On August 1 last year, City, University of London formally merged with St George’s, University of London, creating a powerful multi-faculty institution with a distinctive focus on professional education and research at the frontier of practice.
Led by Professor Sir Anthony Finkelstein and spread across three campuses in Clerkenwell, Moorgate and Tooting, City St George’s, University of London now educates more than 27,000 students from over 150 countries. The university is now one of the largest higher education destinations for London students and one of the most significant suppliers of the health workforce in the capital.
By combining legacy St George’s world-leading specialism in health and medicine with legacy City’s excellence in a breadth of disciplines including health, business, law, communications, policy and global affairs and science and technology, the merger has created opportunities to generate significant change in the world of healthcare through interdisciplinary working. This includes changes to treatment, population health monitoring, workforce development and leadership, policy, and advocacy.
The historic merger has immediately brought increased reach and scale, and in the longer term will enable more investment in facilities than would be possible for two smaller, standalone universities.
“As a combined university, we broaden the opportunities and outcomes available for our students through the possibility of engagement between different disciplines,” says Professor Elisabeth Hill, deputy president and provost of City St George’s, and strategic lead for the merger.
“There is now a bigger student community, access to greater resources and interdisciplinary opportunities, increased support and, over time, there will be more streamlined processes. The merger brings significant advantages of scale, reach, capability and resilience, ensuring the future success of the university,” she says.
Professor Hill says as both legacy institutions are highly ranked for student employability and research impact, this makes an even stronger offering for those who study with us.
“Our students are at the heart of everything that we do, and we are committed to supporting them to secure good jobs. This commitment has only been strengthened by the merger.”
Our students are at the heart of everything that we do, and we are committed to supporting them to secure good jobs. This commitment has only been strengthened by the merger
Elisabeth Hill, City St George’s
The merger has – obviously – been a time of significant change for those who work here too. What impact does Professor Hill think it will bring for academic staff?
“The merger is timely given the pressures faced by our universities and the NHS,” she explains.
“It creates positive opportunities, through linking existing strengths in medicine and health to expertise across the academic spectrum from business, law, science and engineering, to policy, communication and the arts.
“These interactions will generate educational and research benefits, as well as advantages of scale, which will enable our academics to have a major impact on society, not least in healthcare. We anticipate greater research reach, increased opportunities to generate external research funding and through that to attract and retain the most innovative researchers.
“For staff and students, City St George’s will be an exciting place to study and to work. For our external stakeholders, we will offer greater opportunity for collaboration around research, teaching, partnerships and events.”
Helen Watson is the chief operating officer of City St George’s. She says the merger is an exciting opportunity for professional staff too.
“A huge amount of work has been done very quickly to enable our merger and now staff are ensuring that the integration phase is rolled out. Full integration will take some time, but it is a testament to everyone’s commitment and the hard work of staff at both institutions that we have got this far so quickly,” she says.
“Professional staff will benefit from being part of a bigger institution, including greater opportunities for career progression, to undertake development and training and to apply for jobs across the institution. We are committed to creating an environment where staff feel valued and recognised; and ensuring that we make City St George’s a great place to work.”
About the author: Amy Ripley is head of external relations for the City St George’s Merger Programme. She has worked in journalism, the arts and higher education in both the UK and Australia.
