Birkbeck helping school leavers re-imagine 3-year degrees
Birkbeck ups efforts to attract greater number of three-year degree students
Birkbeck has undergone an amazing transformation since it began over 190 years ago. Already a premier research-intensive institution, Birkbeck, University of London is seeing a record number of school leavers now choosing it for their higher education needs and helping ensure a bright future for one of the world's most unique learning propositions.
To help enhance its appeal, Birkbeck last night welcomed students, head teachers, higher education advisors and corporate partners to a special event at the ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford to introduce its unique model of evening learning. This allows school-leavers to achieve their academic goals at the same rate as their peers who are following the 'traditional' university route, while providing the opportunity to gain meaningful work experience and giving them a competitive edge in the job market upon graduation.
Addressing the gathering, Master of Birkbeck, Professor David Latchman CBE, said: “We’re now attracting a significant number of 18 - 20 year olds, who see Birkbeck as an extraordinary opportunity to combine a three-year degree from a world-class university with real work experience over the course of their study.
“Our students show a tremendous dedication to undertake this unique way of learning, completing evening study and juggling work commitments during the day. This desire to succeed is reflected in the growing admiration that employers across London are showing by recruiting Birkbeck students, who can demonstrate everyday workplace skills alongside an intellectual capacity that contemporaries at other institutions may lack.”
Michael Peltier, who is undertaking a BSc Accounting, said of his Birkbeck experience: “Birkbeck provides such a wonderful and unique dynamic that you don’t get anywhere else, allowing me to learn about all these great theories from great minds each night, and then the next day I’m able to take these ideas into the workplace and put them into practice immediately. Birkbeck is really changing the model of what gaining a degree is all about.”
The latest figures from UCAS show that more and more younger students are opting to study a three-year, evening-taught undergraduate degree at Birkbeck: from just 119 students in the first intake to nearly 1200 last year. This has also seen a sensational take-up of learning by those in the 18 - 20 year old age range: an increase of some 1650% since Birkbeck first offered the three-year alternative in 2010/11.
Attending the event, was Eddie Playfair, Principal of NewVIc which has some 2,700 students aged 16-19 years old, making it one of London’s largest sixth form colleges. He said: “I have no doubt that the three-year full-time degree evening programme is an incredibly attractive option. The model in place is an ideal one for many of our students, and I expect we’ll see greater numbers of NewVIc students coming through the gates of Birkbeck in the years ahead. Birkbeck is creating knowledge, stimulating ideas, promoting understanding between people and is helping propel people into an exciting future.”
Birkbeck is also well placed to provide employment opportunities and careers advice for students keen to marry up their course work with professional connections from across all sectors of the economy, with corporate partnerships and internships often leading to full-time employment thanks to the Birkbeck way.
Chris Lloyd, co-founder of the creative technology company 27 Partners, recognises the benefit of having enthusiastic Birkbeck students in the workplace: “We find that Birkbeck students are often more capable and adept than traditionally trained students. They’re different in many ways, not least because they’ve taken on the challenge of completing a degree and entering the workplace at the same time, and without compromising on quality. They draw on real world experiences and situations in addition to their academic education to help solve problems – they know that the massive opportunity to work whilst they learn is the critical path to their success in life.”
The idea of gaining useful work experience whilst studying, and giving students a head start on other graduates, is clearly something that is growing in appeal. Applications for Birkbeck’s three-year degree are already up 23% from the same point last year, indicating that Birkbeck is once again expecting to welcome a record intake of undergraduates.
Find out more about Birkbeck’s full-time three-year degree here.