The University of Portsmouth wants to establish its presence in London by having a brand-new campus to welcome students early next year. 

The university has a partnership with the global property investment and development group, Northchild Group, which will have the campus located in Waltham Forest. Until this moment, it was the only northeast London borough that did not have a higher education institute.

The campus will take place within two floors of an already existing building; however, there are plans in action for a new, completely separate campus that could accommodate up to 7,000 students! 

Waltham Forest Council is working with their partners to start the launch of the campus. This will result in welcoming 100 international postgraduate students in February 2024; after that, undergraduate students will join in September 2024.

The university is supposed to recruit equal numbers of international and local students. The admissions and recruitment centres opened in Walthamstow Library in March 2023. This is part of the preparations for welcoming the students to Waltham Forest.

In addition to the undergraduate and postgraduate courses, it was said by the University of Portsmouth London that the university will extend its initial offering in order to provide work-based learning opportunities as a way to have apprenticeships and more flexible ways to study. These ways are designed with specific skills and needs so that they can help locals and business students study better.

Graham Galbraith, the vice chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, stated the importance of “civic connectivity” throughout the project.

“I think the mistake that can easily be made is for a university in some part of the country to parachute itself into a community almost uninvited,” said Galbraith.

In hopes of bettering the situation, the university has communicated with the council in order to incorporate the area into the campus programmes and studies.

There were some discussions with local colleges, especially concerning what students in further education programmes are studying. In addition, they’re also concerned with how the launch of the new campus can help.

It’s believed that the new campus will help boost the borough’s economy by up to £372 million over the next 20 years, which will benefit local supply chains. This will also provide research opportunities for local businesses, the creation of over 500 new local jobs, and more. This is all according to the university. 

“We wanted somewhere where there wasn’t that higher education presence and where around that there wasn’t a university like us—in ranking and positioning in the league tables,” said Galbraith.

He also added, “We wanted to go somewhere where we could build up a relationship with the local community. That was really, really important to me. There’s a growing increase in academic performance overall in London, and I think having a local university here is going to help with that.”

Grace Williams, leader of Waltham Forest Council, remarked that this campus launch is an “exciting time” for the borough and community and that everyone is excited and happy.

“The University of Portsmouth is one of the top modern universities in the country and will offer our residents a world-class education right on our doorstep, whatever their age or background,” she added.