Queen Mary's highlights of 2013
January
Significant rise in applications for Queen Mary
We bucked a national trend and recorded one of the highest rises in applications among UK institutions, according to Ucas statistics.
The People’s Palace – an iconic East End venue
The People’s Palace re-opened following a £6m refurbishment. The London Chamber Orchestra, Water City Festival Orchestra and other performers opened the venue.
February
The Queen opens national research centre for bowel disease
Her Majesty The Queen officially opened the £3m National Centre for Bowel Research and Surgical Innovation (NCBRSI) at our Whitechapel campus.
New centre to encourage entrepreneurs of the future launches
QUBE - a purpose-built media suite featuring the latest industry-standard design and editing software - was opened at the Mile End campus.
LLM in Paris wins Franco-British Prize
Our new LLM programme launched in Paris was awarded the 2013 Franco-British Lawyers' Society Prize.
March
Global Shakespeare project launches
In partnership with the University of Warwick we launched an exciting collaborative project to research the impact and importance of the 'globalisation' of Shakespeare
Top thinktank report praises Mile End Group as the ‘way forward’ for universities
The Mile End Group - our forum for political debate - was held up by a leading policy think-tank as an example of a future model for UK universities.
Partner university in China ranked top for engineering
Our partner university, BUPT, was ranked first in China for Information and Communications Engineering by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
April
Drama at Queen Mary ranked first in UK by Complete University Guide
Drama at Queen Mary was rated top in the UK in the Complete University Guide subject league tables, receiving an overall score of 100/100.
Queen Mary best in London for student experience
We were named as the best university in London for student experience, according to a survey by the UK’s leading higher education magazine, THE.
125 years of electronic engineering at Queen Mary
Over 100 alumni – including David Watson who graduated in 1939 - gathered at Mile End to celebrate 125 years of electronic engineering at Queen Mary.
Student Games Maker becomes the face of national volunteering campaign
English Literature student, and Paralympic Games Maker, Emily Yates became one of the faces of the National Council for Volunteering Organisations.
£2million project aims to revolutionise the study of cancer cells in the lab
Researchers were awarded £2m to use bioengineering techniques to grow the first complex 3-dimensional human ‘tumour microenvironment’ in a laboratory.
May
Queen Mary climbs QS World Rankings
A highly-regarded global analysis of almost 3,000 universities ranked 19 subjects taught at Queen Mary as among the world’s best.
Jules Evans wins BBC competition
Philosopher Jules Evans was among 10 UK academics to win the title of BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker 2013 and turn their ground-breaking ideas into top broadcasting.
UCLPartners gets the green light to improve healthcare for over six million people
UCLPartners – of which we are a member – was named as an Academic Health Science Network by NHS England.
Students take leading roles in charity tackling global and local health issues
Two medical students were appointed to the national committee of Medsin, a student network and charity tackling health inequalities through education, advocacy and community action.
June
Institute of Bioengineering launches
A cross-faculty initiative was launched to focus on ground-breaking research aimed at the development of new medical technologies for key 21st-century healthcare challenges
HPV testing could cut cervical cancers by a third
Our researchers found that testing women for HPV first, instead of traditional cervical screening test, could prevent around 600 cases of cervical cancer a year in England.
Archbishop of Canterbury speaks at Citizens UK Summit held at Queen Mary
The Most Rev Justin Welby was the keynote speaker at a unique summit of over 100 national leaders from Britain’s civil society institutions.
Historian appointed Fellow of British Academy
Professor Gareth Stedman Jones, of the School of History, was elected to the Fellowship of the British Academy.
July
QTemps - 100 placements in a year
A year after launching, our temporary jobs agency, QTemps, found paid work within the university for 100 students and graduates.
Academic named Chief Scientist for Genomics England
Professor Mark Caulfield was named as the Chief Scientist of Genomics England – a company launched to drive forward the introduction of high-tech DNA mapping.
Queen Mary Theatre Company performs at Edinburgh Fringe
Our Theatre Company headed to Scotland to showcase four new shows performed, written, produced and directed by students.
August
Queen Mary gains degree awarding powers
From August we started to award our own degrees rather than those from the University of London. New certificates with the our crest were introduced.
Queen Mary among the global elite in Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings
We continued to rank in the UK top 30 and the top one per cent of universities world-wide in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities.
Sports clubs to train at Copper Box Arena
From September 2013, students had access to state-of-the-art sports facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.
Comedy robot metal tested at the Barbican
Our scientists developed a robot to perform stand-up comedy to test what makes audiences laugh.
Student satisfaction at Queen Mary continues to rise
Student satisfaction was higher than at any other big university in the capital for the second year running, according to the latest National Student Survey results.
September
Life Science Institute planned to open in 2017
We announced plans for a new Life Sciences Institute to foster high quality, interdisciplinary research, education, and public engagement. The Institute is scheduled to open towards the end of 2017.
Sunday Times Good University Guide 2014
Economics, Law, Drama and Dentistry are among our subjects ranked in the UK Top 10, according to the Sunday Times Good University Guide. We were also third in London for student satisfaction.
QS World University Rankings 2013-14 has placed us in the UK Top 20 and in 115th position globally – up 32 places from 2012. QS World University Rankings also placed us 19th in the UK.
October
Tony Blair marks Mile End Group’s 100th meeting
Tony Blair spoke of the need for governments to adapt to a rapidly changing world at an event to mark the 100 meeting of the Mile End Group – which researches the inner workings of government.
We launched a mobile app which allows you to explore historic east London at your own place, with voiceovers and expertise from our leading academics.
Partnership with Pakistan's Lahore College for Women
We signed a new agreement with Lahore College for Women University to promote women’s higher education in Pakistan, through joint activities in Linguistics and English Language teaching.
November
Gender equality at QM celebrated at Athena SWAN and WISE Awards
We were commended in two national awards for strategic activity to encourage women into science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine study and careers.
QM becomes newest member of Research Libraries UK
Research Libraries UK (RLUK) – which represents 34 of the leading research libraries in the UK and Ireland – welcomed us as its latest member.
QM launches five-year project to commemorate and explore First World War
We are marking the centenary of World War I (WWI) with a five-year programme of research, teaching and public engagement to understand the experience of the war on Londoners.
New QM legal advice service for tech start-ups and entrepreneurs
We launched a new, free legal advice service for east London’s digital companies. qLegal will offer advice to tech start-ups and entrepreneurs through our award-winning Legal Advice Centre.
Living wage campaign has helped put millions of pounds into pockets of low paid workers
Our geographers found that the Living Wage has been won for 23,000 workers, and put £49m into the pockets of low-income families, since the Living Wage Foundation was established two year ago.
December
Guardian University Awards shortlists student work experience project
QProjects placed 228 students in 34 east London charities in 2012-13. Students act as consultants; gaining workplace experience, tackling problems and leading on projects.
QM graduate wins British British Legal Award
Emilie Jones (who studied English and European Law) was named Assistant/Associate Solicitor at The British Legal Awards 2013.
Double success for Queen Mary spinout making the Internet better for everyone
Actual Experience, one of our IT spin-outs, has completed a £4m financing round with one of Europe's largest investment managers and has won another prestigious industry award for innovation.
Drug cuts breast cancer cases by more than 50 per cent in high risk women
Taking anastrozole for five years reduced the chances of post-menopausal women at high risk of breast cancer developing the disease by 53 per cent, according to our recent study.
£1.1m grant to boost English language skills among refugees and asylum seekers
A project spearheaded by a PhD student was awarded a £1.1m grant to work with refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to learn English and help them integrate in their new hometowns.
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