SEPnet

Last updated

The South-East Physics Network, or SEPnet, is an association of physics departments at universities in the South-East of England.

Contents

In 2008 it received a grant of £12.5 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. [1] and in 2013 received an additional grant of £2.75m [2]

The South East Physics Network is better known as SEPnet, a consortium of physics departments in nine universities.

Its partners are, alphabetically:

Its associates are:

History and background

Until around 2005 there had been a long-term decline in the numbers of students nationally enrolling on Undergraduate degree courses in Physics and Astronomy. As a result, Physics departments and provision in universities was at risk with departments closing. Physics departments ran at a loss and required subsidies to maintain their undergraduate provision. Even universities in the UK's Russell Group were failing to attract enough students to be viable. The Universities in England's South East were felt to be particularly vulnerable and the decision by the University of Reading to close its Physics Department was a call to arms to these universities to take action to prevent closure and bolster their Physics departments. The result was a proposal from six universities to form a network of physics departments and seek funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England to invest in sustaining Physics in the South East of England. Led by the University of Surrey, the network consisted of the Physics departments at Kent, QMUL, RHUL, Southampton, Surrey and Sussex and was granted a £12.5m grant in 2008 for five years.[ citation needed ]

SEPnet Phase Two from 2013 onwards is based on an expanded consortium of nine Physics Departments of Universities in the South East of England – with the founding SEPnet members Kent, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Southampton, Surrey and Sussex being joined by Portsmouth, Hertfordshire and the Open University with University of Reading joining as an associate. This phase of SEPnet is led by the University of Southampton.[ citation needed ]

In 2008 SEPnet received a £12.5m grant over five years from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, to support innovative research, a collaborative Graduate School, lectures using video conferencing, regional employer engagement and a schools outreach programme.[ citation needed ]

In 2013 it received a further £2.75m grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and £10.3m from its members to continue programmes from the first phase, to maintain and expand the network, to establish a dedicated regional graduate training programme for physics postgraduate students and address physics specific issues of student participation and diversity.[ citation needed ]

Research

SEPnet research ranges from investigations into the most fundamental physics (from the smallest matter to the origins of the universe), to the physics of new materials, quantum computing, low temperature physics, nuclear medicine and space science Its research collaboration integrates resources across the region for four main research themes: Atomic & Condensed Matter Physics, Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Radiation Detection & Instrumentation LOFAR-UK, the first internationally significant new radio telescope in the UK for 40 years, would not have been possible without SEPnet funding and researchers.[ citation needed ]

Outreach

The SEPnet outreach programme has enabled all partners to engage with more schools, more conferences, more members of the public than individually they could have achieved. This has been a clear case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts and the network has demonstrably punched above its weight via the central coordination. The more than doubling of undergraduate applications to the network since 2008 and over 115% growth in UG population since 2007 (against a national increase of 30% over that period and nearly 50% above the base case projection in the original SEPnet business plan), the raising of the tariff points required for entry and the high growth in applications for entry in most of the partners accepted to be related to the outreach programme, building on the national interest in physics but surpassing it.

Further evidence of impact in undergraduate provision in the region is the establishment of the entirely new “Applied Physics” course at Portsmouth University. Due to the high numbers of students wanting to do physics in the South East region, a consequence of the SEPnet outreach efforts, Portsmouth have been enabled to start up their new course. This novel programme is targeted at a different set of students from the other partners and is intended to strengthen links with employers and local schools. Having put this in place, the case for Portsmouth to join the consortium as a seventh full member became overwhelming and this was agreed in 2010.[ citation needed ]

SEPnet Summer Placement Scheme

Each year, SEPnet arranges for undergraduates in their 2nd and 3rd year to conduct eight week placements. The scheme not only provides a transfer of knowledge across the South East of England, it increases the employability of physics students too.

The scheme is highly rewarding to both students and employers. It introduces students to the scientific workplace, and acts as an invaluable resource for employers looking for a fresh perspective on their business challenges.

The programme has been successful at reaching out to employers and in giving undergraduate students real experience of work, and employers experience of the value of physics graduates. The scheme is an exemplar and its value is recognized by students and employers. The programme of internships has been oversubscribed both by students and employers (considerably so in the 2012 scheme). The majority of employers continue to take students in following years and give excellent feedback on students and on the scheme itself.[ citation needed ]

The SEPnet Graduate Network

The SEPnet Graduate Network (GRADnet) brings together the research strengths of nine leading University Physics Departments that make up the SEPnet consortium in the south east of England to create the largest Physics post graduate school in England. GRADnet works closely with employers to offer a coordinated and bespoke skills training programme for its students designed to meet the needs of students, employers and University researcher groups alike.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Sussex</span> University in Brighton and Hove, UK

