutions which seeks to boost existing expertise and skills.

Rhys Whalley, executive director of Manchester China Forum, said: “Following the recent launch of Manchester’s investment portfolio in Beijing, this is another significant milestone in our continued engagement with China.”

Portergate Property Management has identified China as a prime market for student residents at Riverside House, its hotel-class accommodation serving the University of Salford and the universities of Manchester.

Portergate is a full member of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and has embarked on a series of initiatives to promote Riverside House in China.

Portergate’s own research shows there are more than 400 students from China on the University of Salford campus.

Company chairman Anthony Jackson has also taken the Portergate portfolio to China. The company has featured at the Overseas Property Investment Show in Shanghai.

He was part of a team that met a delegation from China visiting Salford last year and is working to further ties for the company in China.

Riverside House, which is taking in new residents from the local student population all the time, is within walking distance of the University of Salford, an institution attracting more than 3,000 international students from more than 100 nations around the globe.

Work has also started on Portergate’s new Preston venture, which will be built in the university quarter of a city that welcomes more than 2,000 international students each year, representing more than 100 nationalities.

New year boost for Peel Park

Salford City Council has announced the city’s oldest park has been awarded a funding boost.

Salford City Council has successfully bid for £54,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund as the next stage of its £2.1 million redevelopment of Peel Park.

The funding, which comes hot on the heels of improvements to the park entrance, will be used for to research the history of the park so that can be reflected in new designs and to develop a programme of community events.

Peel Park is just 10 minutes’ walk from Riverside House, the hotel-class student accommodation built and managed by Portergate Property Management. The 242 2n-suite rooms with fantastic kitchen and living areas is the newest accommodation for students at the University of Salford, and elsewhere, to open in the past six months.

Councillor Gena Merrett, assistant mayor for housing and environment, is quoted on the Salford Council website: “This is fantastic news for a grand old lady of a park who needs some TLC after all these years.

“Peel Park was opened in 1846 and is one of the oldest in the country and forms part of the largest green space in central Salford. We are working with the Friends of Peel Park and the University of Salford to restore this lovely haven at the heart of our bustling city.”

Work has just finished on refurbishing the entrance of the park off the crescent. This included resurfacing the path, installing new fencing and lighting and removing self-seeded trees removed to open up views across the crescent meadow.

Record numbers accepted into UK higher education

Record numbers of students were accepted into the UK’s universities last autumn, according to new figures released by admissions service UCAS.

Its 2013 “End of Cycle” report, seen by luxury student accommodation provider Portergate, which operates Riverside House in Salford, paints a picture of increased recruitment, following a dip in 2012.

Some 495,596 students were accepted to full time undergraduate courses, 6.6 per cent up, and the highest total ever recorded.

The report also reveals that young people across the UK are more likely to enter higher education than at any time before.

Almost all 18-year-old A Level applicants got offers in 2013. Institutions made a record number of offers so that over half of applicants received four or more offers and almost a third had five offers to choose from.

And more students were placed at their first choice of course, including a 20 per cent rise in the number using the Clearing process as their first application route.

Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS Chief Executive, commented on the report: “Predictions of a reduced appetite for higher education following the rise in tuition fees were premature.

“With 19-year-old admissions up by 18 per cent in England, we can see that the dip in demand in 2012 was perhaps a pause for thought – more of those who were 18 in 2012 have now started university than those who were 18 in either 2010 or 2011.

“Greater competition amongst institutions meant that aspiring students were able to choose from a record number of offers and were more likely than ever to gain a place on their preferred course, including through.

“Clearing which was a genuine market place for all types of courses and institutions this year.

“The higher education sector has been particularly successful in attracting and enrolling applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds in 2013 and I welcome this further reduction in the gap between rich and poor.”

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK – the body which represents vice-chancellors, commented on the report in the Independent newspaper xenical orlistat 120mg. She said: “It is excellent to see that 2013 has seen the highest ever number of students accepted into higher education following the dip in demand in 2012.

“This year there was not only a 6.6 per cent increase on 2012 but also a 0.7 per cent increase on 2011.”