University of Abertay Dundee

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University of Abertay Dundee
Established: 1888
Type: Public
Chancellor: David Ogilvy, Earl of Airlie
Principal: Prof. Bernard King CBE
Chairman of Court: Prof. Gordon Hewitt CBE
Students: 4,125[1]
Undergraduates: 3,490[1]
Postgraduates: 635[1]
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Website: http://www.abertay.ac.uk

The University of Abertay Dundee, usually known simply as Abertay University, is a Modern University located in Dundee, Scotland.

Contents

[edit] History

Abertay University was created in 1994, under government legislation granting the title University to the Dundee Institute of Technology, which was founded in 1888, becoming a Central Institution and gaining independent degree-giving authority in the 1970s and recognised as an "industrial university" by the Scottish Office as early as 1902.

[edit] Profile and reputation

The student library.
The student library.

The courses offered by the university are non-traditional in nature, being more vocationally focused than traditional universities. Honours degree courses such as "computer game technology", "ethical hacking and countermeasures", "forensic sciences", "food product design" and "sport health and exercise" are all on the syllabus. Traditional academic subjects such as maths, physics, English, classics, geography, chemistry and history are not taught as named degree programmes at the university.

Entrepreneurialism is a particular feature of Abertay’s teaching, centring on the Embreonix graduate incubator established in 2000 with support from the European Social Fund. More than 40 small business have spun out of Embreonix in the past 6 years, creating more than 80 high-skilled jobs, many of them in digital media and e-business.

Today, Abertay University is a world leader in computer games technology and design and is also home to the Dundee Business School. Abertay has also observed particular strengths in the social sciences with the introduction of pioneering courses such as ‘Forensic Psychobiology’ and 'Mental Health Studies and Counselling'. Research active staff in Abertay’s Psychology department have helped to make it one of Scotland’s best rated universities for the study of Psychology, with active research in forensic, clinical, perception and evolutionary psychology, as well as close links with local practitioners. In the current Times University Ranking tables, the University of Abertay is placed fifty-seventh in a list of 109 UK universities.[2]

In the UK Research Assessment Exercise 2001 (published December 2001), Abertay was identified as one of the most improved research universities in Britain. The university more than doubled its average score for research quality and was highlighted as the best university in Scotland for environmental science research and one of the top five in Britain.[3]

In May 2002 The University of Abertay was ranked number one in the United Kingdom for its investment in information technology facilities by the Financial Times.[4] David Jones, the creator of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings computer game series, attended Abertay and Dare to Be Digital, a world wide recognised computer game production competition is run by the university each year.

[edit] Organisation

The Kydd Building.
The Kydd Building.

[edit] School of Computing and Creative Technologies

  • Division of Computer Arts and Media
  • Division of Complex Systems
  • Division of Software Applications
  • IC CAVE (computer games research centre)

[edit] School of Contemporary Sciences

  • Division of Biotechnology and Forensic Sciences
  • Division of the Built and Natural Environment
  • Division of Health and Food Sciences
Dudhope Castle, housing the Tayside Institute for Health Sciences.
Dudhope Castle, housing the Tayside Institute for Health Sciences.

[edit] Dundee Business School

  • Division of Business Analysis & Systems
  • Division of Law & Management
  • Division of International Business & Communication

[edit] School of Social & Health Sciences

  • Division of Psychology
  • Division of Sociology
  • Tayside Institute for Health Studies
  • Division of Sport & Exercise

[edit] Specialist Centres

  • Embreonix
  • SIMBIOS
  • Scottish Economic Research (SER)
  • The Scottish Institute of Wood Technology
  • Urban Water Technology Centre
  • Abertay Centre for the Environment
  • Food Innovation@abertay
  • Partnership for Research in Interdisciplinary Simulation and Modelling (Prism)

[edit] Residences

  • Alloway Halls
  • Hillbank Hall
  • Lyon Street
  • Meadowside
  • Victoria Chambers

[edit] Research

Abertay is Scotland's top-rated university for research in environmental sciences (RAE 2001[1]) and also has particular research strengths in computer games, psychology, and urban water systems. Industrial relevance and value to the local and national economies are a feature of all the university's research aims.

[edit] Student Centre

A newly constructed £6,000,000 student centre sits at the heart of the campus. The focal point for student recreation, the centre comprises bars, shops, eateries, a nightclub and cinema; it attracts some of the UK's top music acts and celebrities.

[edit] Notable alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of the University of Abertay Dundee

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
  2. ^ O'Leary, John. Good University Guide 2007 (HTML). Times Online. The Times. Retrieved on 6 September 2006.
  3. ^ RAE 2001 (HTML). HERO website. HERO Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
  4. ^ University of Abertay Dundee (HTML). Education UK. British Council. Retrieved on 2006-09-06.

[edit] External links

[edit] Specialist centres

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