University of Manchester, UK

Reconstituted in 2004 by merging the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST, the University of Manchester, UK has an enviable reputation for teaching and research With an enrollment of 35,655 students reading over 500 academic programmes, the University of Manchester, UK is celebrated as Britain’s largest single-site university. In 2006 the university received more applications (63,000) for undergraduate study than any other British university. Reconstituted in October 2004 by merging the Victoria University of Manchester and University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), the combined University of Manchester, UK has an enviable reputation for excellence in teaching and research. In 2005 it was awarded the University of the Year prize by the Times Higher Education Supplement and in 2006 by the Sunday Times. The 2005 survey of the world’s best universities by the Institute of Higher Education of Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University, China, ranked Manchester the 5th best university in the UK, 9th in Europe and 50th worldwide. In 2005-06 University of Manchester, UK received £260 million (Rs.2,210 crore) from external sources for R&D activities. Little wonder that its annual research income of £191.5 million is the fifth largest of any university in the country. Moreover with an annual income of £590 million (Rs.5,015 crore), it is Britain’s only half billion pound university.  “We believe that teaching and research should be at the heart of the university experience. The most highly prized degrees are those obtained in universities where students learn from scholars who are not only dedicated teachers, but also active researchers in their chosen fields,” says Alan Gilbert, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester. Prof. Gilbert is leading a bold and exciting plan — the Manchester 2015 Agenda — which aims to vault Manchester U into the league of the world’s top 25 universities. Manchester. An hour from Britain’s showpiece Lake District and two hours by train from London, Manchester (pop.2.5 million) is a centre of the arts, media, higher education and commerce, and is often described as the capital of northern Britain. Manchester is historically notable for having been the world’s first industrial city and for the central role it played during the industrial revolution. Today it is a bustling cosmopolis hosting people from numerous nationalities and cultures. For those who believe that there’s more to the academic experience than study, Manchester is another city by night. It is replete with innumerable restaurants offering a wide range of cuisines, cinemas, music, clubs, and pubs. The climate in Manchester is damp and rainy with temperatures ranging between 1oC in winter to 19oC in summer. Campus facilities. Situated in the heart of Manchester, the campus of the eponymous university is a mix of traditional Victorian buildings and modern architecture set amidst landscaped lawns and gardens. The campus is a mini-metropolis offering almost everything a student needs — lecture theatres, laboratories, computing facilities, welfare services, restaurants, cafes, bars, supermarkets and a shopping centre. Study facilities include the John Rylands Library with its 3.5 million volumes; the world-famous Jordell Bank Observatory; a…