The Department of Management, Sci- ence & Innovation is set to relocate its Masters’ programme to Canary Wharf in a move which could cost upwards of £6.5 million.
MS&I’s move to 1 Canada Square - a minimum 42 minutes’ and two Tubes’ journey from UCL’s main campus - will leave the department with a £1.7 million yearly bill and has been met with a mixed response from faculty and students.
Anthony Finkelstein, Dean of Engi- neering and the mastermind behind the move, told The Cheese Grater that some 80% of staff were “very excited”, but a sen- ior member of staff claimed that 80% of MS&I staff were actually against the pro- posal. The staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said that those con- cerned were unwilling to strike with their jobs on the line.
On the logistics of travelling between Bloomsbury and Tower Hamlets, Finkel- stein said that “there’ll always be move- ment backwards and forwards [between the main campus and Canary Wharf ]”. This will undoubtedly be an issue for staff, who will have to teach both undergradu- ates in Bloomsbury and postgrads at Ca- nary Wharf, and a headache for the many UCL students who live in North London.
There has been much discontent among students, who Finkelstein de- scribed as being “basically disinterested”, that they were not consulted but rather were presented with the move as a fait accompli. Together with staff they have railed against the “opaque” consultation process.
Bert de Reyck, the programme direc- tor of MS&I, canvassed staff opinion in emails seen by The Cheese Grater sent on July 21st 2014. However, only 16 days later on the 6th August Finkelstein sent follow-up correspondence to staff tell- ing them that suggesting other locations - including several nearer to Bloomsbury and one on Gower St” was “bluntly un- helpful”. An MS&I student who wished to remain anonymous revealed that a first year representative posted a link to a peti- tion calling for a transparent consolation process. However, she was told to take it down and students were emailed by course director Stephen Todd to not sign the petition.Finkelstein admitted that he had thought a lot about the “consulta- tion dilemma” but that he hoped he had “steered the right line.”
Another point of conflict is over who will pick up the bill for costs for rent and relocation. UCL has entered a 10 year lease costing £1.7 million a year. Finkel- stein is open when discussing plans for further expansion within Canary Wharf. With rents likely to increase over time, es- pecially after Crossrail opens in 2018, this would drive up the cost of supporting the department even further.
The current wisdom is that MS&I will use money both from UCL’s capital plan and revenue budget. Finkelstein hinted at an active move towards the commer- cialisation of the department, telling The Cheese Grater that the department were obliged to “show how we get [the money] back”. There have already been plans to incorporate an evening masters degree programme for young people working for companies based in Canary Wharf. De- spite claims that already heft postgrad fees would not go up to fund the rent, there are concerns amongst senior staff mem- bers that a fee-hike will prove unavoidable in the future.
MS&I’s new base - opening in January 2016 - is yet another indication of UCL’s plan to expand beyond Bloomsbury and leave a sprawling footprint all over Lon- don.