Warwick in bid for US campus

The University of Warwick has bid to become the first British University to have a campus in the US, sparking a mixed reaction from students.

The University’s proposal will be judged alongside 17 others, as part of a global competition to set up an applied science and engineering research campus in New York City.

Warwick’s Vice-Chancellor, Nigel Thrift, described the project as an “exciting opportunity” which, “plays well to our particular strengths”. He said, “We believe we can add value to this initiative through our experience in delivering strong successful applied science partnerships that bring together industry and academic researchers.”

Strong ties between industry and academic research are long established in the US; Google and Facebook famously stem from its Universities.

Following the economic crisis, there have been fears in New York that the city had become over-reliant on its financial sector.

The New York Economic Development Corporation is running the competition for a new science campus. The corporation’s President, Seth Pinsky, described it as, “a new chapter in our city’s economy”.

In February, representatives from Warwick University attended an information session about the project at the New York Stock Exchange. They also toured potential sites for the campus, which include the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Manhattan’s Roosevelt Island.

There are bids for the science campus from Universities in Europe, Korea, Israel and India. A number of US institutions also submitted proposals, including Ivy-League Colleges Stanford and Columbia.

New York’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, hailed the quality of the responses as “an incredibly promising sign”.

Shortlisting will take place over the next few months and a winning bid will be chosen by the end of the year. Thrift said, “We are delighted that Warwick is being considered”.

The reaction to the bid from Warwick’s Students’ Union (SU) was mixed.

In March, the University announced it would be charging the maximum £9000 a year tuition fees for home and EU students from 2012. The SU responded by outlining their position as “opposed to £9000 fees but determined to win increased investment in the student experience”.

The University have yet to make any significant assurances of increased spending on students.

New York City Officials meanwhile have confirmed that responses to the science campus competition include proposals for “hundreds of millions of dollars” of private investment.

SU Education Officer, Sean Ruston, said, “I think the bid is generally a positive thing, as Warwick is in competition with some of the world’s foremost Universities, a place that Warwick has always, rightfully, wanted to be. Nevertheless, the University must think more carefully about large capital projects in an environment of reduced funding and skyrocketing fees – at the forefront of everyone’s minds should be whether the project will benefit both existing and future students.”

Students also expressed concerns about the allocation of University funds. Second-year biologist Robbie Fisher said: “The University seems to be prioritising research and business ahead of student welfare more and more. Last year’s merger of the Biological Sciences Department with the Horticultural Research Institute was a clear example of this, and I hope the bid for a research campus in the US is not another”.