London Interdisciplinary School

University in London, England

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London Interdisciplinary School

The London Interdisciplinary School logo

Motto| Shape the world. Don't just fit in.
Type| Private
Established| 2017; 7 years ago (2017)
CEO| Ed Fidoe[1]

Academic staff

| 20 (2022/23)[2]
Students| 65 (2022/23)[3]
Location|

London, United Kingdom

Nickname| LIS
Website| lis.ac.uk

The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) is a university in Whitechapel, London.[4] LIS was founded in 2017 and was the first new institution in the United Kingdom since the 1960s to hold degree-awarding powers from its opening.[5][6] The school offers undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees, as well as professional courses. LIS admitted its first cohort of undergraduate students in 2021,[7] and accepted its first cohort of master's students in 2022.

## History

[edit]

LIS was co-founded by a handful of educationalists and entrepreneurs in 2017. These included CEO Ed Fidoe, previously a manager at McKinsey & Company until leaving to co-found School 21 (a London based primary and secondary school that focuses on disadvantaged students and emphasises multi-disciplinary education and communication skills) in 2012;[8][9][1] company chair Christopher Persson, an entrepreneur who co-founded the online restaurant reservation service Bookatable.[5]; and academic lead Carl Gombrich, previously a professor of Interdisciplinary Education at University College London, where he created its Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree.[1][8]

LIS was registered at Companies House in 2017.[10] An order by the Office for Students, the UK's regulator of higher education, in 2020 gave LIS the power to award the specific taught degree of BASc (Hons) in Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods from 27 September 2021 to 31 December 2024.[11] This regulatory approval also allowed students to pay fees using the national student loan scheme.[12] An amendment to this order in 2022 added the power to award Master of Arts and Science (MASc) degrees in Interdisciplinary Practice, and a further amendment in 2023 added the MASc in Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods.[13]

Prior to launching, the institution raised money from philanthropists and investors including the founders of Innocent Drinks and the peer-to-peer funding platform Funding Circle.[12][1] It was also required to demonstrate financial security for at least five years as part of regulatory approval.[14] It has received public funding via the Future Fund, supported by the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.[5]

LIS announced a strategic collaboration with emlyon, a French grande école, in 2023 that saw emlyon taking a stake in LIS.[15]

## Campus

[edit]

LIS is based at 20–30 Whitechapel Road, a site shared with an office building and shared working space in Tower Hamlets. The building is named the People's Mission Hall, after the original headquarters of the Salvation Army that was on the same site. The building was refurbished in 2018[16][17][18] LIS does not own its own halls of residence, but has an agreement with a non-profit student accommodation provider that has halls in Hackney and Bethnal Green.[19][20]

## Organisation and administration

[edit]

### Leadership

[edit]

LIS has a board of directors providing oversight, an academic council, and an executive group which is responsible for operational issues.[10] The board members include Andrew Mullinger, co-founder of Funding Circle; Mary Curnock Cook, former CEO of the national university admissions service UCAS;[21] and formerly included writer and broadcaster Kenan Malik.[22] There is also an advisory group which includes corporate leaders and the Chief Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police and formerly included Daisy Christodoulou, author of Seven Myths about Education.[23][8]

### Finances

[edit]

Since opening in 2021, LIS has made operating losses of £2.2 million in 2021, £2.9 million in 2022 and £4.1 million in 2023. These have been offset by a share issue in 2023 that raised £13.4 million.[24][25] In September 2023, emlyon took a shareholding in LIS.[26]

## Academic profile

[edit]

### Teaching

[edit]

As a teaching-focused institution, LIS stated that it intended to participate in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) but not the Research Excellence Framework.[1] However, it did not take part in the 2023 TEF.[27] While it holds taught degree awarding powers, it is not a university under British law.[27][note 1]

In contrast to the traditional subject-based approach, the curriculum for the BASc degree is designed around interdisciplinary problem solving.[28] Disciplines such as neuroscience, law, and philosophy are taught in addressing complex problems such as the ethics of AI or the future of cities.[29] The course content includes quantitative and qualitative methods, including machine learning, programming, and game theory. Each year, students complete interdisciplinary research projects in their final term, with the third year culminating in a capstone project.[30]

MASc students' complete Capstone Projects with external reviewers from industry or academia.[31][32]

LIS has internship[33] and industry connection schemes[34] with a variety of others. Notable partners have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the NHS, John Lewis, TfL, UK Health Security Agency, KPMG, JamJar, Entrepreneur First, and emlyon.[34]

### Reputation and rankings

[edit]

LIS was given a quality and standards review by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in 2020. This looked at a range of issues, including course design, staffing, student involvement, and transparency. The report stated that the institution met all the criteria that were assessed, with high confidence.[10]

Paul Ashwin, Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University, has observed that the approach of the LIS has precedents in interdisciplinary polytechnic education and in the "new universities" created in the 1960s. He contrasts LIS' "coherent and carefully designed" approach against other attempts at interdisciplinary education that combine unrelated modules or which focus on generic skills. According to Ashwin "the underlying educational approach [of LIS] looks sound" but some elements of its marketing appeal to perceptions of "elite" higher education which themselves reinforce social inequality.[35]

The philosopher Tom Whyman approves of the goal of a polymathic education to prepare students to address complex problems, but questions whether the LIS will be truly polymathic. Whyman stresses that these problems have a political dimension and that solving them might involve radical changes to existing institutions such as major corporations or the police. Hence, he argues, students face a conflict of interest when the same powerful institutions they could be reforming are involved in their education and work placement.[36] Alex Beard, author of Natural Born Learners and director of the non-profit organisation Teach For All, says that the institution's choice of teaching staff "pitch[es] it firmly in the academic and rigorous, yet progressive and new space, which means it’s got a great chance of succeeding with students and policymakers alike."[23]

