(NewswireOnline): University College Birmingham is a leading university based in Birmingham, England. Located in central Birmingham University College, Birmingham (UCB) offers both vocational and academic education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
UCB is planning to start in-person classes normally from September 2021. There will still be some online teaching when it’s what works best for the subject, but all students will get most of their teaching in person.
“The success of the vaccine program in the UK means we are fairly confident that we’ll be able to teach in person. If things change, we do have a backup plan and ways of teaching online for a few weeks until students can join us in person.”, says Alice Wilby, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at University College Birmingham.
UCB has implemented safety measures on campus and plans to add more steps, depending on what national and regional rules are in place by then.
The University specialises in the areas of hospitality and the culinary arts, hairdressing and beauty, tourism, business enterprise, marketing, business management, accounting, finance, events management, sports management, sports medicine, sports therapy, and Early Years education. UCB also has the distinction of having an actual airplane inside one of its buildings, on the 6th floor. It’s used as a simulation suite to teach aviation students.
Culinary Arts and Hospitality courses have a long history at UCB. It was founded as the Midland School of Cookery in the 1880s. Things have changed a lot since then, and now the University offers lots of other courses.
However, they still have a very strong College of Food. UCB has its restaurant serving the public and links with fantastic top chefs and restaurants. Graduates from UCB are known to be high-quality in the hospitality industry – having a UCB degree sets you up well for the future.
University College Birmingham has been attracting students from India to study these courses for a long time, so each year, alongside students from the UK and worldwide, UCB always has a large cohort of students from India.
“We encourage students from all races and ethnic backgrounds to join us at UCB and have one of the most diverse cohorts of students of any UK university. That’s partly because of the number of students we attract from all over the world. The city we’re in, Birmingham, is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the UK. It’s one of UCB’s strengths, and we are always looking for new ways to celebrate the diversity and achievements of our students.”, says Alice Wilby, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at University College Birmingham.
Alice Wilby started working at UCB in February 2019. Alice has worked in universities for most of her career, first at the University of Oxford, then at Oxford Brookes University, and then at the University of Wolverhampton. She has been involved in working to make universities welcoming to people from lots of different backgrounds and nationalities.
“My academic interests are connected to sociology and education – I’m particularly interested in social mobility.”, says Alice Wilby.
University College Birmingham has lots of exciting plans – new courses in areas like health and business, lots of new partnerships with employers and businesses so that students get great experiences, and investment in new facilities, including spaces for entrepreneurship and a new bakery shop open to the public.
“We’re very good academically, good enough that the University of Birmingham, one of the prestigious Russell Group universities, awards lots of our degrees. But I think it’s about more than that – we give students a great education, with lots of practical and hands-on experience, but we also give them access to an amazing, supportive community too. Our size means that students get a lot of support and attention, and it’s easy to find friends.”, says Alice Wilby.
The team at UCB has been in constant touch with the Regional Manager in India to ensure smooth operations during COVID. When asked about the effect of the Pandemic in India, Archna Singh, who is working as a Regional Manager at the University, added, “In a very short span, the University has been successful in creating awareness amongst the students. We are being able to support students from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh through our in-person visits. At the same time, through our India office, we are organising many webinars and one-on-one sessions with the students. I understand the Pandemic has slowed down everything and badly impacting the lives of people but we are fully committed to serving the students to the best extent possible. Despite all odds, we always want to ensure that world-class education should be for all eligible students. I am thankful to get the support of all our partners, agents, and students in this tough situation too.”
Most UCB courses allow students to take a long placement with an employer in the UK as part of the course. In many cases, this makes the course a year longer and allows the student to get valuable experience of working in the UK.
Some students are even offered permanent jobs at the end of their placements. There are also options for shorter work experience and placements during the holidays. In addition, most UCB students take part-time jobs when they study.
Birmingham is an excellent region to get a part-time job, with lots of student-friendly work in hospitality in particular. Usually, Indian students on a tier 4 visa can work for up to 20 hours a week in term time and more in the holidays.
For more details, visit https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/
