Middlesex University

Middlesex University, branded as Middlesex University London (MDX), is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The university is in the historic county of Middlesex.

The university's history can be traced to 1878 when its founding institute, St Katharine's College, was established in Tottenham as a teacher training college for women. Having merged with several other institutes, the university was consolidated in its current form in 1992. It is one of the post-1992 universities (former polytechnics).

Middlesex has a student body of over 19,000 in London and over 37,000 globally. The university has student exchange links with over 100 universities in 22 countries across Europe, the United States, and the world. More than 140 nationalities are represented at Middlesex's Hendon campus alone. Additionally, it has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius as well as a number of local offices across the globe. Courses are delivered by the Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Professional and Social Sciences, and the Faculty of the Arts and Creative Industries.

In 2023, it was awarded an overall rating of Silver by the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. The university has been awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize three times and has twice received Queen's Award for Enterprise for its international work.

History

For 140 years, the institutions which eventually formed Middlesex University have been based in north London. The university grew out of mergers between different schools and colleges in the area beginning in 1878 when St. Katherine's College, a female teacher training college, was created in Tottenham. It was joined by Hornsey College of Art, founded in 1882, Ponders End Technical Institute, founded in 1901, and Hendon Technical Institute, opened in 1939.

In 1973, these colleges and further institutions around north London formed Middlesex Polytechnic. In 1992 Middlesex University was established from Middlesex Polytechnic by royal assent as part of the Further and Higher Education Act. More institutions joined at this time as Middlesex expanded further.

From the 1990s, the university began to develop its international presence with their first overseas regional office in Kuala Lumpur. In 1995, a network of regional offices opened across Europe. In 2005, Middlesex opened its first overseas campus in Dubai followed by a campuses in Mauritius in 2009 and Malta in 2013. The university also has partnerships with other educational institutions around the world.

The university has now consolidated its many London campuses into one Hendon campus where it now accommodates all its London-based teaching.

• Timeline
• 1878 – St Katherine's College, Tottenham founded
• 1882 – Hornsey College of Art founded
• 1893 – Berridge House, Hampstead founded
• 1901 – Ponders End Technical Institute begins
• 1939 – Hendon Technical Institute opens
• 1947 – Trent Park College of Education opens
• 1962 – New College of Speech and Drama opens

1962 – Ponders End Technical Institute is renamed Enfield College of Technology by the Ministry of Education.

• 1964 – St Katherine's College unites with Berridge House to form The College of All Saints
• 1973 – Middlesex Polytechnic formed
• 1974 – Trent Park College of Education and New College of Speech and Drama join Middlesex Polytechnic
• 1978 – The College of All Saints closes, with the buildings (and remaining students and some staff) transferred to Middlesex Polytechnic
• 1991 – David Melville becomes the first Vice-Chancellor

1992 – Middlesex University formed; Baroness Platt of Writtle becomes the first Chancellor of the university; First overseas regional office opens in Kuala Lumpur

• 1994 – The London College of Dance becomes part of the university
• 1995 – North London College of Health becomes part of the university; Regional offices open in Europe
• 1996 – Michael Driscoll becomes the Vice-Chancellor; Middlesex receives its first Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education

Campuses

The university has consolidated most of its activities onto the Hendon campus in London with all teaching located at Hendon from autumn 2013. All older campuses were closed – Bounds Green (2003), Tottenham (2005), Enfield (2008), Cat Hill (2011), Trent Park (2012), and Archway and Hospitals (2013) – while Hendon received substantial investment in facilities and infrastructure to accommodate new students and programmes.

Since 2004, the university has also been operating an overseas campus in Dubai and opened another one in Mauritius in October 2009. In September 2013, Middlesex opened its third international campus in Malta.

London: Hendon

The Hendon campus is located in north-west London, near Hendon Central Underground station. Its main College Building was built in the neo-Georgian style by H.W. Burchett and opened in 1939 as part of Hendon Technical Institute. This was extended in 1955 and in 1969 when a new refectory and engineering block were added, and later expanded using a number of London Borough of Barnet office buildings including the current Town Hall and Library.

Over £200m has been invested to transform the university's Hendon site into one of London's biggest campuses. The main College Building was refurbished in a £40 million project which included the addition of a glass-covered central courtyard forming Ricketts Quadrangle. In 2004, the new Learning Resource Centre, the Sheppard Library, opened to offer 24/7 access to over 1,000 study areas and specialist facilities including a Financial Markets Suite, Law Wing, and Teaching Resources Room.

The Ritterman Building is one of Middlesex University's newest developments, and was opened in February 2017. It provides over 3,300 square metres of additional teaching space for both the Faculty of Science and Technology, and the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries, and is home to the UK's first 'Cyber Factory'. Its design incorporates sustainable technologies including solar panels, a bio-diverse green roof, and living walls irrigated by rainwater harvesting.

