[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Teesside Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA]On the edge of the [ITAL]glorious [EITAL]Yorkshire moors, on the north-east [PARA]coast of England and not far from the ancient city of Durham, [PARA]lies the not-so-ancient county of Cleveland. [ITAL]There, you see - it [PARA]can actually sound quite attractive, although the traditional view of [PARA]Teesside[EITAL] - a large industrial conurbation encompassing the [PARA]towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Hartlepool, [PARA]squeezing in over a million people - [ITAL]is probably more recognisable[PARA]to those who know the place.[EITAL] If we were to get an ad agency on [PARA]the job with their designer water and sparkling suits, they would [PARA]no doubt point out Middlesbrough's [ITAL]fine [EITAL]Victorian civic buildings, [PARA]its proximity to the coast (ignore the oil pollution), its label as [PARA]1992's Environment City ([ITAL]not because it's clean - it isn't - but [PARA]because this is a place where the greenies have really got their [PARA]work cut out[EITAL]) and its [ITAL]easy [EITAL]access to York, Newcastle, Darlington[PARA]and the coast (at Saltburn and Redcar). [ITAL]One of Middlesbrough's [PARA]many attributes, over which the ad men discretely throw a veil [PARA]would be the University's main site right in the city centre. It is an [PARA]example of the many ways you can use outsized portakabins, a [PARA]tribute to aesthetic sabotage and rapid expansion. The nearby [PARA]Albert Park is slight recompense for such vandalism, as is the [PARA]design of the University's 2nd, much smaller site at Flatts Lane[EITAL], [PARA]housing business and management studies 5 miles away. The [PARA]ad men might try to sell the Eston Hills, next to the Flatts Lane [PARA]site, as the alps of East Teesside, [ITAL]but it'd be like offering an [PARA]electricity pylon as a British Eiffel Tower.[BOLD] [EITAL][EBOLD][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]'Thrusting' would not be an unfair word to describe the [PARA]entrepreneurial University of Teesside. Older, more established [PARA]and envious Universities might prefer 'pushy', but [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] has [PARA]copyrighted that word. The emphasis on sciences, business and[PARA]vocational courses has attracted serious-minded, often mature [PARA]students who appreciate the opportunities to study part time or on[PARA]sandwich courses. It's very much a local university, with the [PARA]locality being generally friendly and cheap. Most of the students [PARA]are from the true northern working class and the students are [PARA]friendly enough. However, a thrust towards the south is planned [PARA]to attract a more cosmopolitan (richer) cross section of students.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population (Middlesbrough): 141,100 [BULL] London: 252miles [BULL] [PARA]York: 49miles [BULL] Newcastle: 37miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Middlesbrough's a true northern town with all the trappings [PARA]conjured up by 'trouble at t' mill' with the music from the Hovis ad [PARA]in the background:[EITAL] mile upon mile of back-to-back [ITAL]drab [EITAL]Victorian [PARA]terraces; massive (now largely silent) industrial plants; [ITAL]strangely[EITAL], [PARA]still active docks; and a [ITAL]brilliant [EITAL]football team ([ITAL]and you're braver [PARA]than us if you say different)[EITAL]. Furthermore, the town's large [PARA]enough to provide more shopping opportunities than any student [PARA]can reasonably afford, including a sprinkling of bookshops, a [PARA]couple of shopping malls and late night shopping past 10pm. [ITAL][PARA]Students will be uninterested to note that the town's most [PARA]attractive building is the 19th century Central Library, and probably[PARA]they couldn't care less that[EITAL] Teesside was the birthplace of the [PARA]railway (Stockton-Darlington, 1825). [ITAL]Unless they like trains. More[PARA]interestingly, Paul Anderson (the director of 'Shopping') [PARA]described Teesside as 'like the opening of 'Blade Runner'... like [PARA]hell on earth.'[EITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] From Middlesbrough (10 mins walk from campus) there is[PARA]a regular service to Darlington, which is on the main North-East [PARA]line from London (3:10hrs, 1/hr) to Edinburgh. Middlesbrough has [PARA]other connections including Birmingham and Bristol.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] Coach services courtesy of Blue Line, City Link, [PARA]Swiftline and National Express services to London (ú17.50, [PARA]4:45hrs, 5/day), Edinburgh (ú17, 4hrs, 1/day), Manchester (ú10, [PARA]2:55hrs, 5/day), Birmingham (ú18, 3:05hrs, 2/day).[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The A19 south to York and north to Newcastle runs straight [PARA]through Middlesbrough. Also, there's the A66, cross country to [PARA]the lakes, and the A1 runs through Darlington, 15 miles to the west.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Teesside airport, 12 miles away - domestic flights and to [PARA]Europe and Scandinavia.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Students are likely to be picked up on the A1, A66 and [PARA]A19. We wouldn't rate the chances of being seen alive [PARA]afterwards, though.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Buses are [ITAL]cheap (50p max), [EITAL]but stop running after 11pm [ITAL][PARA]and are not always reliable. [EITAL]Trains run [ITAL]regularly [EITAL]all over the [PARA]Teesside conurbation.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Reasonably priced (ú2 across town) and readily available. [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The town is flat, but bikes tend to go walkies. Or should [PARA]it be wheelies?[EITAL][HDNG]FACULTIES and STUDENT NOS:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Business[EBOLD] 2,662[BOLD][PARA]Computing/Maths[EBOLD] 1,478[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 2,144[BOLD][PARA]Human Studs[EBOLD] 2,420[BOLD][PARA]Design[EBOLD] 388[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 280,000 [BULL] Study places: 515 [BULL] Computer [PARA]workstations: 1,050[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]The central library has a world TV satellite receiver so students [PARA]can watch episodes of 'Terry and June' dubbed into Gujerati. [PARA]Also, there is a smaller library at Flatts Lane.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 8full [BULL] Unemployed after [PARA]6mths (1992): 17%[ESTAT][PARA]Teesside has the highest unemployment in England. The [PARA]Careers Service has taken to organising an Employer's [PARA]Convention at the University in recent years. [ITAL]Ever thrusting[EITAL].[HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Until Summer 1992, Teesside was the only conurbation of [PARA]more than 1,000,000 people in the UK which didn't have a [PARA]university. Now it not only has a university, since Teesside Poly [PARA]changed its name, but also Stockton University College - set up [PARA]as a joint venture with [ULNE]University of Durham[EULNE].[PARA][PARA][BULL]Most course are semesterised (2 15-week terms), and all will [PARA]be by 1995.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]David Bowe and Steve Hughes (MEPs).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, part timers and postgrads and [PARA]departmental bumpf.