The World Economic Forum characterised LIS as an "innovative new concept in higher education" which "is taking a new approach to teaching and learning, with a cross-curricular focus on tackling the most important problems facing the world."[37] A leader in The Times observed "a familiar lament that the education system is too narrow for employers who need people who can solve complex problems that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries" and described it as "encouraging" that corporations are supporting the LIS in its polymathic approach.[38] "The Evening Standard has described LIS as a "revolutionary London university which aims to tackle real world problems".[9] Forbes argues that the multidisciplinary approach championed by LIS is more relevant to today's world than traditional higher education, which was designed for the industrial age: "The number of companies backing the venture highlights the desire for employees with a very different skillset to that produced by universities today."[8]

## Admissions

[edit]

Prospective undergraduates can apply through the university admissions service UCAS, as well as directly to LIS. Admissions to LIS are competitive, and decisions are not focused solely on grades but on each applicant's "background, circumstance and talent", though GCSEs and predicted A-Level grades or equivalent will still be taken into account. Every applicant is interviewed by a panel.[23][14][9] LIS give out conditional, contextual offers which take into account each applicant's starting point in life.[39][23]

## See also

[edit]

* Interdisciplinary teaching
* List of alternative universities
* New College of the Humanities at Northeastern
* Minerva University
* Interdisciplinarity

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In England, university status eligibility requires over 55% of students in higher education and 50% or more in courses at level 6 or higher on the FHEQ. However, official university status is granted by the Office for Students (OfS). Despite this, institutions may be referred to as universities based on common usage in reliable sources, even without formal status. This applies to LIS, which is often called a university in reputable sources, though it lacks official university title.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Staufenberg, Jess. "You've set up a successful school. What next? Start a university, of course". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
2. ^ "Staff numbers by HE provider". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
3. ^ "Students by HE provider". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
4. ^ "Student Life & Campus". London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
5. ^ a b c Coughlan, Sean (29 October 2020). "New college opening with degrees with no subjects". www.bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
6. ^ Bennett, Rosemary (1 March 2019). "Polymaths wanted at London Interdisciplinary School, Britain's first new university in 40 years". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
7. ^ Woolcock, Nicola (ed.). "Polymaths at the London Interdisciplinary School plan to teach universities a thing or two". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
8. ^ a b c d Gaskell, Adi (2 April 2019). "Reinventing Education For The Future Of Work". Forbes. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
9. ^ a b c Speare-Cole, Rebecca (21 September 2019). "London Interdisciplinary School: Applications set to open for new revolutionary university tackling today's real world problems". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
10. ^ a b c "Quality and Standards Review for Providers Applying to Register with the Office for Students / London Interdisciplinary School Ltd / Review Report" (PDF). qaa.ac.uk. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. May 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
11. ^ "The Power to Award Degrees etc. (The London Interdisciplinary School Ltd) Order 2020". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 18 December 2020.
12. ^ a b Jack, Andrew (11 November 2019). "Pioneering UK interdisciplinary university to open next autumn". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
13. ^ "Degree awarding powers: orders made by the OfS". Office for Students. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
14. ^ a b Hazell, Will (27 November 2019). "The new university for polymaths which is planning to abolish traditional subjects". inews. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
15. ^ "Stories | Announcing a strategic collaboration between London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) and emlyon business school". www.lis.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
16. ^ "Our campus". LIS. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
17. ^ Salvation Army Heritage Centre. "The Salvation Army: People's Mission Hall (later Men's Social Headquarters)". Layers of London. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
18. ^ "20-30 Whitechapel Road". Rivington Street Studio. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
19. ^ "Accommodation". LIS. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
20. ^ "Our neighbourhood". Affordable Accommodation 4 Students. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
21. ^ "Meet the LIS Team". londoninterdisciplinaryschool.org. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
22. ^ "People - THE LONDON INTERDISCIPLINARY SCHOOL LTD". GOV.UK. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
23. ^ a b c d Anderson, Jenny (31 January 2020). "A new UK university focuses on "interdisciplinarity" to prepare students for the real world". Quartz. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
24. ^ "The London Interdisciplinary School Ltd Report and Annual Statements 31 July 2023". Companies House. 3 April 2024.
25. ^ "The London Interdisciplinary School Ltd Report and Annual Statements 31 July 2022". Companies House. 14 March 2023.
26. ^ "emlyon takes share in the London Interdisciplinary School". emlyon. 13 September 2023.
27. ^ a b "The London Interdisciplinary School Ltd". The OfS Register. Office for Students. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
28. ^ "Undergraduate Course Content - London Interdisciplinary School". www.lis.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
29. ^ "Search - UCAS". digital.ucas.com. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
30. ^ "Undergraduate Course Content - London Interdisciplinary School". www.lis.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
31. ^ "Master's Degree MASc - UK - LIS". The London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
32. ^ "Master's Open Event Video - 2024". Zoom. The LIS. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
33. ^ "Internships and Careers". The LIS. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
34. ^ a b "LIS - Stories". The London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
35. ^ Ashwin, Paul (6 November 2020). "How radical is the educational offer of the London Interdisciplinary School?". HEPI.ac.uk. Higher Education Policy Institute. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
36. ^ Whyman, Tom (4 March 2019). "The world is in a bad way. Students need the skills to fix it". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
37. ^ Whiting, Kate (13 May 2019). "The first new university in the UK for 40 years is taking a very different approach to education". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
38. ^ "The Times view on the arrival of the London Interdisciplinary School: Fresh Thinking". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
39. ^ "Admissions". London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

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