The Russell Group

The Russell Group represents the 20 leading UK universities which are committed to maintaining the very best research, an outstanding teaching and learning experience and unrivalled links with business and the public sector.

Cuts will "devastate" UK gold standard universities

It has taken more than 800 years to create one of the world's greatest education systems and it looks like it will take just six months to bring it to its knees, write Prof Michael Arthur and Dr Wendy Piatt.

Britain's higher education system is superb – second only to the US, with 18 of our universities in the world's top 100 – and recognised across the globe as a gold standard.

But our gold standard system could be replaced with one of silver, bronze or worse, under swingeing cuts to the funding of higher education and science recently announced by the government. Exactly how much will be slashed and where the axe will fall is unclear, although it has been put at up to £2.5bn.Read the full article

Listen to Prof Arthur's interview on the BBC's Today programme and Dr Piatt's Guardian audio interview

The Russell Group - strength in depth

Welcome to the Russell Group’s website. Behind it lie the massive resources of our members’ 20 websites – you can search them all via the box at the top right hand side of each page and you will also find links to their sites under Our Universities.

If you are interested in studying at a Russell Group university, either at undergraduate or postgraduate level, there is advice in the Study section and links straight to the relevant information at each university.

In research the Russell Group displays strength in depth and we illustrate some of the ways in which this is having an impact far beyond the lab.

The website is a work in progress and we would be interested in your comments and suggestions.

Russell Group and 1994 Group universities launch £4 million scholarships scheme

The  Russell Group and 1994 Group of universities have launched a groundbreaking £1000 scholarship for students who wish to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects at university.
 
The ‘Eliahou Dangoor Scholarships’, launched with a £3 million donation over three years, will be one of the largest private bursary or scholarship schemes in the UK, and will be administered across Russell Group and 1994 Group universities. Matched funding from government is expected to bring the total funding available to over £4 million. You can learn more about the scholarship and hear from previous Dangoor scholars in this video.

Thanks to the generous donation from  Dr Naim Dangoor this scholarship will assist up to 4000 students, most from under-privileged backgrounds, to study vital science and maths-based subjects at the UK’s leading research-intensive universities.
 
Dr Dangoor has said that this scholarship, named in honour of his father Eliahou Dangoor, is his way of thanking the country that gave him refuge after he left Iraq in the 1960s. It is hoped that this ambitious scheme will encourage more young people to consider studying STEM subjects at one of the country’s leading universities.

More information on the scholarships and the universities involved in the scheme is available here

Latest News

More students from poorest areas entering university
A substantial increase in the numbers of young people from poor neighbourhoods entering higher education since the mid-2000s was welcomed by the Russell Group today.

Social mobility and access to professions
The Russell Group welcomes the Government's response to the report by the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions and highlights the importance of increasing aspirations, improving attainment and targeting information and guidance in schools and colleges.

Postgraduate review
The Russell Group warns that UK universities could lose out on the best postgraduate students unless they are able to rise to the challenge of fierce global competition.

Latest University News

Adult Social Care in Need of a Radical Overhaul
A radical overhaul of the adult social care system is being called for by Birmingham University researchers following an independent analysis of the social and financial gains that could be reaped

Local school win Go4SET prize
The John Cabot Academy Team A, in conjunction with the Environment Agency, have won the Go4SET Best Overall Project Award for their project on water and recycling at the Go4SET Bristol Celebration and Assessment Day (CAD). The prize was presented by Dr Askin Isikveren, Director of Engineering Design at Bristol University.

IfM lecturer delivers keynote address at cluster conference
Dr Tim Minshall of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), has given the keynote address at a major conference aimed at encouraging hi-tech and enterprise clusters in Japan.

Medical student at centre of rugby Six Nations
Jamie Roberts represents Wales

Study tracks fertility decline

New technique for analysing the chemistry of ancient oceans could reveal facts about early Earth
Dr Rosalind Coggon talks about the importance of her technique in an audio interview - News

Genetic variant linked to biological ageing
Scientists from King's and the University of Leicester have for the first time identified definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The discovery has important implications for the understanding of cancer and age associated diseases.

Reach for Excellence hailed a success

The first evaluation of the Reach for Excellence (RfE) scheme has reported excellent results.

Liverpool chemist elected Chair of Amercian Chemical Society's Division of Organic Chemistry
A University of Liverpool chemist has been appointed Chair of the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Division of Organic Chemistry for 2010.

Demographics demand that we don't keep spending

Letter from Dr Ros Altmann, LSE governor, in response to an article on the economic downturn . - Financial Times

Royalty at the Rylands
Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the University’s John Rylands Library on Deansgate this afternoon (Feb 4) to view some of its most historic collections.

Royal opening for student services building
His Royal Highness The Duke of York has opened King’s Gate, Newcastle University’s new student and administrative services building on Barras Bridge.

Seeing stars
Popular astronomy lectures have been extended into 2010.

Oxford colleges weather the storm – for now
Oxford University’s 36 independent colleges today publish their financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2009, a period that included the collapse of Lehman Brothers and subsequent turmoil in stock markets around the world.

Senior churchmen visit Queen's
Two of the United Kingdom's most senior members of the clergy were the guests of honour at a recent reception at Queen's.

Pupils learn future skills from medical students
Medical students from the University of Sheffield visited local secondary schools last week (5 February 2010) equipped with dummies, stethoscopes and fake injections to introduce pupils to life as a medic. ...

University of Southampton partners new national centre for marine science excellence
The University of Southampton will have a key role in a new national research organisation launching on 1 April 2010, to deliver integrated marine science and technology from the coast to the deep ocean.

Slide show: 5 years at the UCL Institute of Women’s Health

The inaugural five-year review of the UCL Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women’s Health (IfWH), conducted by an international panel of experts, has found that the Institute is now starting to rival the best European institutions of its kind.

Warwick Professor in UN study on secret detention in the context of countering terrorism
University of Warwick Professor Shaheen Sardar Ali is one of a team of UN experts who have just produced a new Joint study on global practices in relation to secret detention in the context of countering terrorism for the United Nations Human Rights Council.