The National Postgraduate Committee of the United Kingdom (NPC) was a charitable organisation which represented

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

s at UK universities. In 2009 it voted to dissolve itself and merge with the National Union of Students. NPC was formed by affiliation from student representative bodies across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and seeks, in the words of its constitution, "to advance, in the public interest, the education of postgraduate students within the United Kingdom" through representation, lobbying, contribution to public policy debate, initiating communication between relevant parties and bringing key issues and potential solutions to wider audiences. The organisation's motion to dissolve and engage in merger talks with

NUS NUS or Nus may refer to: * National University of Singapore * Nus, a town in the Aosta Valley of Italy * Neglected and Underutilized Species, or Neglected and Underutilized Crops * National Union of Students (Australia) * National Union of Students ...

cited several reasons for the organisation's winding up, including "the increased capacity of the NUS with regards to that organisation's ability to meet the needs of postgraduates, and that likelihood that this capacity will increase." Other organisations cited additional reasons which led to NPC's dissolution, including financial and management difficulties.

History

The NPC was formed in the 1980s as a network of officers. In 1990, recognising that at that time the National Union of Students (NUS) was not well set up to represent the particular issues postgraduate faced nationally it held its first conference at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

;

Chris Whitty Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty (born 21 April 1966) is a British epidemiologist serving as Chief Medical Officer for England (CMO) and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019. He has also been Gresham Professor of Physic si ...

of Wolfson College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(later Chief Medical Officer for England) was elected chair. Following this a growth in activity ensued, leading to the adoption of formal structures. It adopted its first constitution in 1992, the same year that it created the full-time post of General Secretary and began its affiliation scheme. The NPC sought charitable status for a number of years and obtained this in 2002, following the passing of a new constitution. Past General Secretaries: *James Irvine from 1 October 1992 until 30 September 1993 *Crispin Allard from 1 October 1993 until 30 September 1994 *Jamie Darwen from 1 October 1994 until 30 September 1995 *Ewan Gillon from 1 October 1995 until 30 September 1996 *John Gray from 1 October 1996 until 30 September 1997 *Martin Gough from 1 October 1997 until 30 September 1998 *Jeremy Hoad from 1 October 1998 until 30 September 2000 *James Groves from 1 October 2000 until 30 September 2002 *Tim Brown from 1 October 2002 until 30 September 2004 *Jim Ewing from 1 October 2004 until 30 September 2005 *Simon Felton from 1 October 2005 until 30 September 2007 *Duncan Connors from 1 October 2007 until 30 September 2008 *Matt Gayle from 1 October 2008 until 11 September 2009

Output

The majority of NPC's work was conducted by the General Secretary who worked full-time; there were 14 other voluntary officers on the executive to assist in the general running of the organisation. Income was derived from affiliation fees by several student representative bodies in the United Kingdom along with a small number of donations. The ''Journal of Graduate Education'' () was an academic journal established by the NPC in 1994. It was incorporated with the now-defunct ''International Journal of Graduate Education ''in 2008.

References

External links

NUS Postgraduate CampaignFormer website of National Postgraduate CommitteeCatalogue of the NPC archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick {{authority control Organizations disestablished in the 2000s Postgraduate schools in the United Kingdom * National postgraduate representative bodies

History

Output

See also

References

External links