University of Leicester

The University was founded as Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland University College in 1921. The site for the University was donated by a local businessman, Thomas Fielding Johnson, in order to create a living memorial for all local people who made sacrifices during the First World War. This is reflected in the University's motto Ut vitam habeant – 'so that they may have life'.

Students were first admitted to the college in 1921, sitting examinations for external degrees awarded of the University of London. In 1927 the institution became University College, Leicester; 30 years later the college was granted its Royal Charter. This gave it the status of a University with the right to award its own degrees.

The University won the first ever series of University Challenge, in 1963.

• Discover some of our finest research achievements, from genetic fingerprints to King Richard III.
• Find out about the University's origins as a living memorial to the fallen of World War One.

Our very compact campus contains a wide range of twentieth century architecture, though the oldest building dates from 1837. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College.

The central building, now known as the Fielding Johnson Building, houses the University's administration offices and Leicester Law School. This was formerly the Leicestershire and Rutland Lunatic Asylum. Adjacent to the Fielding Johnson Building are the Astley Clarke Building and the Danielle Brown Sports Centre.

The skyline of Leicester University is punctuated by three distinctive, towering buildings from the 1960s: the Engineering Building, the Attenborough Tower and the Charles Wilson Building.

The University's Engineering Building was the first major building by important British architect Sir James Stirling. It comprises workshops and laboratories at ground level, and a tower containing offices and lecture theatres. It was completed in 1963 and is notable for the way in which its external form reflects its internal functions.

The 18-storey Attenborough Tower, housing several departments within the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, has one of the very few remaining paternosters in the UK. The Ken Edwards Building, built in 1995, lies adjacent to the Fielding Johnson Building.

Built in 1957, the Percy Gee Building is home to Leicester University's Students' Union. The David Wilson Library was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in December 2008, following an extensive refurbishment. From the seminal analysis of English history through place and people to the definitive medical tome on the causes and treatment of high blood pressure; from the first British degree in mass communications to the invention of genetic fingerprinting; from figurative sociology to super-massive black holes – and not forgetting a certain dead King - the University of Leicester has contributed to an extraordinary range of fields.

At the heart of the UK, Leicester is a leading university committed to international excellence, world-changing research and high quality, inspirational teaching. Celebrating diversity among our staff and students; widening participation in higher education; engaging with local, national and international communities – all of these are part of what we do and who we are.

Founded in 1921 as a memorial to the Great War, the University of Leicester has a proud history of ambitious projects that lead to amazing discoveries. This is where genetic fingerprinting was invented in 1984 and home of the team who found King Richard III. In our second century, we will continue to aspire to be the very best in everything that we do.

Development and change ensures that we are delivering the best possible experience to our students and providing an academic environment that facilitates world-changing research. Find out more about our plans

We're discovering innovative ways to change our world for the better. Our Strategic Plan has been shaped by staff and students at the University to help us to realise our aim of pioneering a distinctive elite of research-intensive universities which are open to anyone with talent. We aim above all for excellence. Already one of the very best British and global universities, we enjoy an enviable record of research discoveries, a flair for teaching innovation and proven success in broadening access to higher education. We are long-established yet focused on a future that will see us pioneering a distinctive elite of research-intensive institutions, open to all who have talent. Our plan consists of eight separate themes. These themes are what make us distinctive as an institution.

Our commitments will give us a set of aims which we will stick to throughout the course of the strategic plan and will allow us to achieve our aims. Four main pillars of activity will be supported by a series of ambitious delivery plans and the commitments will be threaded throughout these and cut across all our colleges, departments and divisions. We will hold fast to these values and commitments.

We have a number of different priorities for the years to come, from a new Space Park which will provide a new anchor for vital British technological industries to providing one of the most flexible higher education curriculums through our Pathways Initiative. With a focus on the student learning experience at all times, we aim to transform our campus while continuing to provide the fantastic education which Leicester has always been renowned for. Our priorities will be refreshed as we learn from our successes, and respond to the challenges and opportunities that emerge from a changing local, national and global context. They are also grouped under the four main themes.