The academic capital of the world

London has more students and universities than any city in the world, which gives it enormous diversity. It may be expensive, but you get a lot for your money, writes Emma Haughton

You can always blind with statistics, but those surrounding London's university sector are actually impressive in their own right. The capital has no less than 40 separate institutions, accounting for £2.6bn turnover – or 4 per cent of London's GDP. Around a third of all British research falls within the M25, and the capital trains half of all medical students in Britain and absorbs one third of overseas students.

It truly is the "city of universities", says Professor David Rhind, the vice-chancellor of City University and convenor of the London Higher Education Consortium, "London is the academic capital of Europe, and probably of the world by the number of institutions and students. It has an incredible concentration of expertise, which means it can offer specific Masters courses that couldn't be sustained elsewhere."

Yes, it is an expensive place to study, but it is worth it, he insists: "It's stupid to deny that London is an expensive place, but you get a lot for your money. Our museums, libraries and so on are unparalleled, and we have a quality and range of skills here that offset the extra costs of accommodation and travel – and the beer. Students, by and large see that – especially those from overseas."

Another of London's strengths is its ethnic diversity, he believes. "All human and academic life is here." But Clare Callendar, professor of social policy at South Bank University, is concerned that the newer London universities in particular are in danger of becoming "ghettos" for black and ethnic-minority students.

"I've found from my research that students from ethnic minorities are much more likely to stay at home and study locally," she explains, "The new universities recruit locally, and so attract a higher proportion of ethnic minorities and students on low incomes, whereas the older universities tend to recruit nationally, and so end up with predominantly white middle-class students. There is this increasing polarisation, which leads to certain types of prejudice, with those universities associated with white middle-class students being perceived as more prestigious than the primarily 'black' universities."

But Roderick Floud, president of Universities UK and provost of London Guildhall University, points out that "many of the most research-intensive and prestigious universities in London, such as the London School of Economics or Imperial College, have a huge variety of students from all over the world. That diversity is a good thing – students get the benefit from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds."

Other criticisms have been levelled at the London higher-education sector, not least that it is too crowded. London Guildhall is planning a merger with the University of North London, and there are rumours that other institutions may follow suit. "Almost everyone has alliances with other institutions," says Rhind. "The situation now is quite a bit different from five or 10 years ago, when the Conservative government encouraged us all to be highly competitive. There is still a lot of competition, but also a much greater degree of collaboration and partnership – everyone understands now that no one organisation has all the skills to do anything substantial."

The London Guildhall merger may well be the first of its kind, but Floud is cautious about extrapolating. "Yes, we are merging with the University of North London, but don't think we can draw conclusions for the whole of London from our particular experience. The capital is still underprovided with university places as a whole – we're still exporting students to other parts of the country. There are some universities that are having particular difficulties, but these things tend to pass over."

That said, the merged institution, the London Metropolitan University, will be the biggest unitary university in the capital in terms of student numbers and will enjoy a range of benefits, argues Floud: "We think we can make some significant savings and have greater flexibility in the use of buildings. We can extend the subject range and use the strengths of a larger institution to try to make a difference to recruiting from disadvantaged parts of London, such as Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets. The merger should give extra opportunities to these communities, which can only be a good thing."