英国格林威治大学和肯特大学将合并组建伦敦与东南大学集团（LASEUG），定于2024年9月7日正式启动[1]。新集团将成为英国第三大高等教育机构，拥有超过5万名学生[1]。
两所大学将在伦敦、梅德韦和肯特的四个校园运营，但各自保留学术部门、名称和身份[1]。格林威治大学副校长简·哈林顿教授将出任新集团首席执行官[1]。员工方面将由集团统一聘用[1]。
英国高等教育监管机构OfS警告称，24家教育提供商面临破产风险，45%的高等教育提供商可能在2025-26年面临赤字[1]。
Two of the UK's leading universities are combining to form what officials are describing as the country's first 'super-university'. The London and South East Universities Group (LASEUG) will officially launch on 7 September 2024, bringing together Greenwich University and Kent University under a unified institutional framework [1].
The newly merged entity will serve over 50,000 students across four campuses located in London, Medway, and Kent, positioning it as the third-largest higher education institution in the UK [1]. Despite the merger, both universities will retain their individual academic departments, institutional names, and distinct identities, though their staff will be employed collectively by the group [1]. Prof Jane Harrington, Vice-Chancellor of Greenwich University, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the new organization [1].
The formation of LASEUG arrives amid significant financial pressures across the higher education sector. The Office for Students (OfS), the UK's higher education regulator, has warned that 24 providers face bankruptcy risk, with 45 percent of higher education institutions potentially facing deficits in the 2025–26 academic year [1].