OXFORD UNIVERSITY

The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. While having no known date of foundation, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest surviving university. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled northeast to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".

The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organized into four divisions. All the colleges are self-governing institutions as part of the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it does not have a main campus; instead, all the buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre.

Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organized around weekly tutorials at the self-governing colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments. Oxford is the home of several notable scholarships, including the Clarendon Scholarship which was launched in 2001 and the Rhodes Scholarship which has brought graduate students to study at the university for more than a century. The university operates the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system in the United Kingdom. Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 27 Nobel laureates, 26 British prime ministers (most recently David Cameron, the incumbent) and many foreign heads of state.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

University College London (UCL or alternatively University College, London) is a public research university in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Established in 1826 as London University by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, UCL was the first university institution established in London and the earliest in England to be entirely secular, to admit students regardless of their religion and to admit women on equal terms with men. UCL became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London in 1836 and has grown through mergers, including with the Institute of Neurology (in 1997), the Royal Free Hospital Medical School (in 1998), the Eastman Dental Institute (in 1999), the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (in 1999), the School of Pharmacy(in 2012) and the Institute of Education (in 2014). UCL is the largest higher education institution in London and the largest postgraduate institution in the UK by enrollment and is regarded as one of the leading multidisciplinary research universities in the world.

UCL's main campus is located in the Bloomsbury area of central London, with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London and satellite campuses in Adelaide, Australia and Doha, Qatar. UCL is organized into 11 constituent faculties, within which there are over 100 departments, institutes and research centres. UCL is responsible for several museums and collections in a wide range of fields, including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy.

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Imperial College London is a public research university in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Prince Albert who envisioned an area composed of the Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Albert Hall and the Imperial Institute. The Imperial Institute was opened by his wife, Queen Victoria, who laid its first stone. In 1907, Imperial College London was formed by Royal Charter, and soon joined the University of London, with focus on science and technology. The college has expanded its coursework to medicine through mergers with St Mary's Hospital Medical School. In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Imperial College Business School. Imperial became an independent university from the University of London during its centennial.

Imperial is organized into faculties of science, engineering, medicine and business. Its main campus is located in South Kensington, adjacent to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens in central London. The university formed the first academic health science centre in the United Kingdom. Imperial is a member of the Russell Group, G5, Association of Commonwealth Universities, League of European Research Universities, and the "Golden Triangle" of British universities.

Imperial is included among the best universities in the world by a number of university rankings. According to The New York Times, recruiters consider its students among the 10 most valued graduates in the world. Imperial faculty and alumni include 15 Nobel laureates, 2 Fields Medalists, 70 Fellows of the Royal Society, 82 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and 78 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The California Institute of Technology or Caltech is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Although founded as a preparatory and vocational school

by Amos G. Throop in 1891, the college attracted influential scientists such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes, and Robert Andrews Millikan in the early 20th century. The vocational and preparatory schools were disbanded and spun off in 1910, and the college assumed its present name in 1921. In 1934, Caltech was elected to the Association of American Universities, and the antecedents ofNASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech continues to manage and operate, were established between 1936 and 1943 under Theodore von Kármán. The university is one among a small group of Institutes of Technology in the United States which tends to be primarily devoted to the instruction of technical arts and applied sciences.

Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphasis on science and engineering, managing $332 million in 2011 in sponsored research. Its 124-acre (50 ha) primary campus is located approximately 11 mi (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. First-year students are required to live on campus, and 95% of undergraduates remain in the on-campus house system. Although Caltech has a strong tradition of practical jokes and pranks, student life is governed by an honor code which allows faculty to assign take-home examinations. The Caltech Beavers compete in 13 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division III's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Caltech is frequently cited as one of the world's best universities. Despite its small size, 33 Caltech alumni and faculty have won a total of 34 Nobel Prizes (Linus Pauling being the only individual in history to win two unshared prizes) and 71 have won the United States National Medal of Science or Technology. There are 112 faculty members who have been elected to the National Academies. In addition, numerous faculty members are associated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as NASA.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS) is one of the three largest public and autonomous universities in Singapore. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest institute of higher learning (IHL) in Singapore, as well as the largest university in the country in terms of student enrolment and curriculum offered. NUS is a research-intensive, comprehensive university with an entrepreneurial dimension.

NUS is consistently ranked as one of Asia's top universities by both UK ranking systems, the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. According to the latest 2015 QS World University Rankings, NUS is ranked 12th in the world and retained its position as 1st in Asia. NUS also fared well in the 2015-16 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, coming in 26th in the world and 1st in Asia. Alternatively, the ARWU ranking system published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy that measures universities academic achievements and research performance consistently places NUS in the range of 100–150 worldwide and 1st in Singapore. Additionally, 2014's U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings places NUS at 55th in the world. In 2015, The Economist ranked NUS Business School 2nd in Singapore and 87th globally.