UCL campus in Adelaide: final agreement signed

This will be the first time that UCL, one of the world's leading universities, has left its shores to offer a degree programme overseas. The UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia, will be a collaboration between UCL and the Government of South Australia, with Santos offering support through its funds dedicated to the support of education, which will enable generous scholarship provision for students worldwide.

Under the terms of the agreement, the UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia will offer executive education programmes, to be followed by the full masters programme from 2010. The school, which will occupy the Torrens Building in central Adelaide, will be an integral part of UCL, which was recently ranked 7th in the 'Times Higher Education-QS' world university rankings.

The SA Government is putting $AUS 4 million towards the refurbishment of the Torrens Building and together with Santos will support the school's set up and operations over its first eight years. Once this term is complete, UCL will continue its activities in Adelaide, which will by that stage, it is intended, be self-financing.

UCL will appoint a Director and core academic staff to the school, and the teaching model will also involve the participation of academics from London teaching in Adelaide.  Joint Adelaide-London research programmes will also be developed. UCL will ensure that the MSc curriculum reflects the concerns of industry and will seek to work with leading energy and resources sector corporations to ensure that professional training is flexible and relevant to employers' staff development needs.

"Transnational education is changing the way that students and professionals now study and develop their skills.  Through our campus in Adelaide and as part of University City there, UCL will give a global lead on industry-focused research and teaching in a global context," said Professor Michael Worton, UCL Vice-Provost (Academic & International).

"Our presence in Adelaide will also provide a further opportunity for students from the Asia-Pacific region to study at one of the world's leading universities. We are already a truly international university, with international students making up one third of our total student body, and this new campus will further strengthen our position as 'London's global university'.

"UCL is committed to working to solve real-world problems and we relish the opportunity to work not only with the South Australian Government but also with Santos and a range of other Australian and international energy companies through our presence in Adelaide," added Professor Michael Worton. "From the outset we wished to work in collaboration with industry to ensure that the courses are tailored to proven need in the sector, so I am delighted that today we are able to confirm the support of Santos as a Foundation Partner in this exciting project.

"The school will enable UCL, in collaboration with its partners, to play its part in addressing the increasingly complex and inter-connected economic, management, legal and engineering challenges arising from the development and use of energy and resources that confront the world."