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Education
New university aiming to be self-funding in two years
schools with 80,000 students on specialist English courses – “it’s an enormous market out there and Malta seems to do it particularly well; we think that Gibraltar can also do it.”
A Hong Kong provider of educational tours to Europe combining learning of English with a cultural awareness programme has already shown interest in putting together a programme with Gibraltar, Licudi revealed.
“What really has spurred us on is that every time we have met with an institution – whether in Malta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seychelles – everybody has been so encouraging, so willing to work with us”, he continued.
Licudi emphasised: “The university itself will be not-for-profit; in other words it may make profit, but all the money that it makes will be invested in higher education. It is not a profit-making organ of government; it’s independent.”
£15m overseas grants
Gibraltar already provides annual grants of £5-6,000 for sixth form students who have been resident for five years regardless of nationality to attend universities, mostly in the UK. Last summer 260 (91%) of school leavers shared nearly £15m in grants to cover university tuition fees, accommodation in halls or private accommodation, air travel and books.
In 2011/12 the scholarship budget was only £5.3m, reflecting rising student numbers and a jump in English university fees.
Those opportunities remain even though similar degree courses may be available locally, but “there have been circumstances where, after A levels, some students have decided not to go on to higher education: having the opportunity to do a degree locally would give them that choice of carrying on – or returning – in higher education”, Licudi reasoned.
He thought there may be some graduates working in Gibraltar who would take the opportunity of applying for grants to continue with their education locally, possibly on a part-time basis – maybe to obtain a graduate diploma - in various areas, or even to gain another degree or professional qualification.
Students already have the choice of joining 3-year nursing degree courses in the UK or locally where some 14 people annually prefer to remain on The Rock and study at Gibraltar Health Authority’s School of Health Studies in conjunction with the
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A long-held ambition to establish a university will be realised in late September when Gibraltar gains its first higher education facility to serve business needs and it becomes an economic driver for the entire community
undergraduate, postgraduate and courses in Gibraltar law and Gibraltar tax. In addition, there is an Institute of Professional Development providing short courses and professional qualification courses.
He expected there would be “many hundreds of students in the first year, includ- ing evening classes for qualifications such as accounting technician, legal executive and short [part time] courses for industry in the evening, because this is something we are doing in conjunction with local business”.
The £10m grant covers “all capital costs up front, and all costs of staff and for [£2m annual] running costs for two years”, Licudi explained, meaning UniGib should aim to be self-funding after September 2017.
A full-time degree course in 2015/16 costs £7750, for example (14% below that generally in the UK). UniGib funding will need to come from tuition fees and any sponsorship opportunities it will be able to attract.
Some UK universities have been accused of being ‘commercial enterprises’, but Licudi is adamant: “The university will be independent, but I expect that the senior management will not be derailed in their objectives by industry dictating what should be done.”
However, at the same time UniGib had to be “very conscious of what the needs of industry are in Gibraltar, so it can train people”, he declared.
“We have had conversations with some [business] areas and we think sponsorship opportunities will be possible; it is something Gibraltar is well known for,” Licudi observed. “It is possible at the outset, but the senior management team will look at this from day one – funding is important.”
From September next year, the government believes the Language Centre that UniGib is pioneering – with overseas students in new accommodation to be built on-campus – “could be a big money generator, but more than that it is something that could be extremely important for the community as a whole”.
Ministerial visits to various countries have provided valuable insights as well as establishing potential reciprocal university arrangements. Malta has some 40 language
New student accommodation ready for the 2016 intake
A£10m government grant to get Gibraltar University (UniGib) off the ground is “another area which we aspire to setting the standard as to what can be done by a small jurisdiction such as ours”, Education Minister, Gilbert Licudi, told Gibraltar International.
“Undoubtedly, the University will enhance Gibraltar’s reputation in the interna- tional community”, he said, explaining: “A university enhances the city; we are already clearly on the map from a financial services and an on-line gaming point of view – we can do things very, very well in Gibraltar.”
Business and social science faculties and a research facility are housed in 4,000m2 of converted school buildings and new structures being completed at Europa Point, the southern tip of The Rock, to help “make Gibraltar a major centre for academic and scientific research”. At the outset up to ten research positions concerned with culture, environment and heritage are being offered.
But from late 2016, UniGib could also prompt formation of a new industry – its planned Language Centre primarily focusing on English as a professional language tailored to specific industries, as well as simply a foreign language, has attracted interest from several private sector language laboratory providers.
Licudi felt there probably would be 100 to 150 mostly local students at the outset in
10 Gibraltar International
www.gibraltarinternational.com