De Montfort University

De Montfort University
Motto	Excellentia et studium (Latin)
Motto in English	Excellence and Zeal
Established	1992 - gained University Status, 1870 as Leicester School of Art
Type	Public
Endowment	£900,000[1]
Chancellor	Lord Alli
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Dominic Shellard
Students	21,210[2]
Undergraduates	17,125[2]
Postgraduates	3,290[2]
Other students	795 FE[2]
Location	Leicester, England, United Kingdom
Affiliations	University Alliance Association of Commonwealth Universities
Website	http://www.dmu.ac.uk

De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens. 40% of the University's research was deemed 'world leading' or 'internationally excellent' in the United Kingdom Research Assessment Exercise, highlighting particular strength in English literature, where it equalled the University of Cambridge.^[3] The University has the second highest number of National Teaching Fellows of all UK universities.^[4]

The University, being within close proximity of the Leicester Castle complex, houses numerous listed buildings including the 15th century Magazine Gateway and the early 14th century Trinity House. The campus has seen several recent developments as part of a ten-year £200 million initiative by the University, such as the £35 million Hugh Aston Building; constructed to bring students from the Faculty of Business and Law closer to the centre of the University's infrastructure.^[5]

The University is organised into four faculties: Art, Design and Humanities; Business and Law; Health and Life Sciences; and Technology (comprising Computing Sciences and Engineering). There is also the Institute of Creative Technologies.

History

Name

A statue of Simon de Montfort on the Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower in Leicester, England

De Montfort University is named after Simon de Montfort, a 13th century Earl of Leicester credited with establishing the first parliament in 1265.^[6]

Origins

The University's origins trace back to the Leicester School of Art, established in 1870 on a voluntary basis. The school quickly expanded in response to the changing needs of late 19th century industry; leading to the introduction of subjects such as Engineering, Building and Machine Drawing.^[7]

By 1897, it was clear the buildings being used were no longer suitable, and so £25,000 was raised to build 'a very handsome school that would be enormous credit to the town and … so that it would answer its purpose for the next 100 years'. The building in question is the Hawthorn Building, which today still houses the sciences; in the shape of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. At the time of the first phase of the Hawthorn Building construction, there were 500 art students and 1,000 technical students. In 1903, a letter from Her Majesty's Inspector praised the success of the technical subjects. Ever increasing demand for courses prompted an extension to the Hawthorn Building in 1909. In 1919, further properties were rented. Her Grace, the Duchess of Atholl, laid the foundation stone of Hawthorn's new west wing in 1927; by which time the establishment was known under by the joint name of The Leicester Colleges of Art and Technology.^[7]

In 1930, the college was recognised for the External Degree course in Pharmacy of the University of London, and the Pharmaceutical Chemist Diploma of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. In 1934, the University of London recognised the college as suitable for preparing students for the External Degree in Engineering, and so the courses on offer developed apace. The prospectus for 1936-37 includes details of various technically based schools, including the Schools of Architecture, Building and Building Crafts, and Engineering.^[7] The fourth phase of extensions to the Hawthorn Building was completed in 1938-39, and the first student accommodation was secured in 1946 when three houses were purchased "for the provision of hostels for women and men students".^{[citation needed]}

More space was needed to meet the academic demand, and so in 1948, Mr F. Bray, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Education, opened the converted Downings Warehouse. In 1966, the new Fletcher building was opened by HM The Queen Mother. In the same year, a white paper, "A Plan for Polytechnics and Other Colleges", was published, leading to the creation of the City of Leicester Polytechnic. Under the provision of the Education Reform Act of 1988, Leicester Polytechnic became a Higher Education Corporation, with Dame Anne Mueller appointed Chancellor in June 1991. ^[7]

Leicester Polytechnic became De Montfort University in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992, establishing it as a degree awarding body in its own right.^[8] Originally, the institution aimed to become a multi-campus collegiate university comprising the entire East Midlands, and as such, the university swiftly acquired other campuses based in Bedford, Luton, Lincoln, the Scraptoft College of Education in east Leicester, Caythorpe and Milton Keynes. The Milton Keynes campus had actually been built by the university in 1981 and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1982, prior to the official foundation of De Montfort University as a New University. Departments at Milton Keynes included computing, built environment and business. De Montfort University conducted a series of expansionist mergers with the Bedford College of Higher Education and with the Lincoln and Caythorpe Colleges in 1994, and then in 1995 with the Leicester-based Charles Frears College of Nursing and Midwifery.

