UCL launches 'UCL on iTunes U' in the iTunes Store

UCL (University College London) has today launched 'UCL on iTunes U,' enabling students and other users to download UCL lectures, interviews, seminars and news, and play audio and video materials on their iPod or computer.

Today's launch represents the first time that higher education institutions from outside North America will appear on iTunes U, a dedicated area within the iTunes Store featuring free educational content..

UCL on iTunes U focuses initially on material such as talks and lectures by UCL academics, interviews and news of UCL research, and information for prospective staff and students. Two priority areas for UCL are in the spotlight first: enterprise, bringing innovations in research to the marketplace; and global health, rallying the university's breadth of intellectual capital to provide solutions to one of the world's major challenges.

Initial highlights of UCL on iTunes U going live today include:

• a virtual tour of this year's UCL Slade School of Fine Art Summer Show
• recent lectures by high-profile speakers, such as Dr Tadataka Yamada of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• first-hand expert accounts of the history of neuroscience, produced by the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL
• a weekly audio round-up of news from UCL
• UCL's hugely popular Lunch Hour Lectures, providing the public with a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge research
• an interview with UCL President and Provost Professor Malcolm Grant, who explains UCL's mission as London's global university and our vision for the future.

UCL academics and students are already using new technologies, including podcasting, to share information from their research and studies. UCL on iTunes U enhances the university's provision of information and extends its reach to new audiences around the world. It will also enhance learning and teaching, developing innovation through new technology and meeting the needs of today's techno-literate students.

UCL President and Provost Professor Malcolm Grant said: "UCL is one of the world's leading universities, with an ethos not only of excellence, but also of innovation and accessibility. It is entirely in keeping with this ethos that we engage with new technologies to further our teaching, learning and engagement with the public. We are pleased to be leading the way in Europe."

Professor Peter Mobbs, who leads the academic aspect of UCL on iTunes U, said: "Our students will be able to revisit materials presented to them in lectures, so they can learn anywhere and anytime. Furthermore, our students are among the world's best and brightest, and I want them to be involved in generating and sharing their own content - discovery, analysis, imaginings - through audio and visual media, in collaboration with staff and other students."

Notes for Editors

1. For more information, contact Dominique Fourniol in the UCL Media Relations Office on +44 (0) 20 7679 9728 or +44 (0)7881 833 274, email d.fourniol@ucl.ac.uk.

2. For more information on Apple, contact Sheryl Seitz, Apple Europe Corporate Communications, on +44 (0) 207 184 1196, email seitz.sheryl@euro.apple.com.