The Russell Group

 

University of Birmingham

University of Bristol

University of Cambridge

Cardiff University

University of Edinburgh

University of Glasgow

Imperial College London

King's College London

University of Leeds

University of Liverpool

London School of Economics & Political Science

University of Manchester

Newcastle University

University of Nottingham

Queen's University Belfast

University of Oxford

University of Sheffield

University of Southampton

University College London

University of Warwick

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About The Russell Group

Aims and objectives

The Russell Group is an Association of leading UK research-intensive Universities committed to maintaining the highest standards of research, education and knowledge transfer. Russell Group Universities together are committed to the development of a UK Higher Education sector in which:-

  • Teaching of the highest quality takes place in institutions which are at the forefront internationally in their respective subjects, inspiring the brightest undergraduates and training the best postgraduate and postdoctoral workers to create the next generation of innovators and leaders.
  • Leading Universities have the capacity to maintain and develop through their strategic planning processes, research teams, research facilities and scholarly resources capable of matching the very best competition internationally.
  • Research resources in the UK are directed to wherever particular research work can be best undertaken to the highest international standards.
  • There is the opportunity for an increasing independence from state regulation and funding.
  • The leading Universities act as the focus for best practice in the dissemination and application of cutting-edge research, including the commercialisation of research ideas and innovations.
  • The leading Universities take a central role in the development of UK HE policy and development, through commissioning research and public policy analysis of the very highest quality.

These aims and objectives are to be achieved by the Russell Group:-

  • Forming common positions on matters of concern, or opportunity, in respect of proposals or developments which would affect the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of research, its funding, its commissioning from sponsors, and the exploitation of intellectual property derived from it.
  • Forming common positions on matters of concern, or opportunity, in respect of proposals or developments which would affect educational standards, student selection criteria and processes, and postgraduate training.
  • Forming an understanding and influencing the development of the strategy and objectives of the main organisations affecting research intensive universities, including the Funding and Research Councils, Government Departments, the RDAs, the NHS, the research sponsoring charities, industrial sponsors, employers and the European Commission.
  • Undertaking or commissioning policy research on matters of relevance to research-intensive universities

Benefits to the United Kingdom

As the UK’s leading research-intensive Universities, the members of the Russell Group have the quality and strengths to compete successfully in the global market place for research, skills, expertise and training. To continue to do so, they need to be able to maintain and to develop teaching and research capabilities and facilities of considerable scale and complexity. Further national investment is needed to maintain these at a level capable of competing with increasingly aggressive international competition. The benefits to the UK are in return very considerable:-

  • Economic Innovation and Competitiveness

    Government has recognised in its Science and Innovation Investment Framework for 2004-14 that for the UK economy to prosper, the country must be able to withstand increasing global competition and must do so on the basis of high technology and intellectual strength, attracting the highest-skilled people and the companies which have the potential to innovate and to turn innovation into commercial opportunity. This in turn requires leading-edge research and training. Russell Group Universities provide over 60% by value of university R & D funded by both the public and private sectors, and they are at the forefront of business spin off and IPR licensing. They also house most of the country’s best Schools of Business and Management, responsible for the training of the entrepreneurial talent of the future.

  • The Health of the Nation

    Russell Group Universities lie at the heart of medical education and training. Three-quarters of the nation’s doctors and dentists are trained in Russell Group institutions. Basic medical research conducted in Russell Group Universities is at the forefront of advances in medicine, and through close collaboration with the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry they can provide the means to apply these to the clinical setting through rigorous clinical trials undertaken to the highest international standards.

  • Benefiting Society

    Russell Group Universities are major international institutions which nevertheless have a strong national and regional role and influence. They are to be found in all the major cities of the United Kingdom. Through their work on widening participation and continuing education they play a major role in raising aspirations and awareness and in transmitting the values of a common culture across all segments of society. Through their libraries, museums and galleries they provide vital elements in the cultural life of our nation and its regions. Similarly, through their research and teaching in the humanities and the social sciences, Russell Group Universities help to raise the quality of life and to solve major economic social and cultural problems. They play an essential role in training professionals to serve society – such as architects, health professionals, civil servants, lawyers, town planners, teachers and social workers – and are very often one of the larger employers of staff in their cities and regions, employment which is diverse but still heavily concentrated on professional and high value roles.

  • International Relations

    The strategic importance of meaningful ties across international boundaries is increasing. As major non-governmental institutions, Russell Group Universities are at the forefront of important international HE alliances, have a rich diversity of contacts with overseas Governments and institutions, and train the most able of the international students coming to the United Kingdom. The long-term benefits of such relations are highly valued both diplomatically and economically. Russell Group Universities are also of sufficient scale to be able to support those minority subjects which are of such strategic importance to the nation. For example, approximately 90% of provision in language related subjects identified under the HEFCE Minority Subjects initiative is to be found in Russell Group institutions.

Contacts

The Chairman of the Russell Group is Professor Malcolm Grant, President and Provost of University College London.

All queries about the Russell Group itself (rather than its member institutions) should directed to:

Director General, Dr Wendy Piatt
by contacting her PA, Gary Henson on 0207 872 5802, email: gary.henson@russellgroup.ac.uk

or Executive Director, Michael Carr, email: m.d.carr@liv.ac.uk

The Russell Group's postal address is:
1 Northumberland Avenue,
London WC2N 5BW.

Dr Wendy Piatt is Director General of The Russell Group. Find out more about her role in the three interviews below

 

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