Present day

Since 2000, the University's expansionist policy has been reversed, with all outlying campuses being sold off. The institution divested itself of the last of these, Charles Frears (another site within Leicester), in 2011. The proceeds from these sales have been ploughed back into the Leicester City Campus, which has consequently seen a large amount of development including the construction of two new buildings and the extensive refurbishment of a third, the Edith Murphy building (formerly Bosworth House) to house the students and staff of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, previously based at Charles Frears. The Performance Arts Centre for Excellence (PACE), funded by a £4.5 Million grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, was opened in 2007 by the BBC's Creative Director Alan Yentob.^[9] A new building for the Faculty of Business and Law - the Hugh Aston building - opened in September 2009. The new Business and Law centre has the iconic Magazine Square at its centre and cost £35 million.^[10]

The University has approximately 20,500 students, 3,240 staff and an annual turnover in the region of £132.5 million.^[11]

Affiliations and Partnerships

The University has special arrangements with more than 80 universities and colleges in over 25 countries, including Nanjing University, ranked 120th in the world by the Times Higher Education and situated in Jiangsu Province, eastern China. The two universities have launched various initiatives, including a scholarship programme for De Montfort students and doctoral study coupled with English language tuition for students from Nanjing. De Montfort's Institute of Creative Technologies will also advise Nanjing University on a digital recreation of medieval China, following the success of the institute in developing a virtual rendition of Leicester during its Roman occupation.^[12]

The numerous cultural partnerships that the University holds currently include a link with Leicester City Football Club, utilising the University's expertise in sports history to help make the club's heritage more widely available, as well a partnership with the British Library, which will see the two institutions working together in order to boost research and cultural activities.^[13] The University has also collaborated with Leicester in the creation of the Digital Media Centre (DMC) in Leicester city centre, which received £1 million in funding from the University. Through the university's involvement, the DMC will benefit from the latest research in media and related technologies. Students on appropriate courses will have the opportunity to use the production and educational facilities at the Centre.^{[citation needed]}

Organisation

The Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities

The Fletcher Building of the former Faculty of Art and Design

Created from a merger of the previous Faculty of Art and Design and the Faculty of Humanities, it boasts the only university courses in the world to specialise in lingerie, underwear, body-wear, swimwear and performance sportswear,^[14] which first began after the Second World War. The Faculty also offers the only UK university courses in Footwear Design.^[15] One of the Faculty's most innovative courses is its BA (Hons) Game Art Design degree; the first game art course in England to be accredited by Skillset. Ian Livingstone, Chair of Skillset's Computer Games Skills Council and Life President at Eidos, commented that "accreditation is a rigorous process, but De Montfort's course shows what standards can be achieved with a curriculum designed with games industry input from day one."^[16] The last government Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) gave the Faculty's research a 4* rating, indicating world-leading quality.^[15]

The Faculty has received praise from other notable individuals, including the Fashion Director of The Daily Telegraph, Hilary Alexander, who commented that De Montfort was 'the best underwear and corsetry college in Europe'.^{[citation needed]}

The University deems their Art and Design courses as being "strongly vocational as well as creative",^[17] and notes that professional technicians are employed to aid students of the Faculty. Selected students have won prestigious national and international awards, participated in exhibition events, gained placements and sponsorships. The Faculty also has an international presence; running teaching and research projects with Russia, India and China, whilst maintaining close connections with other Faculties within the university, including Technology and Humanities.^[17] As of 2010, international students have come to the Faculty from more than 35 countries worldwide, including China, Russia, Ghana and the USA.^[18]

Facilities of the Faculty include the Retail Lab; a facility which aims to support the development of insight into sustainable and resource efficient retail design. The university describes it as allowing a "unique approach to conducting research and development ... [which] places the consumer at the heart of investigations". ^[19] The facility has a virtual test space for concept evaluations, a dedicated area for conducting training and exhibitions, and a knowledge bank focusing on five specialist areas: legislation, supply chain, build, fit and consumer experience. The Lab works with businesses to identify research and development needs; bringing together researchers from across the university to work on projects. Expertise involved in projects may range from social scientists or technologists to designers. The university's areas of expertise span lighting, architecture, textiles, fashion, packaging and product design, as well as business and law.^[19]