The University of Sussex is a public research-intensive university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provides convenient access to central Brighton 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) away. The university received its royal charter in August 1961, the first of the plate glass university generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Southampton</span> Research university located in Southampton, England

The University of Southampton is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom, and ranked in the top 100 universities in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Jyväskylä</span> University in Jyväskylä, Finland

The University of Jyväskylä is a research university in Jyväskylä, Finland. It has its origins in the first Finnish-speaking Teacher Training College, founded in 1863. Around 14,000 students are currently enrolled in the degree programs of the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Leicester</span> Public university in Leicestershire, England

The University of Leicester is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university status in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola College, Chennai</span> College in India

Loyola College is a private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the French Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other European Jesuits. It is an autonomous Jesuit college affiliated with the University of Madras. Loyola commerce association celebrated its 75th year in 2019. Loyola College has more than 8000 students studying as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochin University of Science and Technology</span> University in Cochin, Kerala, India

Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km (41 mi) inland. The university awards degrees in engineering and science at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Oceanography Centre Southampton</span> Centre for research, teaching, and technology development in Ocean and Earth science

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff University School of Medicine</span> Medical school in Cardiff, Wales

The Cardiff University School of Medicine is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, it is the older of the two medical schools in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Brasília</span> Public university in Brasília, Brazil

The University of Brasília is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the top fifteen universities in South America by Times Higher Education (THE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chennai Mathematical Institute</span> Research and education institute in Chennai, India

Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) is a higher education and research institute in Chennai, India. It was founded in 1989 by the SPIC Science Foundation, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in physics, mathematics and computer science. CMI is noted for its research in algebraic geometry, in particular in the area of moduli of bundles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East West University</span> Private University in Bangladesh

East West University, is a private university located in Aftabnagar, Dhaka of Bangladesh. It was established in 1996 under the Private University Act of 1992.

The Doctor of Engineering is a professional doctorate in engineering and applied science. An EngD is a terminal degree similar to a PhD in engineering but applicable more in industry rather than in academia. The degree is usually aimed toward working professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidya Academy of Science and Technology, Thrissur</span> Engineering college in Kerala

Vidya Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) is a privately financed engineering college in Thrissur District in Kerala. The college offers a degree in Bachelor of Technology and courses in six branches of engineering - Production, Civil, Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics, Electronics and Communication, Mechanical. The college also offers a degree in Masters in Computer Application (MCA). From the year 2011, the college has offered four MTech courses and two PhD programmes in Electrical engineering & Computer science engineering. The college was established and is administered by Vidya International Charitable Trust (VICT), a body formed by more than a thousand non-resident Keralites mostly based in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.

The Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI) is an institution dedicated to research in mathematics and theoretical physics, located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in India. Established in 1975, HRI offers masters and doctoral program in affiliation with the Homi Bhabha National Institute.

The ICG is a research institute at the University of Portsmouth devoted to topics in cosmology, galaxy evolution and gravitation. It has nearly 50 staff, post-docs and students working on subjects from inflation in the early Universe to understanding the stellar populations in galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian College of Optometry</span> Not-for-profit organisation in Australia for improving eye health

The Australian College of Optometry (ACO) is an Australian non-profit working to improving the eye health and well-being of various Australian communities. Established in 1940, the ACO's goal is to deliver public health optometry, vision research and professional education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern ARC</span>

The Eastern Academic Research Consortium, or "Eastern Arc", is a regional research collaboration between the University of East Anglia, the University of Essex, and the University of Kent. The three partner institutions are all part of the "plate glass universities" established in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IIT Tirupati</span> Autonomous engineering and technology university

Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati is an autonomous engineering and technology education institute located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Initially mentored by IIT Madras, now IIT Tirupati, the fastest growing 3rd generation IIT is located in Yerpedu, Tirupati, and has a size of 539 acres, including a proposed research park. The Foundation stone for IIT Tirupati was laid by the Union Minister Smriti Irani and the then Union Minister and former Vice President of India M.Venkaiah Naidu and the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Jardine-Wright</span> British physicist and educator

Lisa Jayne Jardine-Wright is a physicist and educator at the University of Cambridge. She is Director of Isaac Physics, a Department for Education and The Ogden Trust supported Open Platform for Active Learning that supports school students learning physics.

The Faraday Institution is a British research institute aiming to advance battery science and technology. It was established in 2017 as part of the UK's wider Faraday Battery Challenge. It states its mission as having four key areas: "electrochemical energy storage research, skills development, market analysis and early-stage commercialisation". The Institution is headquartered at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus near Oxford. It is a limited company and is a registered charity with an independent board of trustees.

References

  1. Lipsett, Anthea (7 April 2008). "Hefce gives £12.5m to physics initiative". Education Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  2. "Investment in physics teaching and research in the South East". 18 June 2013.

Official website