30 September 2005

University of Dundee nominated as Higher Education Institution of the year

The University of Dundee has been nominated as Higher Education Institution of the Year in the inaugural The Times Higher Awards.

The nominations are published in today's issue of The Times Higher Education Supplement, the country's leading education journal. Dundee is nominated alongside the Universities of Leicester, Manchester and Winchester for the award.

The award for Higher Education Institution of the Year, say the judges, "is not designed to mark the scaling of any number of league tables, but rather to acknowledge the institution that has advanced its reputation most substantially over the past year".

The nomination cites the University of Dundee's standing as an economic powerhouse for the city and surrounding area, teaching quality which is "second to none", the continued expansion of the successful Faculty of Life Sciences - most visibly represented by the creation of the new £20 million Centre for Interdisciplinary Research - and other strengths in areas such as computing and digital technologies.

"We are delighted to receive this nomination, which offers further evidence of the University's dynamic development in recent times," said Professor James Calderhead, Vice-Principal of the University. "The University has doubled in size over the past ten years and in the last year we have added tremendous new facilities such as the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and the Queen Mother Building, the new home for our Department of Applied Computing.

"We are committed to further growth and development in the years to come."

The awards will be announced at a gala event in London on November 23.

By Roddy Isles, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, r.isles@dundee.ac.uk