Other facilities include the Design and New Product Development Centre, which provides students with metal and plastics prototyping workshops as well as a dedicated CAD suite; digital studios comprising photography and video labs alongside other computer-based facilities; and fashion and textiles workshops. There are also fine art studios available for students' use, as well as more specialist facilities for MA and PhD students.^[20]

The Clephan building, home to the former Faculty of Humanities

The Faculty of Humanities offers traditional subjects including English, History and Politics, as well as more modern courses in areas such as Arts Management and Creative Writing. In 2008, the Faculty submitted research in five areas for examination in the government's Research Assessment Exercise. These areas comprised English, Film and Media, Dance and Drama, Music Technology and History. 87% of the work assessed subsequently achieved international status.

• The results for English placed the university near the top of the table, ranking 9th out of 87 universities in the UK in the Times Higher Education Listing.
• 40% of the university's research into English was given the highest grade of 4^*, indicating world leading quality and placing the Faculty alongside the universities of Oxford and Cambridge for its research.
• History was rated as having 85% of its work of international standing – credited by the university as a testimony to the success of its International Centre for Sports History and Culture.
• Film and Media Studies also moved up the league tables; rated by the Times Higher listings as 15th, higher than Oxford University. 25% of the work in this area was judged to be world leading, with 90% ranked as international in its reach.
• Dance and Drama were also judged to have world-leading research, with 80% of its activities being judged as international in profile. The Centre for Music, Technology and Innovation, known for its international collaborations, has been judged to have 85% of its research activities and outputs in the international category; with 15% of that work in the category of 'world leading'.^[21]

The Faculty currently holds five National Teacher Fellows; the latest being Dr Deborah Cartmell, Reader in English, who was made a Fellow in recognition of excellence in teaching and learning support. Cartmell developed the university's pioneering Master's degree in Adaptation Studies and is a founding member of the British Shakespeare Association and the Association of Adaptation Studies. Other National Teacher Fellows within the Faculty include Rob Brannen, Alasdair Blair and Jayne Stevens.^[22]

The Faculty is based within the Clephan Building, which was refurbished specifically for its use. Most classes and lectures associated with the Faculty take place in the building and all of its academic and support staff are based there. It comprises a large amount of teaching accommodation, equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment in order to facilitate a modern learning environment. There is a Student Advice Centre on the ground floor, as well as an Academic Guidance Centre and resources rooms with more specialist facilities. These include the Arts Management resources room, a newsroom for prospective journalists, and a digital Music Technology recording studio, labs and performance area. The Clephan Building also houses a dedicated Computer Centre for Humanities students. This Centre includes a Media lab with Apple Power-Mac computers, cinema screens and creative software applications. There is no fee incurred for students of the university wishing to use these facilities.^[23]

The Clephan Building plays host to the internationally recognised Cultural Exchanges event, which features guests and speakers from the arts, media, literature, politics and film. It began in 2000, and attracts upwards of 4,000 visitors annually. Recent visitors to the festival have included the screenwriter and novelist Andrew Davies, famous for his work in the field of adaptation; novelist Adele Parks, a highly acclaimed women's fiction author nominated for the Romantic Novelist of the Year award; and Janet Street-Porter, a British media personality, journalist, television presenter and producer. The main programme is often complemented by workshops, day conferences and performing arts events, with heavy involvement on the part of the university's students. The festival is in fact run by students on the BA (Hons) Arts and Festival Management course.^[24]

Recently, the Faculty has collaborated with two other European universities to offer a new Master's course, based in its International Centre for Sports History and Culture: the MA Management, Law and Humanities of Sport. Organised by Centre International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) and endorsed by Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the course was created to promote management education within the sports world. It is ostensibly recognised as one of the top graduate programmes in sport, The Humanities of Sport module is organised by the International Centre for Sport History and Culture at De Montfort, whilst the Management of Sport module is taught by SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy and the final Sports Law module by Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Course patrons have included Joseph S. Blatter, Lord Coe, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sergei Bubka. As of 2010, the course has produced more than 200 graduates from over 70 different nations.^{[citation needed]}

