4 | pimedia.org.uk news


Students welcome ‘Silicon Valley’ to London


Matthew Volkov


THE UCL Enterprise Society last month hosted an event called “Flight to the Future”, as part of a larger movement called “Silicon Valley comes to the UK”. The event featured several


speakers who were familiar with starting businesses and entrepreneurial activity in the Silicon Valley, the US and the UK, and aimed to inspire students to consider starting or joining an entrepreneurial business. The Enterprise Society,


which is separate from the UCL Entrepreneurial Society, is a small, private society. It is not sponsored by UCLU, but is a small group of four undergraduates, seven MSc students, three PhD researchers, and one member of staff. Ahmad Bakhiet, the first speaker


of the night and president of the Enterprise Society, said “Flight to the Future” was an experience, not an event. Upon arrival, attendees were given a T-shirt that read “In the future I want” and asked to fcomplete the sentence. A lively atmosphere was maintained as members of the Enterprise Society dressed as pilots and stewardesses. Daniel Hulme, a UCL graduate,


offered sound advice for students interested in start-ups or becoming an entrepreneur. Hulme commented briefly on Silicon Valley culture, mentioning that entrepreneurs in the Valley are mobile, hard-working, and willing to share. The competition between start-


ups drives innovation, he said. He stressed the importance of networking: you must share and talk about your ideas in order to find like- minded people that will want to help enable or evaluate your plans. Rob Fitzpatrick, the society’s


next speaker, spoke about the journey his small, six-man start-up company took from Silicon Valley to the UK and to five cities in between. Mr Fitzpatrick stressed the importance of pursuing entrepreneurial activity in the right kind of environment. His start-up floundered in


Atlanta, where they found little pressure among start-up peers to innovate and compete; however, in San Francisco, his company found success because of a hard-working, supportive start-up community constantly pushing them to make better, more innovative products. Mr


Fitzpatrick also said that successful start-ups need market exposure and feedback, in order to determine whether a product is profitable and likely to succeed. Lastly, Dan Sodergren, the


founder of Great Marketing Works, delivered a presentation stressing the importance of observing proper marketing tactics for entrepreneurs. Mr Sodergren spoke about a range of topics relevant to marketers. Highlights


included using


psychological tactics to market your product better, and the importance of community and a committed customer base for any sales company. The palpable aura of excitement


and jovial camaraderie at the Enterprise Society’s “Flight to the Future” was the perfect environment for budding entrepreneurs.


December 2011 | Pi Newspaper news@pimedia.org.uk


UCAS apps drop as fees rise Tristan Grove


A 15 PER CENT drop in university applications has been reported by UCAS for the 2012-13 academic year, in response to the government’s tripling of fees, raising important questions for UCL’s own future student intake. UCL Student


Statistics


Department has stated that “is too early to comment on the impact of the 2012 fees on UCL’total application numbers”. However, figures released in October show that courses with earlier application deadlines, such as those at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine, have all seen a 12 per cent drop in UK-resident student applications. This decline is expected, by many


within the NUS and other unions, to hit other courses whose application deadlines are the 15 Jan 2012. Liam Burns, president of NUS,


said in response to the drop that the government must “completely overhaul” its plans for higher fees “before temporary chaos turns into


Bloomsbury masterplan announced Emily Stiff


UCL HAS released details of the Bloomsbury Masterplan, a £500m investment into developing the university’s estate over the next 10-15 years.


During this period, the college


aims to undertake 100 construction projects to improve the Bloomsbury site. In addition, UCL will create a second campus in the Olympic borough of Newham, East London. The development strategy


was published last month by the UCL Estates division, and the architecture firm Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. In a preface to the document, UCL Provost Malcolm Grant said the strategy will “ensure UCL’s fine buildings in the very heart of this great world city best support the University’s highest academic standards and global ambition.” The Masterplan aims to


improve academic facilities by making more efficient use of space. In the Wilkins building, the central library will be extended to the basement and roof level. The grand rooms are to be linked together with the ground floor of the quad and the Bloomsbury building, to create a suite of rooms for teaching and conference use. The only major new building


on the main site will be a student centre on Gordon Street. However, the plan states that more new buildings


An artist’s impression of UCL’s new vision for Bloomsbury.


are needed to bring UCL’s facilities up to its world class reputation. An entirely new campus would house additional teaching facilities, primarily for graduate research and student accommodation. Another key aspect of the


plan is to strengthen UCL’s presence in the local area. It is planned that UCL’s museum collections, such as the Petrie Museum, will be relocated to more prominent positions. Campus buildings will be remodelled in ways designed to increase public awareness of learning activities. For example, the Roberts Engineering Building will be glass-fronted to make workshop spaces


visible to passers-by. Landscaping of outdoor areas,


such as Gordon Square, will further extend UCL’s presence beyond the main campus. Numerous smaller projects will collectively harmonise the campus’s ad hoc extensions, improve campus route navigation, and reduce UCL’s carbon footprint. The official estimated cost of


the Masterplan is £500m. However, Head of Estates Division Andrew Grainger explained to Pi that this figure is probably a conservative estimate. Funding will come primarily from university surpluses, which includes money made from tuition fees. Some


of the cost would also be met through borrowing, and philanthropic funding. The £500m figure does not


include the cost of the Newham campus, which is to be met through private investment. Mr Grainger told Pi: “This is a


ten year flexible plan, and we’ll only spend what we can afford to spend”. As it stands, the Estates Division has committed to an initial five- year, £100m plan, after which the financial situation will be reviewed. The first wave of projects includes the Engineering building, on target to be finished by Sept 2012, and the student centre, to be completed around 2016.


permanent damage to our education system”. The most recent published statistics


from UCAS show that 133,357 UK residents have applied for universities nationwide, compared with 157,116 this time last year. UCL Student Statistics Department stated that in October 2011, UCL undergraduate applications were “1 per cent on last year’(4 per cent down on UK/EU and 8 per cent up on overseas)”. Despite this decrease, a spokesman


for the department claimed: “I expect the undergraduate and postgraduate numbers to show a small increase - plus


a few hundred each - on last year”. UCL’s intake has not yet been


strongly affected by the nationwide decline, certainly in comparison with City University, in London, which recently revealed its applications are down by 41.4 per cent on last year. As indicated by UCL’s October


statistics, however, its comparative immunity to the drop is most likely the result of ever-rising overseas applications. Its UK applications, though not showing anything near the national average of a 15 per cent fall, have still significantly decreased compared with last year.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32