Other specialist facilities include bioscience and biomedical science laboratories, nursing and midwifery simulation labs.

The Hendon campus has a number of sports facilities, including a fitness studio, 7-a-side football pitches, floodlit outdoor courts (MACS), a bouldering wall, and one of the few real tennis courts in the UK. In October 2013, the university opened a new sports science facility at Allianz Park (the new stadium of Saracens Rugby Club) in Hendon. The refurbished university gym, Fitness Pod, opened in 2017 to offer gym and leisure facilities to students, staff and the local community.

Organisation and governance

Faculties

The university is divided into three faculties:

Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries

The Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries is home to the Departments of Media, Performing Arts, Design and Visual Arts.

Faculty of Professional and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Professional and Social Sciences groups subjects from the Business School, Institute for Work Based Learning, School of Law, and School of Health and Education.

Faculty of Science and Technology

The Faculty of Science and Technology brings together subjects including biomedical science, computer science, design engineering, telecommunications and computer engineering, mathematics and statistics, information systems and environmental science. The Faculty is home to the Departments of Natural Sciences, Computer Science, Design Engineering and Mathematics, Psychology, and the London Sports Institute.

Governance

Middlesex has both a Board of Governors and an Executive Team, both of which are led by Vice-Chancellor, Tim Blackman.

• Chancellors
• 1992–2000 – Beryl Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle
• 2000–2013 – Allen Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Didgemere
• 2013–present – Janet Ritterman
• Vice-Chancellors
• 1972–1991 – Raymond Rickett (academic)
• 1992–1996 – David Melville
• 1992–2015 – Michael Driscoll
• 2015–2019 – Tim Blackman
• 2019-2023 - Nic Beech
• 2023-2024 - Sean Wellington (Interim)
• 2024–present - Shân Wareing

Tim Blackman announced his resignation in May 2019 to take the role of Vice-Chancellor at the Open University.

Research

Middlesex's research covers a wide spectrum of subjects across its three faculties including Art and Design, Education, Human, Social and Economic Geography, Law, Music, Professional Practice, Software Engineering and Algorithms.

Research covers 29 areas. The UK Funding Councils' 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rated 58% of research submitted to be world and internationally excellent.

The UK Funding Councils' 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) rated 90% of Middlesex's research internationally recognised.

In 2011 the university's research project on age diversity was selected for inclusion in the Research Councils' "Big Ideas for the Future" report. The report brings together the leading research projects currently taking place across UK universities.

Student life

The university has a student body of around 19,000, in London and over 37,000 globally. The university has student exchange links with over 100 universities in 22 countries across Europe, the United States, and the world.

Until recently the number of students at the university has been declining fast, hitting a four-year low of 21,350 in the academic year of 2008–2009. The number of PG students fell 20% in four years (from over 6,000 graduates in 2005 to less than 5,000 in 2009), while the number of non-EU students were down by a third over the same period. In the academic year of 2009–2010, however, the number of students across all categories increased sharply. The trend continued the following year with particularly high increase in the number of students from the EU.

In 2010 Middlesex had one of the biggest increases in applications at any university – more than 30% – but the demand for places had still grown by another 11% at the start of 2011.

Students' Union

Middlesex Students' Union (MDXSU) is a non-profit organisation, separate to the university.

In 1981, Union president Nick Harvey joined protests outside Rochester Row police station after six Irish students were detained without charge under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. That year, student John Kennedy stood in the Crosby by-election to highlight the case of seven students suspended from the Polytechnic after a sit-in protest demanding nursery facilities.

Reputation and rankings

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018, Middlesex University was the only modern university in London to feature in the top 500 global universities. In the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2017, Middlesex was named the top modern university in London. In the Guardian University Guide 2018, the university's Film Production and Photography course was named the top in London. In The Complete University Guide 2018, its Sports Science and Social Work courses were named the best in London. In 2017/18 the overall satisfaction from the National Student Survey was 77%.

Middlesex is ranked within the top 401–500 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 and one of the top 100 universities in the world under 50 years old by the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2020.

In 2017, Middlesex was recognised for its high-quality teaching in the government's Teaching Excellence Framework. The institute was awarded Silver and commended for valuing and rewarding teaching, as well as enhancing student engagement.

The university has been awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize three times and has twice received Queen's Award for Enterprise (for its international work).

The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) ranks the university Business School the 209th international business schools in the world.

In 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Middlesex's psychology degrees in the top 201–250 psychology degrees in the world.

In 2022, 2023 and 2024 ARWU ranked Middlesex's psychology degrees in the top 301–400 psychology degrees in the world.

Notable alumni

Middlesex runs an alumni association allowing former students to maintain contact with the university after graduation. It offers discounts and benefits to members and organises reunions and social events.

Although not a graduate, Tommy Flowers, a British engineer who helped create the Colossus computer used to break code during World War II received a basic computing certificate from Hendon College.

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