The course also includes an extensive guest speaker and field visit programme with visits to leading sports organisations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA, UEFA, All England Lawn Tennis Club Wimbledon, the Professional Footballers Association, Manchester United as well as others. 79% of FIFA Master graduates now work in sport, employed by such organisations as Nike China, FIFA (Switzerland), IOC (Switzerland), Adidas (Germany), Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur (Germany), MLS Major League Soccer (USA) and USA Rugby (USA). The course's academic committee is headed by Professor Denis Oswald; a member of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board and Head of the Co-ordination Commission for the 2012 London Olympic Games.^[25][26]

The Faculty of Business and Law

Magazine Square, with the Hugh Aston Building and the medieval Magazine Gateway

The Faculty of Business and Law incorporates the Leicester Business School and the Leicester De Montfort Law School. The Faculty has a long history of international partnerships; in 1997, it collaborated to help found a business school in India - the Daly College Business School.^[27]

The Leicester Business School was regarded by The Sunday Times as one of the top 10 business schools in the UK,^[28] whilst the 2007 National Student Survey ranked it seventh out of 110 institutions for student satisfaction.^[29]

It comprises more than 4000 students and 150 academic staff, making it one of the larger providers of business and management education in the UK. The School offers a variety of degree courses, including undergraduate, specialist Master's, MBA and research degrees; taught by the School's six Departments of Accounting and Finance, Corporate Development, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Public Policy and Strategy and Management. All students of the Business School have the opportunity to take part in placement schemes, offering students one year paid employment (taken after their second year) with UK and multinational employers such as HSBC, the Audit Commission, Xerox, Siemens, Intel, Cadburys and the NHS, among others.^[28]

The university summarises the Leicester Business School's primary facets as follows;

'Excellent' rated teaching and student support by the Government's Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), most recently achieving maximum scores in Public Policy and Accounting and Finance. Research of international excellence, including a 5* rating for Public Policy in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). Placement opportunities an option for all BA Honours students. A member of the Association of Business Schools (ABS). An Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Premier Status Centre, one of only 24 in the world.

A Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Quality Partner. A Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Accredited Study Centre. An Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM) Key Educational Partner. Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accredited Management programmes. Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) accredited Housing qualifications. A Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Centre of Excellence, one of only 11 in the United Kingdom.[28]

The Faculty of Business and Law is based in the Hugh Aston Building; a £35 million investiture officially opened in March 2010 by Patrick McKenna, founder and Chief Executive of Ingenious Media, one of the country's leading media investment companies. The event took place in the presence of a cross section of the local and academic community. Various activities took place during the day, including a mock court trial, a performance of the music of Hugh Aston, a Tudor composer, a lecture by Patrick McKenna and a celebratory lunch and reception. The construction of the building released the 14th Century Magazine Gateway from four lanes of traffic, allowing an attractive tree-lined square to be created; the Magazine Square.

The facility caters for 6,000 students and staff in total, and as well as having numerous large lecture theatres equipped with audio-visual technologies, it contains a mock courtroom, law library and dedicated law clinic. There is also a bespoke suite for postgraduate and professional education. Social spaces within the building include a café, public atriums, and a bookshop. The building was made using sustainable low maintenance construction materials, with the primary goal of maximising natural daylight and ventilation. The building received an 'excellent' rating by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). The building's namesake, Hugh Aston, died in November 1558 and was a leading figure of his generation; serving at different times as Coroner, Mayor and Member of Parliament for the borough of Leicester, as well as being one of the foremost early Tudor composers.^[30]

The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

The Hawthorn Building, home to the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

History of the Faculty

The Faculty of Health and Life Science is De Montfort's largest faculty, housing roughly 400 full-time and part-time staff, as well as approximately 5000 students. It is composed of four interconnected schools: Allied Health Sciences, Applied Social Sciences, Nursing and Midwifery and the Leicester School of Pharmacy.

