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Glyndŵr University

Glyndŵr University (Prifysgol Glyndŵr, pronounced Glin-dooor) is a university in Wrexham, north-east Wales. Formerly known as the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI), it was granted full university status in 2008 after being a member of the University of Wales since 2003. The University is named after the medieval Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr, who first suggested the establishment of universities throughout Wales in the early 15th century.

Glyndŵr remains an accredited institution of the University of Wales and offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The Vice Chancellor is Professor Michael Scott. Glyndŵr has approximately 8,000 full time students and over 350 from outside the UK.

History

Glyndŵr's origins date back to the opening of Wrexham School of Science and Art (WSSA) in 1887. At this time Viriamu Jones called for a University of Wales. The WSSA began offering University of London degrees in Science in 1924. The original name of Wrexham School of Science and Art was changed several times. In 1927, it became Denbighshire Technical Institute, becoming Denbighshire Technical College in 1939 and North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in 1975 by the merger of Denbighshire Technical College, Cartrefle Teacher Training College and Kelsterton College of Connah's Quay, Deeside. Initially, its degrees were validated by the University of Salford.

In 1993, NEWI became an associate member of the University of Wales and all further education courses in Wrexham were moved to Yale College, Wrexham. In 2004, NEWI became a full member of the University of Wales and in 2006 became accredited by the University of Wales and exercised devolved powers to validate and deliver its own University of Wales degrees. The University was officially renamed "Glyndŵr University" in July 2008 after being granted degree awarding powers. Glyndŵr was visited by the Queen in 2003 and by HRH the Duchess of Gloucester in 2005.

Campus

Glyndŵr is based over two campuses. The main campus at Plas Coch covers 93 acres, and was inherited from the former Cartrefle TTC which moved there in 1953. It houses over 70 seminar suites, conference suites, lecture theatures, work shops and laboratories, complemented with a library (the Edward Llwyd Centre) and a learning resource facilities, as well as a fair sized sports centre (the Plas Coch Sports Centre), a human performance lab, the Terry Hands studio, William Aston Hall, Gallery 109, the Welsh international hockey team, and Techniquest, a science discovery centre, open to the public.

Glyndŵr's second campus, Regent Street, is situated near to Wrexham town centre and is home to Glyndŵr's School of Art and Design. It formerly housed the Denbighshire Technical College, who moved to the site in 1927 (under their previous name of Denbighshire Technical Institute).

Courses

Glyndŵr runs 150 programmes, offering foundation, HND/Cs, honours and masters degrees and Doctorates over a broad variety of qualifications. In addition to professional courses such as Initial Teacher Training, Nursing and Social work, NEWI offers a range of postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications in Art & Design, Engineering, Science, Humanities, Health and Social Care, Sports Sciences, Computing and Communication Technology and Business. Although all courses are offered in English there are options to study or to be assessed in the Welsh language.

Glyndŵr is active in postgraduate research, particularly in science but also in engineering, health, business studies and the Arts. The institution has entered the RAE 2008 and seeks to build upon its previous success within Science (a 3A rating in Chemistry). The restructured Chemistry research team has now repostioned itself under Materials Science and has entered the 2008 RAE under that unit of asessment. The Materials Science Research Centre also includes the Glyn O Philips Hydrocollids Research Centre, directly supported by the Japanese company San-Ei Gen FFI Inc. Materials Science at Glyndŵr University includes the Water Soluble Polymers Group and the Advanced Materials Group.

Glyndŵr is unique in offering a degree in Illustration for Children's Publishing. It is the only place in the UK to do so.

Other activities and overseas ties

Glyndŵr commenced a number of international projects in the 1980s, forming Khartoum Polytechnic, Westbank University, Lerothli Polytechnic and developed more networks of Universities in Africa and Asia.

Glyndŵr is a member of the Fair Trade Coalition. It displays the Fair trade logo and sells Fair Trade items in its cafes/shops. NEWI recently ran a fair trade fortnight to publicise and show support for the cause. It ran between the 26th February to 9th of March.

