London Interdisciplinary School
The London Interdisciplinary School, also known as LIS, is an alternative university in London.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 2017 |
| President | Ed Fidoe[1] |
| Director | Prof. Carl Gombrich[1] |
Academic staff | 11[1] |
Administrative staff | 21[1] |
| Location | |
| Nickname | LIS |
| Website | londoninterdisciplinaryschool |
LIS was founded in 2017 and will admit its first cohort of 100 students in 2021. It lays claim to being the first new institution since the 1960s to hold full degree awarding powers in the United Kingdom.[2] The university will provide a fully interdisciplinary undergraduate degree, with students studying complex problems rather than specific subjects.[3] Students will graduate with a BASc in Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods.[4]
Mission and ethos
Real-world problems
LIS aims to teach its students to cross traditional subject boundaries in order to tackle complex, real-world problems. Potential problems include childhood obesity, the ethics of AI, and plastic pollution.[3]
LIS believes that complex problems require interdisciplinary solutions. That is to say, problems like climate change cannot be solved through a single discipline such as maths, geography, or international relations. To this end, LIS aims to equip its students with the ability to move across subject boundaries, and synthesise core pillars of knowledge from across different disciplines, in order to tackle the problem at hand.[3]
Research methods
LIS will also place a focus on research methods, both quantitative and qualitative. The aim here is to enable students to undertake research across a wide variety of disciplines, in order to further their ability to tackle complex real-world problems.[3]
Future of work
LIS students will broker optional, paid internships for its students with a range of organisations in their employer Network. The university's career offering also includes workshops, guest talks, site visits, and networking events. The LIS employer Network includes organisations such as Jacobs Engineering, KPMG, TOAST, Propercorn, and allplants. [5]
Admissions
The university also claims admissions decisions will not be focused solely on grades, though GCSEs and predicted grades will still be taken into account, but on a student's "background, circumstance and talent", and will interview every applicant.[6][7]
Starting in 2021, LIS will give out conditional, contextual offers which take into account an applicant's starting point in life.[8]
Recognition
The Evening Standard has described LIS as a "revolutionary university tackling today's real world problems."[9]
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." [10]
Forbes have used similar language, describing LIS' approach as "innovative" and "fascinating", before going on to highlight the university's focus on the future of work: "The number of companies backing the venture highlights the desire for employees with a very different skillset to that produced by universities today."[11]
LIS has also been featured by BBC News, The Times and Sunday Times.[2][12][13]
Co-founders and leadership
LIS was Co-founded by a handful of educationalists and entrepreneurs in 2017.
Now CEO, Ed Fidoe Co-founded School 21 in 2012, a London-based primary, secondary and high school aimed at providing students with a modern, 21st-century education.[14]
In 2017, Fidoe teamed up with Chris Persson (an investor and Co-founder of Bookatable), and Professor Carl Gombrich (creator of the UCL Arts and Sciences program) to found LIS.[15]
LIS board members include Andrew Mullinger (Co-founder of Funding Circle), Mary Curnock-Cook (former CEO of UCAS), and Kenan Malik (a writer, lecturer, and broadcaster).
Dr Michael Englard (Registrar of LIS) previously Co-founded the charity Causeway Education, prior to which he served as a Director of Studies at Cambridge University.
References
- "Meet the LIS Team". londoninterdisciplinaryschool.org. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- Coughlan, Sean (29 October 2020). "New college opening with degrees with no subjects". www.bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- "Course Content". London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- "Overview". London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- "World of Work". London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- Hazell, Will. "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.
- Speare-Cole, Rebecca. "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.
- "Admissions". London Interdisciplinary School. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- "Revolutionary new London university aims to tackle world problems". Evening Standard. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- "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.
- Gaskell, Adi. "Reinventing Education For The Future Of Work". Forbes. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- "The Times view on the arrival of the London Interdisciplinary School: Fresh Thinking". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- Bennett, Rosemary. "Polymaths wanted at London Interdisciplinary School, Britain's first new university in 40 years". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- "School 21". www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- 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.