The Faculty is based in the Hawthorn Building, which was previously an Arts College; boasting an art-deco turn style and stage area which now functions as a lecture theatre. David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix were reported to have played at the venue in the 1960s. There are ancient archways visible on the lower ground floor; supposedly remnants from a monastery which occupied the site prior to the building's construction. Perhaps owing to this, there are reports of a ghostly monk prowling the corridors. The Faculty underwent a major change in 2000 when the School of Biology, based at Scraptoft Campus, moved to the Leicester Campus, and the faculty will become fully centred around the university's City campus in 2011 when the School of Nursing relocates from the Charles Frears campus.^{[citation needed]}

Undergraduate Courses

The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences offers around 30 undergraduate health and science-related degree courses, and where relevant these courses are accredited by professional bodies. For example, Forensic Science BSc Honours is accredited by Forensic Science Society, and Biomedical Science BSc Honours is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science and endorsed by the Health Professions Council. Its sister degree Medical Science BMedSci Honours has more of a clinical focus and attracts students wishing to go on to study medicine. A full list of the courses offered by the Faculty can be found on the university's website: Health and Life Science Courses.

The four schools interrelate so as to allow collaboration across subject boundaries in teaching, consultancy and research. Between them, the Schools cover not just laboratory sciences but mentioned above but Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy; Community Studies; Criminal Justice; Counselling and Psychotherapy; Criminology; Environmental Awareness; Management; Protection and Technology; Forensic Science; Health and Community Studies; Midwifery; Nursing; Pharmacy; Psychology; Social Work; and Speech and Language Therapy. New courses include a Foundation in Healthcare Science, and new postgraduate courses include MSc Advanced Biomedical Science, MSc Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MSc in Pharmaceutical Quality by Design.^{[citation needed]}

Research

• The faculty has been awarded £2M for development from the HEFCE Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF) 2 initiative, funding cutting edge laboratory facilities. Other current developments include the installation of a Scanning Electron Microcope, the first of its kind in Europe, in December 2010.
• Social Work has received £200,000 from the HEFCE Capability Initiative to embark on further development of already successful areas such as ethnicity, Connexions, criminal justice and parenting.
• Nursing and Midwifery are part of a £250,000 JISC/HEA programme to produce Open Educational Resources for continuing professional development (TIGER).
• The School of Allied Health Sciences has received £125,000 as part of the JISC/HEA Open Educational Resource programme to release resources on Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia (Sickle Cell Anaemia OER). The school participated in the pilot phase building the Virtual Analytical Laboratory(VAL), a freely available laboratory skills resource with over 200 pages of multimedia resources which now attracts over 10,000 visitors a year.

The Faculty also boasts six Teacher Fellows who are driving pedagogic research across the four schools.

The Faculty of Technology

The Queens Building houses the Faculty of Technology.

Originally Faculty of Computing Sciences and Engineering, renamed on 1 October 2008. Descended via the former Leicester Polytechnic from the old Leicester College of Technology. The Faculty of Technology offers courses across a range of animation, computer game programming, information technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, telecommunications and video production. The main faculty building is the Queens Building (pictured), its unique design means that the building has no need for heating as it controls the temperature though a series of vents.

The Institute of Creative Technologies

The Institute of Creative Technologies (IOCT), which opened at De Montfort University in 2006, undertakes interdisciplinary research in emerging areas at the intersection of Science, the Digital Arts and the Humanities. The Institute offers an MA in Creative Technologies, a highly interdisciplinary course of study with modules across the faculties of Art and Design, Computing Science and Engineering, and Humanities. Post-graduate students are engaged in research in a wide variety of areas reflecting the inter/transdisciplinary nature of the IOCT.

Governance

The University is governed primarily through its Executive Board.

University Executive Board

The members of the University Executive Board include:

• Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dominic Shellard
• Chief Operating Officer, Dr Claire Baines
• Senior Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Fletcher
• Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, Professor Heidi Macpherson
• Pro Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning, Professor Andy Downton (with effect from May 2011)
• Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Business and Law, Professor David Wilson
• Dean of Art and Design, Dr Gerard Moran
• Dean of Health and Life Sciences, Professor Barry Mitchell
• Interim Dean of Humanities, Professor Tim O'Sullivan
• Dean of Technology, Professor Adrian Hopgood
• Director of Finance, Mr John Cunningham
• Director of Human Resources, Mr Ben Browne
• Director of External Relations, Mrs Kerry Law

Reputation

The University has one of the largest numbers of Teacher Fellows of any UK University and was awarded Centre of Excellence status for its performance practice teaching and student support.^[31] This award has enabled further investment in research as well as the construction of a new building with state-of-the-art performance studios, rehearsal areas and the latest technology.

