News archive 2005

King's academics in finals

04 Oct 2005, PR 81/05

The Times Higher Education Supplement has announced the shortlisted finalists for its inaugural awards.

King's academics have been successful in two categories: ‘Most Imaginative Use of Distance Learning' – Patricia Reynolds, Senior Lecturer in the Dental Institute – and ‘Business Initiative of the Year' – Peter Jenner, Professor of Pharmacology.

Dr Reynolds, who is also Deputy Director of Education for Distance Learning, is in the final of the ‘Most Imaginative Use of Distance Learning' award, which is designed to promote the best examples of distance learning in the sector.

Together with Professor Margaret Cox (Dental Institute Research Fellow), Dr Reynolds is leading the development of two online dental courses: one on ethics for first-year students and one on therapeutics for fifth-year students at King.

‘We use cameras, videos and live links so the students can see things going on in the surgery. The students thrive on it – you see them paying attention for more than two hours,' Dr Reynolds says. Spin-off companies account for a combined turnover of £358 million and the ‘Business Initiative of the Year' award celebrates that success and aims to reward those who contributed to it.

Professor Jenner established drug discovery and development spin-out company, Proximagen, in 2003, to seek new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease . Earlier this year, working with Kenneth Mulvany, the company was floated on the Alternative Investment Market, raising £13.5 million with the result that Proximagen is valued at £30 million.

‘We had the intellectual property and expertise. It was a question of getting the finance together, Professor Jenner explains.

John O'Leary, Editor of The Times Higher, applauds the long-overdue recognition for the work of universities. He said that the final contenders ‘amply confirm the richness of modern higher education' and that ‘the competition showcases a wealth of excellence'. It is expected that the awards will become a fixture in the academic calendar.

The overall winners will be announced on 23 November.

Notes to editors

King's College London
King's College London is one of the two oldest and largest colleges of the University of London with over 13,800 undergraduate students and nearly 5,700 postgraduates in nine schools of study. It is a member of the Russell Group: a coalition of the UK's major research-based universities. The College has had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level, and it has recently received an excellent result in its audit by the Quality Assurance Agency.

King's is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings, with income from grants and contracts of £100 million, and has an annual turnover of more than £348 million. In 2004 the College was once again awarded an AA- financial credit rating from Standard & Poor's.



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