Brunel is a world-class university based in Uxbridge, West London. Now over 40 years old, our mission has always been to combine academic rigour with the practical, entrepreneurial and imaginative approach pioneered by our namesake Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brunel is a campus-based university situated in Uxbridge, West London, and is home to nearly 15,000 students from over 100 countries worldwide. Founded in 1966, our distinctive mission is to combine teaching and research excellence with the practical and entrepreneurial approach pioneered by its namesake, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.We place great value on the usefulness of our research, which improves our understanding of the world around us and informs up‑to‑the‑minute teaching. Research is responsible for much of our collaborative work with business, industry and the public sector, providing opportunities for work experience, and demonstrate our commitment to producing professionally-minded graduates that employers want to recruit. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) judged 82% of our research to be of international standing, leading to 54.5% increase in our research funding from the Higher Education Funding Council, compared to the sector average increase of 7.8%. The big plus of living in a campus-based university is that the majority of your needs are catered for on-site, including the Library and Computer Centre, academic and teaching buildings, welfare services, catering and social facilities and even the halls of residence, if you are living in University accommodation. You can organise most of your day-to-day needs without leaving the campus. There is a bank, a pharmacy, and a general shop where you can buy groceries, newspapers, stationery and even top up your phone card. The Computer Centre sells a range of IT-related products such as printers, network cables, memory sticks and disks, and the Students’ Union hosts a weekly fruit and veg market and Fairtrade stalls.The University is just a 20-minute walk – or a short bus ride – from Uxbridge underground station, so it is a straightforward journey into the centre of the capital. There is also a night bus that can bring you from central London to the edge of the campus. The town of Uxbridge itself, which still has buildings dating back to its time as a Georgian market town, is a thriving commercial and business centre. Its major shopping complexes, The Pavilions and the Chimes Centre, boast a wide range of shops, cafes and a nine-screen multiplex cinema. Brunel graduates enjoy the 13th highest starting salaries in the UK, according to the recent Sunday Times Good University Guide. Their average salary of £22,323 is almost £3,000 more than the national average.