In 2005/6, De Montfort University was highly rated by both external examiners and the Quality Agency Audit (QAA) for its academic planning, staff training and the support given to students.

The University also runs its own award schemes to promote and disseminate good teaching practice, an approach which was highly praised by the QAA. Its Curriculum Innovation Awards recognise the contributions of teams to programme design and delivery while the Vice Chancellors' Distinguished Teaching Awards are voted for by students.

UK University Rankings

	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999
Times Good University Guide	66th[32]	77th[33]	97th[34]	99th[35]	89th	81st[36]	80th=	86th[37]		85th	67th	67th
Guardian University Guide	77rd[38]	82nd	[39]		81st	81st[40]	83rd[41]	47th[42]	77th[43]
Sunday Times University Guide		69th[44]	87th	90th[45]	91st[45]	96th[46]	90th[46]	98th[46]	94th[46]	82nd[46]	67th[46]	66th[46]
Daily Telegraph			88th[47]				80th
FT							69th[48]		70th[49]		66th[50]	65th[51]
Independent - Complete University Guide		66th[52]	88th[52]

Student Facilities

Campus Centre

The Campus Centre Building.

The Campus Centre offers numerous facilities for students at De Montfort University. The building was completed in September 2003, and sits at the heart of De Montfort University's Leicester City site, fulfilling a number of functions and providing a wide range of services. According to the university, the building's 6,000 square metres contains:

• Retail outlets
• University catering for staff and students
• An office base and entertainment venue for the Students Union
• State-of-the-art facilities for Dance and Theatre students
• The University's Chaplaincy
• Flexible space for exam, exhibition and conference activities
• Conference facilities available.

The building is a three floor steel frame construction with a glass curtain wall frontage designed by Ellis Williams Architects, the company responsible for the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. It was constructed by Balfour Beatty on the site of the old Stibbe building, at a cost of £8.5 million and is central to De Montfort University's 'Masterplan', which seeks to regenerate the Leicester campus environment.

It houses the De Montfort University Students' Union, comprising various societies such as Demon FM^[53] a student radio station that runs 24 hours a day on a community licence; Demon TV;^[54] and The Demon,^[55] a student-run newspaper published fortnightly through term time. The Students' Union also runs its own lettings agency, known as DSU Lettings. There is a food court situated in the building, as well as a bar/venue named 'Level 1' and a pub named 'The Graduate'. There is also a Spar supermarket.^[56]

The Kimberlin Library

Opened in 1977, extended in 1997 and extensively refurbished in 2007, The Kimberlin Library is open 24 hours a day during term time, enabling students to study whenever it suits their schedule. There is also an @ccess anywhere scheme, allowing students to access a portion of the library's facilities remotely, at any time. The new Learning Zone on the ground floor provides space for group and individual work and has workstations with power supplies for laptops.

There are also syndicate rooms available for use by students, comprising interactive whiteboards as well as DVD and video facilities; providing students with an opportunity to collaborate and rehearse presentations. Kimberlin Library has an overall seating capacity of around 1150, of which around 450 have PC or MAC provision. The upper floors of the library cater for more traditional Quiet and Silent study needs.^[57] DMU Library Services gained a satisfaction rating of 4.2 in the 2010 National Student Survey.^[58]

The Eric Wood Learning Zone

The ground floor of the adjacent Eric Wood Building was extended and developed into a Learning Zone, providing 180 more modern study places and up-to-date study facilities. This was opened on 12 January 2009.

A third learning space called 'the greenhouse' with accommodation for another 200 study spaces is planned for Summer 2011 to coincide with the relocation of the Charles Frears campus to the city centre.

