The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from ICON College is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.
ICON College
1ICON COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE
Recent graduates
ICON College premises
ICON College was founded in 2003 with a mission to meet
the demand for affordable, high-quality education and make
world-class British higher education more accessible for
international and local students. The founding members pride
themselves on providing support to help all students reach their
maximum potential, and preparing students for roles in their
career of choice while offering an inclusive, cultural experience
to help them become productive members of society. Principal
Professor Nurun Nabi and Managing Director Azizur Rahman
tell
The Parliamentary Review
more.
Our higher national diploma programmes are awarded by Pearson, formally known
as Edexcel, and prepare students for the ever-changing employment opportunities
of the modern world.
Grounded in theory and practical experience alike, this diverse range of courses
helps students to ready themselves for the world beyond education. They are
taught by our highly qualified and experienced base of teaching staff, who have
expertise acquired from years in their academic disciplines and the professional
community.
Some of the areas that we offer courses in are:
FACTS ABOUT
ICON COLLEGE
»Principal: Professor Nurun Nabi
»Managing Director:
AzizurRahman
»Established in 2003
»Based in London
»Services: Higher education
provision
»No. of employees: 12 full-
time academic, 51 part-time
academic, 18 administrative
»Overall student satisfaction at
ICON is 90 per cent, based on
the NSS 2019 survey
ICON College
of Technology and Management
»Business
»Healthcare practice
»Computing
»International travel and tourism
management
»Hospitality management
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
2| ICON COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Partnering with universities
The quality of teaching at our college
is only further highlighted by the fact
that we have partnered with a variety
of universities to deliver level 6 and 7
qualifications on their behalf.
Between 2004 and 2010, we had a
partnership with London South Bank
University allowing students who had
completed HND programmes at ICON
to enter into the final year of a relevant
honours degree.
In 2007, we delivered a joint level 7
master’s degree in mobile commerce
for pupils who wished to split their
time between ICON and LSBU, and
from 2004/05 to 2010/11 we provided
a supported LLB open learning
programme in conjunction with
Northumbria University.
Finally, we have worked with
Manchester Metropolitan University
and the University of the West of
England to provide a number of level 6
“top-up” courses for students wishing
to proceed from completion of level
5 HND programmes to a degree-level
qualification through Management
Development Partnership. These
included business management and
tourism and hospitality management.
The college also delivered a Pearson
BTEC level 7 professional diploma in
management from 2005 to 2011.
Student support and guidance
We recognise that the next step in
education is not always an easy one,
and as such we provide a variety of
student support services across the
college. Through these, we provide
guidance, information and support for
those who require it.
Chief among these is our personal
tutoring service; each student is
allocated a tutor at the beginning of
their course. This individual is a great
point of contact who ensures the
student has access to necessary advice
and resources, supports their academic
progression, identifies any problems and
acts as a first port of call for pastoral,
professional and academic concerns.
We also have a dedicated student
career advisor, as we recognise that
life beyond education can often be
daunting. They provide support for
career development, guiding students
through university applications and CV
writing at a time that suits them.
Finally, we provide a suite of counselling
services through private therapy
clinics to help students deal with
the stress that can sometimes result
from further and higher education.
These services are flexible, available
both face to face and over Skype or
FaceTime, and are grounded in a range
of research-proven approaches to help
with psychological issues including
depression, anxiety and self-esteem.
Recognition, regulation and
accreditation
We are subject to regulation from a
variety of external bodies, including
the Office for Students, the Quality
Assurance Agency for Higher
Education and Pearson.
We were QAA reviewed in June 2012
and 2013, and reviewers expressed
their confidence in our academic
standards as well as the quality of
Induction session
Grounded in
theory and
practical
experience
alike, this
diverse range
of courses
helps students
to ready
themselves for
the world
beyond
education
“
“
3ICON COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE
teaching and learning opportunities
available at the college. In 2014, we
were judged to have a commendable
outcome after a QAA monitoring visit.
The college has also had a QAA Higher
Education Review in July 2017, as well
as a partial review in July 2018 with
positive outcomes.
This dedication to excellence is also
reflected in surveys conducted of
students past and present; our student
satisfaction level is an average of 90
per cent across all departments.
Fine-tuning in line with our
shifting student demographic
When we established ICON College in
2003, our main focus was on students
from the international market,
especially with regard to the Indian
subcontinent and Afro-Caribbean
countries – many of whom found it
difficult to enter universities through
traditional means.
This focus continued until 2011, where
we saw something of a change in our
intake; we began looking more heavily
at enrolling local students, from both
the UK and beyond, who had found it
difficult to enter university.
Some of them had worked up to GCSE
or A level, with the equivalent of an
NVQ level 2 or 3, but bringing their
approaches in line with the standards
that higher education demands was
not an easy process. Areas we found
to be challenging included study skills,
retention and work completion.
We also found that some students
had family and health issues that
affected their ability to work. As such,
we have fine-tuned our in-house
support network to effectively address
the problems that present a barrier
tolearning.
This has not been easy, but through
external support from associated clinics
and the construction of a network to
help with stress-related problems and
foster better wellbeing, our students
continue to attain at amazing levels.
The future for ICON College
Going forward, we will look at
expanding the number of students
we enrol and potentially growing
the already-diverse range of courses
we offer. Future partnerships with
universities and other higher education
institutions are also something we’re
looking at.
For the time being, however, our
focus remains on bringing accessible
education to our current student
base. Through high-quality provision,
outstanding teaching and learning and
a balance of theory and practical work,
we will continue to prepare them for
the world of modern employment.
Our focus
remains on
bringing
accessible
education to
our current
student base
“
“
Graduation ceremony,
2018