Petition to save the University of Hull Department of Chemistry

Chemistry students in the central staircase at the Department of Chemistry in The University of Hull
-Credit: (Image: Change.org)


A petition has been launched in a bid to save the Chemistry Department at the University of Hull which is threatened with closure as part of cuts announced last month.

The petition on Change.org has been signed 2,435 times at the time of writing. Alumni have reacted to the news of the potential closure with shock and claimed the repercussions of a closure would be far-reaching for industry in the area.

One Alumnus of the Department of Chemistry, Ian Cutress, now runs the successful YouTube channel TechTechPotato which has 130,000 subscribers. He created a poignant video about the proposed cuts and interviewed faculty staff.

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"I cannot emphasise enough how having an engaged set of lecturers, offering an array of exciting modules in a world-leading institution sets young minds up for the challenges that lie ahead," he said.

"If this place closes down I'm really going to miss it. Based on other departments closing in the UK, it's really difficult to restart them when they're needed."

General view of University of Hull West Entrance in Cottingham Road
General view of University of Hull West Entrance in Cottingham Road

Alex Roberts, another alumnus, still works in Hull and said the city "will be poorer for it" if the closure goes ahead. In a public LinkedIn post, he said: "I completed my degree in Chemistry at Hull in 2007 and have spent the 17 years since working in industries in the Hull area. The relationship between Hull-based chemistry-related industries and the University is invaluable and Hull will ultimately be poor for it."

In a statement, a spokesperson for the University of Hull said: "In common with most Universities, we are not exempt from the significant challenges faced by the Higher Education sector.

"These challenges include a substantial reduction in international student applications, and changes in UK student recruitment application patterns, which have led to a drop in income whilst other costs continue to rise. We therefore need to make some difficult decisions, including reorganising parts of the University, to both maintain our financial sustainability and to grow and develop.

"We need to ensure we have the right programmes, the right course design and the right teaching methods in place in line with student demand. Working closely with colleagues across the University we are at the early stages of a process in which we are proposing changes to improve the sustainability of our academic areas.

"These proposals include phasing out some programmes, including some Chemistry courses. This is because student demand and numbers are so low that these courses are no longer financially or educationally sustainable.

"In the case of Chemistry, we tried to reverse the position over a number of years with no success, despite the subject at Hull having a strong reputation and league table position.

"We are, however, proposing to continue teaching Chemistry where it forms part of other programmes, for example Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry and Medicine."