Future plans

According to the university, £186.5 million has been invested into its campus and surroundings in recent years, with the aim of "[offering] students the most inspiring working environments and access to industry standard, state-of-the-art facilities".^[59] These developments include;

• Art and Design Buildings:
  • Plans are in progress for a brand new dedicated Art and Design building on the edge of the River Soar.
• Sports Facilities:
  • There are plans for a £6 million expansion of the John Sandford Sports Centre. This will include expanded facilities and a swimming pool for use by students and the general public.
• Health Centre:
  • The university has sold land on Grasmere Street to allow space for a brand new Health Centre. This is still in the planning stage but will provide a full health care service for both students of the university and the local community.
• Public Squares:
  • The current buildings of the Gateway site are to be demolished, creating a new public square and improving the area. This will link with other public squares across the campus, and new landscaping, lighting, street furniture and public art structures will create a 'one campus' feel and a vibrant and pleasant place to study.^[60]

Notable academics

Gavin Bryars (composer) James Stevens Curl (architectural historian, architect and author) Gary Day (academic) Christopher Duffy Simon Emmerson (composer) Desmond Fernandes David Greenaway (economist) Ian Hall Robert Hewison Christopher Hobbs Derek Hockridge John Hoskin Andrew Hugill Chris Joseph (writer/artist) Stephen Thomas Knight

Leigh Landy Jim Marshall (UK politician) Simon Mills (writer/artist/programmer) Garth Paine Nicholas J. Phillips Kate Pullinger John Richards (musician) Martin Rieser Michael Scott (academic) Debbie Sell Dominic Shellard Dave Smith (composer) Sue Thomas (author) John Young (composer)

See also Academics of De Montfort University.

Notable alumni

Martin Ballard, sportscaster Christopher Bell, military historian Louis de Bernières, novelist Zarina Bhimji, photographer and filmmaker JS Clayden, vocalist for Pitchshifter, founder of PSI Records Marverine Cole, radio and television presenter, Sky news reporter Laura Coleman, model, Miss England 2008 Dorothy Cross, artist, sculptor Charles Dance, actor Pete Donaldson, broadcaster Keeley Donovan, BBC presenter Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, international ski jumper Alun Evans, journalist, Football Association of Wales CEO and senior lecturer Liam Fahy, footwear designer Mike Foyle, music producer Aaron French, head of media studies Christian Furr, artist Andy Gotts, photographer MJ Hibbett, singer-songwriter Eric Johnson, co-presenter, The Wright Stuff Kim Joo-Sung, football player

Akram Khan, dancer Simba Makoni, Zimbabwean politician Helen Milligan - regional retail manager at Greggs and runner-up on The Apprentice series seven (2011) Lewis Moody, international rugby player Geordan Murphy, professional Irish rugby union player (Leicester Tigers) Nicola Pellow, web browser designer Budge Pountney, professional rugby union player of Scotland QBoy, rapper, producer Andrew John Reed, MP for Loughborough Janet Reger, iconic lingerie designer Nick Ruston, artist and sculptor Michael Scott, academic Debbie Sell, speech and language pathology therapist David Shrigley, artist Ken Shuttleworth, architect Angela Smith, former MP for Basildon Sir Peter Soulsby, MP, British Labour Party politician and Mayor of Leicester David Taylor, British politician Andrew Warren, journalist Simon Wells, film director

See also Alumni of De Montfort University.

References

1. ^ "Financial Statements 2007-08". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/Images/annual-accounts-07-08_tcm6-1116.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 
3. ^ "RAE 2008: Quality Profiles". Research Assessment Exercise. http://rae.ac.uk/results/qualityProfile.aspx?id=57&type=uoa. 
4. ^ "DMU Top in region for National Teaching Fellowship". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/news_events/news/archive/090625_3_national_teaching_fellowships.jsp. 
5. ^ "DMU Campus Development". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/campus-development/index.jsp. 
6. ^ "A brief history". De Montfort University - Leicester, UK. http://dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/history/index.jsp. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} "Key events before 1992". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/history/before_1992.jsp. 
8. ^ "Key events after 1992". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/history/after_1992.jsp. 
9. ^ "Performance Arts Centre for Excellence (PACE) Building". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/campus-development/pace-building.jsp. 
10. ^ "Hugh Aston Building". De Montfort University. http://www.dmu.ac.uk/aboutdmu/campus-development/business-and-law.jsp. Retrieved 20 December 2010. 
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12. ^ Collaboration with Nanjing University
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External links

• De Montfort University – Official website
• De Montfort Students' Union – Official website
• Cultural Exchanges - Cultural Exchanges Festival website
• DMU Animation - Students' Animation Design website
• Demon Crew - Students' Creative Writing website
• DMU Library Services - DMU Library Services homepage

Coordinates: 52°37′47″N 1°08′20″W / 52.62973°N 1.13897°W / 52.62973; -1.13897