De Montfort University
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- DeMontfort University is also the name of a fictional university in The Class Menagerie and i.s.o.
De Montfort University is one of two universities situated in the city of Leicester, England; the other institution of higher education being University of Leicester. It also has the Polhill campus in Bedford, and used to have campuses in Luton, Lincoln, Caythorpe and Milton Keynes. The Milton Keynes campus was built in 1992, prior to becoming a 'new' university. The new university merged with Bedford College of Higher Education and the Lincoln colleges in 1994 and with the Charles Frears College of Nursing and Midwifery, based in Leicester, in 1995. It transferred the responsibility for the former Lincolnshire College of Art and Design and Lincolnshire College of Agriculture, based in Lincoln and Caythorpe, to the new University of Lincoln in 2002. The Kents Hill campus in Milton Keynes was closed in 2003 due to costs of maintaining such a small site.
De Montfort University grew out of the former City of Leicester Polytechnic, formed in 1969, which developed from Leicester College of Technology and Leicester College of Art. It was named after Simon de Montfort, who was Earl of Leicester in the 13th century. In the early days of the 'new universities' (former polytechnics before 1992) around 1995, each had to establish a wholesome corporate identity. De Montfort sought this by a memorable TV and cinema advert that reputedly cost £0.5m featuring a killer whale chasing some seals on a beach. The tag line 'Reserve your Seat of Learning Here' was read by Angus Deayton, inferring that students should avoid letting life 'chew them up' and improve their job prospects with a degree. It was stirring stuff and apparently had great success.
The University's logo, harkens back to much earlier heraldic times, to convey a much older 'look' than is really the case, like the mock Georgian architecture you find on new housing estates. It is similar in design to the former London Guildhall University (another former polytechnic).
The Student Union, DSU, has a radio station called Demon FM. It broadcasts on the internet and has won awards. The monthly student magazine is called The Demon, known formerly as Fusion.
Alumni
Charles Dance - Actor.
External Links
- De Montfort University website (http://www.dmu.ac.uk)
- De Montfort Student Union (http://www.mydsu.com)
- Demon FM (http://www.demonfm.co.uk)
- History of DMU. (http://www.jobs-dmu.co.uk/about.asp)
- Unofficial Guide. (http://www.unofficial-guides.com/guides/demontfort.html)
News Links
- Pharmacy students are allowed to fail their course. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/4579275.stm)
- Former Soviet nuclear weapons designers study about cultural awareness in Leicester - a place their warheads were once aimed at. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4242773.stm)
- Scientists develop weed that reduces Third World poisoning. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/4373829.stm)
- De Montfort female student is jailed for two years at Leicester Crown Court for hoaxing a kidnapping of a friend. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3996651.stm)
- Female underwear made from fibres from nettles developed by Textiles Department. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3857445.stm)
- Photography student takes pictures of discarded kebab wrappers for a project. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3096632.stm)
- Eddie the Eagle Edwards graduates with a 2:2 in Law. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3075531.stm)
- Leicester Crown Court hears how a 20 year old attacked male students disturbing him in a Finance lecture. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2802243.stm)
- Bra developed with electrodes. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2002809.stm)
- William Biggs, aged 38, former computing lecturer at the Milton Keynes campus, with a previous criminal record for murder, is jailed for life at Edinburgh High Court in October 2001 for murder and dismembering of 18 year old male in December 1999 in Scotland. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,573222,00.html)