University of Sussex Re-signs Partnership Contract for On-campus International Study Centre
June 2009 – Monday (8 June) will see the formal re-signing of an agreement between the University of Sussex and leading international education provider Study Group. Under the renewed contract, Study Group will continue to manage the International Study Centre (ISC) on the University campus for a significant number of years. The official re-signing will be held in the Committee Room of Sussex House, where the formal agreement will be witnessed by University of Sussex Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Farthing, Heith Mackay-Cruise, CEO of Study Group and Study Group Executive-Chairman, Arvid Petersen. The ISC prepares international students for both undergraduate and postgraduate study and has been part of life on the Sussex campus since 2006.
Based on the University campus, ISC students benefit from access to on-campus facilities within a supportive environment, while studying for their University of Sussex-validated Foundation or Pre-Masters courses. ISC courses combine academic modules, study skills and English language training in preparation for postgraduate or undergraduate study, offering overseas students an assured path onto a degree or masters programme. The Sussex ISC has tripled in size since it opened, growing from just 100 students in 2006 to over 300 in 2008. The Centre ensures that it truly caters to international students by maintaining its diversity with over 29 nationalities represented.
A new business school at the University of Sussex set to open in August, will increase the formal provision of business course strands available to its students. Business is the most popular undergraduate course with students at the ISC, and Study Group is planning the future expansion of the ISC in order to cater for the expected rise in demand.
Heith Mackay-Cruise, CEO of Study Group, commented:
“The ISCs are designed to help international students acclimatise to the UK, equipping them with the necessary skill-sets for an undergraduate or postgraduate course of study. Sussex has an outstanding reputation and delivers an academic experience of the highest calibre, making the Sussex ISC hugely popular. Study Group’s ISC students are provided with outstanding levels of personal academic monitoring and support, which explains why so many of them gain acceptance on to their desired university courses."
“The international education industry remains one of the UK’s greatest ‘hidden exports’, estimated to be worth in the region of £8.5bn to the UK economy per year. However, perhaps more importantly, foreign students add a cultural dimension to the learning environment and, after graduating, improve trade and diplomatic relations between Britain and their own countries.”
University of Sussex Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Farthing said: “The International Study Centre has proved to be extremely successful since the project’s inception in 2006. As a University we are reassured by the knowledge that the students attending the ISC are academically motivated, and have a real desire to progress and excel in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. International students add a fantastic cultural dimension to the University environment and really fit in well to university life because of their time spent in the Centre. We are looking forward to the next phase of our partnership with Study Group.”
The University of Sussex is one of the world’s leading universities,
coming 18th in the UK in the recent Guardian University Guide and 130th in the world in the THE World University Rankings 2008.
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About Study Group
Spanning five continents, Study Group is a global leader in international education, providing the highest quality educational opportunities for students from over 120 countries. Beginning in 1994 with 7000 students per year, Study Group now has an enrolment base of 50,000 around the world.
Through Study Group’s leading set of partnerships with top universities, it is able to provide on and off-campus preparation courses for international students that ensure academic success and entry into some of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world. The quality of its teaching is confirmed by independent accreditation bodies worldwide including: English UK, Ofsted, British Council, NEAS, Accet, English Australia and New Zealand Qualification Authority.
Study Group offers English language courses for international students in 18 locations in all of the main Anglophone destinations through its EmbassyCES brand. Courses include short-term general English, one-year academic programmes and specialist English preparation for public English language qualifications, or for degree programmes at English-speaking universities. Study Group also runs youth summer vacation courses in the UK, Ireland and the USA, combining English language training with both academic and extra-curricular activities.
The biggest intake of international students into Study Group’s UK programmes is from countries with emerging economies such as China, South East Asian economies, and in particular from oil-rich nations such as Russia and the Middle East.
About the University of Sussex
The University of Sussex was the first of the new-wave of universities founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in 1961. It has since grown to become a leading research and teaching institution. In the 2008 Times Higher University World Rankings, Sussex was ranked in the top 20 in the UK, the top 50 in Europe and the top 150 in the world.
Sussex has developed a reputation for innovation and inspiration, and attracts leading thinkers and researchers. It has counted three Nobel Prize winners, 14 Fellows of the Royal Society, six Fellows of the British Academy and a winner of the prestigious Crafoord Prize on its faculty.
The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) ranked 18 subjects at Sussex in the top 20, with the American Studies department number 1 in the UK, Politics number 2, and Art History number 3.
Sussex has a cosmopolitan student body and academic links with every continent. More than 2,200 international students come from 100 countries, while teaching staff represent some 40 nations. Additionally, one in seven of all Sussex undergraduates spend a year of their degree studying outside the UK.
Sussex is the only university in England that is entirely located in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The University campus is set on the edge of the South Downs National Park and just outside the friendly seaside city of Brighton & Hove, with its great leisure facilities and its rich, eclectic cultural life. For further details see: www.sussex.ac.uk
