The Duke of York, Patron of London Metropolitan University, has visited the University’s Science Centre and Cyber Security Research Centre to find out more about the work they are doing.
His Royal Highness has been Patron of the University since 2013, taking over from his father, The Duke of Edinburgh. The Royal connection started in the 1850s with Prince Albert, who supported ‘The Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men’, a precursor to the London Metropolitan University of today.
The visit started the University’s Science Centre’s ‘Superlab’, which is home 280 individual work stations and is one of the largest and most advanced science teaching facilities in Europe, and enables students to study in a cutting-edge environment.
In addition to the Superlab, the Centre houses specialist labs for tissue culture and microbiology, a nuclear magnetic resonance room, a Category 3 lab suite for research on airborne or transferable viruses, and nutritional physiology and food technology labs.
In the Science Centre, The Duke was able to meet participants from the University’s outreach programme, who had joined a subject-specific taster day. The outreach programme aims to make Higher Education more accessible and offers a wide range of activities to local schools and colleges.
Next, His Royal Highness toured the University’s new Cyber Security Research Centre, which is part of the School of Computing and Digital Media. Located on the seventh floor of London Metropolitan’s Tower Building, the Centre will provide a space for researchers, students and industry experts to develop new approaches and best practice. The Centre’s launch comes at a time when cyber-crime is on the rise and businesses are calling out for expertise in this area. Recent government statistics revealed that 43% of businesses and two in ten charities (19%) suffered a cyber-breach or attack in the 12 months up to April 2018.
