Letter: Imperial College

Sir: I can assure Professor Kurti (Letters, 27 October) that were this college to devolve from the University of London - and we have only just embarked on examining the possibility of so doing - we would not wish to change our name. We might turn out to be one of the few multi-faculty institutes of higher education in the United Kingdom who manage without 'university' in the title, but, as Professor Kurti points out, there are flourishing, world-class centres of teaching and research in a similar position who show no signs of deprivation.

Yours faithfully,

ERIC ASH

The Rector

Imperial College of Science,

Technology and Medicine

London, SW7

27 October