Sports, clubs and traditions

Glyndŵr boasts a large sports centre, a radio studio, sound recording studio, engineering laboratories, art gallery, IT facilities, theatre studios, motor racing team, a dedicated scene of crime lab and notably the unusual asset of a Chinese medicine clinic. The Plas Coch site hosts an active student union as well as the student union Bar, named 'The Guild' (As of the beginning of the academic year 07/08. The bar has previously been known as "Baldrick's" and "Degrees"). Glyndŵr has its own car racing team which is run by the engineering school's Car Performance degree course students. The North Wales Clinical School opened in 2007 at Glyndŵr's Plas Coch campus.

Also located in the Plas Coch area of Wrexham are Wrexham Football Club, the Racket Centre (a tennis centre), the North Wales Regional Hockey Stadium and the Plas Coch retail park containing several well-known large stores and a cinema. NEWI has a good relationship with the football club and its supporters. The sports centre is the home ground of the NEWI Nets, North Wales's highest-ranking basketball team, who gained 5th place in the National division 3 in 2003-2004 and have been regularly invited back to play since, celebrating their thousandth game as a national team on March 21st, 2007. The NEWI Nets played in the British division two in 2005/2006 and in 2006/2007 gaining 5th place.

Glyndŵr has sponsored local football club, the NEWI Cefn Druids since 2003. This arrangement provides opportunities for Glyndŵr students, the local area and the team. The Cefn Druids won the NFWFA cup and Presidents cup in 1992 . Despite NEWI's name change to Glyndŵr in 2008, the club currently retains the old name and will do until at least the end of the 2008-2009 football season.

Glyndŵr recently acquired its North Wales regional Hockey stadium after a £1 million investment from Sport@NEWI and the Sports Council for Wales. It is a water-based, astroturf floodlit stadium with room for 200 spectators.

Companies

Glyndŵr has three subsidiary companies:

NEWI innovation
North Wales Science (Techniquest)
Plas Coch Sports

and six collaborative partners.

Students and Faculty

Students

Glyndŵr's students come from all over the UK and the European Union, and the number of international students is growing. NEWI's base in Wrexham offers economical student living for UK students and those from abroad. Indeed, NEWI is particularly popular with EU students who have established a firm base in Wrexham making NEWI one of the top 10 most popular destinations for EU undergraduate higher education students in the whole of the UK . NEWI is also extremely popular with mature students around 70% of NEWI students are over twenty one with 17% over the age of forty.

Glyndŵr has its own nursery called Little Scholars. This provides places for students children between the ages of 0-5. In the holidays a Little Scholars holiday club is provided plus the active 8-2-14 club. Glyndŵr gives awards in sports, especially Hockey.

Accommodation

Glyndŵr has three main Halls of residence, namely the Student village, Plas Coch Hostel and Snowdon Hall, and two smaller halls of residence named Bath Road House and Clwyd House. Both Plas Coch Hostel and the Student Village are on the main Glyndŵr site with the hostel being the older and smaller of the two. The student village is separated into houses and the houses into flats. Snowdon Hall, Bath Road and Clwyd House are in the vicinity of Wrexham town. The student village and Snowdon Hall are on suite and the rest are shared facilities. All of Glyndŵr's accommodation is self catering. Snowdon Hall is separated into four separate blocks of lockable flats and is currently leased from and run by the Opal Group.

Faculty

Glyndŵr's first principal (then as NEWI) was Professor Glyn O Phillips. He retired in 1991 and was replaced by Professor John O Williams. Following the retirement of Prof. Williams in 2000, NEWI then appointed Professor Scott in 2001 who is now the current Vice-Chancellor of Glyndŵr University. Prof. Scott is, himself, a former student of the University of Wales, Lampeter.

Glyndŵr has two assistant Principals. The Assistant Principal for Undergraduate studies is also the Dean of the Health, Arts and Education faculty Prof. Kate Sullivan. The assistant Principal for research and postgraduate studies is also the Dean of the Business, Science and Technology faculty Prof. Graeme Wilkinson.