Imperial College and UCL in merger talks to create 'the world's number one university'

Two of Britain's most respected universities are negotiating a merger to create "the world's number one university" in London.

University College London and Imperial College hope to form a giant institution with a turnover of more than £800m and more than twice the research funding enjoyed by Cambridge.

The two universities are regularly ranked among the top six institutions in the country and argue that by joining forces they can become "a global player" in an increasingly international market.

Imperial College has a worldwide reputation for science and technology and boasts 14 Nobel laureates among its alumni, including Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin.

In last year's research league tables, only Oxford and Cambridge had more top-rated departments than UCL. Founded in 1826, it was the first university in England to admit students of any race, class or religion and the first to welcome women on equal terms with men.

Sir Derek Roberts, the provost of UCL, said the new university would be a global competitor.

"This is about creating the world's number one university," he said. "This would put Oxford and Cambridge way, way behind and put us in a strong position to rival Harvard."

In a letter to staff yesterday, Sir Richard Sykes, the rector of Imperial College, said the decision to begin merger talks followed "years of inadequate funding" that threatened to see both universities overtaken by their international rivals.

"Standards have fallen and our competitive edge is fading rapidly," he warned. "Joining forces [with UCL] in a more concrete way would present a formidable array of subject disciplines of quality with the potential to work together in ways which we currently cannot foresee but which will be essential if we are to continue to compete with the very best higher education institutions in the world," he said.

"If fruitful, our discussions would lead to the creation of a truly world-class research-based institution with the resources necessary to compete effectively with the best in the world."

If the proposal is supported by the universities' governing bodies, the new institution could open by 2004 A merger would create a university with the biggest volume of research grants in the UK. The combined research funding for the two colleges in the latest academic year was £406.7m, compared with Oxford's £206.2m and Cambridge's £192.4m.

In last year's research rankings compiled by The Independent, Imperial College came second only to Cambridge while UCL came sixth, after Oxford, the London School of Economics and Warwick.

UCL faces a well-publicised financial deficit. Despite cutting spending by £2m this year, the university is predicted to be £10m in the red next year.

Dr Chris Towler, Imperial College's Director of Strategy and Development, said that although the universities collaborated in many ways they were currently forced to compete for students and research grants.

Combining resources and departments would help the new university to develop the "critical mass" necessary for world-class research, he said. "Big is not necessarily beautiful but bringing together excellent people to work in the same institution will help us a great deal. We would be able to apply jointly for the same grants rather than competing all the time."

The combined universities would have 3,000 academic staff, 3,000 research staff and 4,000 research students. It would become one of the country's biggest universities with 27,500 full-time students.

In a joint statement yesterday, the universities confirmed talks on the merger had begun. Proposals will be presented in December to the boards of both universities, who will decide whether to proceed.

The merger would need an Act of Parliament but it could be completed by August 2004, Sir Derek said. No name has yet been chosen for the new university.

Mergers and closures have been predicted among universities because of increased pressures on funding.

In March, Manchester University and Umist (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) announced plans to merge to create Britain's biggest university with about 28,000 full-time students.

London Guildhall and the University of North London (UNL) merged in August to form the London Metropolitan University with up to 25,000 students and annual revenues of up to £110m. The latest merger would be by far the most significant union – bringing together two of the country's most prestigious universities.

The Association of University Teachers called the proposals "very concerning". Sally Hunt, the union's general secretary, said: "I find it impossible to believe that the two colleges could stage an in-depth analysis, consult fully with staff and formulate well thought-out proposals ... in two months. Ultimately, the fact that this is even being mooted bears out what we have been saying for months; that because of continuous underfunding, the nation's universities are now in crisis and the quality of education ... is in decline."

She urged the Prime Minister to call an emergency summit on higher education. "The fact that Richard Sykes is saying that 'standards have fallen' and our universities' 'competitive edge is fading rapidly' shows just how ser- ious the situation has become."

Tom Wilson, head of the universities' department at the lecturers' union NATFHE, said: "This [merger] will really create competition for Oxford and Cambridge."

DRIVING FORCE AMERICAN WORK ETHIC OF MAN BEHIND THE DEAL

By Chris Gray

In comparison to Sir Richard Sykes's previous merger operations, combining two academic institutions might seem like child's play.

As chief executive of Glaxo, he masterminded a 1995 take-over of Wellcome and then a merger with SmithKline Beecham in 2000 to create the second-largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

It was a startling feat for a man the City thought was unable to run the company when he was promoted from head of research to chief executive at Glaxo.

But Sir Richard was used to defying preconceptions. Born in Huddersfield, he left school at 16 and put himself through A-levels by taking evening classes. He went on to obtain a first-class degree at Queen Elizabeth College, London, before moving to a research post at Bristol University. He remained in academia until he joined Glaxo in 1972, aged 30.

After five years as head of the company's Antibiotic Research Unit, he was tempted to the United States with a job at Princeton with the Squibb Institute for Medical Research. He preferred Squibb's dynamic atmosphere, but was wooed back to Glaxo when he was asked to head its research and development department.

He brought with him a drive worthy of corporate America, extolling the virtues of early-morning exercise and long hours. Sir Richard has been spotted in corporate headquarters at 5.30am pounding the company running machine and at GlaxoSmithKline he would arrive at the office by 7am, having left his home in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, at dawn.

For relaxation he swims – in a pool at his home – but even his endurance has its limits. One colleague has commented that Sir Richard has been known to "work himself to the point of collapse".

The United States left a big impression on him: his office at Imperial College houses large paintings of the Appalachian mountains and he believes university students should bear the full cost of their education.He is also prone to talking like a character out of a Western. Commenting on his behaviour at the time of the Wellcome takeover, he said: "You have got to be tough when you have got to be tough."

His move to the public sector from GlaxoSmithKline, and his adoption of arcane title of rector as head of Imperial, raised eyebrows.

But his arrival had an immediate impact, with staff reporting that everyone suddenly started arriving earlier at the office.

A similar reaction is likely at UCL once the merger goes through, but the board will be glad to see him: he was its first choice to succeed Sir Derek Roberts as provost in 1999.

Some of his new colleagues will not, though, be joining him for his dawn workout. "I've always thought that jogging is pointless. If you're fit you don't need to do it, and if you're not fit it can kill you," said one.