The University of Buckingham has been ranked the number one university in the country for Artificial Intelligence education in the 2027 Unifresher rankings.

Unifresher are the UK’s student-focused university rankings platform. The Unifresher Rankings assess 95 degree subjects across eight student-focused metrics: teaching quality, student satisfaction, graduate earnings, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life, and sustainability. The methodology is built to reflect students’ own experiences during their degree, therefore offering prospective students a clearer, more practical picture of university life.

The University of Buckingham’s first-place ranking reflects strong performance across the following metrics:

• 97% academic support
• 81% student satisfaction
• 99% teaching
• 100 safety index
• 66 cost index
• 68 social life index

Professor Harin Sellahewa, Dean of Faculty of Computing, Law and Psychology at The University of Buckingham commented:

“Artificial intelligence is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and we are delighted to be ranked number on in the UK AI education. This result reflects our commitment to excellence in teaching, academic support, student experience, and our future-focused curriculum designed to meet industry requirements in the age of AI.

While much attention is rightly focused on AI technology, our greatest responsibility is ensuring that people have the knowledge, skills and judgment to develop and use it wisely. Education will be central to that challenge. By developing AI literacy, critical thinking and an understanding of ethics and governance, we can help ensure that future generations are equipped to thrive in an AI-enabled world, and to shape it in ways that deliver lasting benefits for society.”

The full subject rankings, including the complete methodology and metric breakdown, are available on the Unifresher website.

We also rank first for graduate prospects (2027 South East England Complete University Guide), first in Computing for Graduate Prospects (Complete University Guide 2027), first for student support (2027 South East England WhatUni student awards), and first for lecturers and teaching (2025 WhatUni student awards).

Find out more!

Delve into everything Computing at Buckingham at our next open day!

See our offering on our AI course pages:

• BSc (Hons) Computing (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing)

The University of Buckingham Law School was delighted to host LawFest 2026, welcoming students from surrounding schools for a dynamic and engaging introduction to careers in law.

The event brought together students, legal professionals, academics, and support teams for a day of networking, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and opportunities to learn more about the legal profession. Attendees had the chance to hear directly from industry representatives, gain insights into career pathways, and explore the diverse opportunities available within the legal sector.

We were pleased to welcome representatives from several leading law organisations, including: Dentons, Travers Smith, BP Collins, Osborne Morris & Morgan, Inner Temple, Milton Keynes City council, Machins, Elite Law Solicitors, and House Rules.

The event commenced with a welcome address from the Vice Chancellor, David Cole, delivered during the University’s 50th anniversary year. Reflecting on the University’s history as a pioneer of the 2-year accelerated degree programme, David noted that the students attending LawFest were themselves pioneers, standing on the threshold of their own professional journeys and future careers.

Interactive breakout sessions with Travers Smith delivered by Maninda Singh and Ellie Watson explored the different routes into the legal profession, including the key differences between training contracts and solicitor apprenticeships. Students were also given practical guidance on how to research law firms effectively, supported by a useful template and research guide to help them evaluate potential employers and career opportunities.

Hannah Binymin of House Rules delivered an insightful presentation highlighting the role it plays within the inhouse legal sector. Students learned about the differences between working in-house and as a private client lawyer, gaining a clearer understanding of the opportunities available within each career path. The session was brought to life using podcast clips and interactive discussion, helping students engage with real experiences.

A co-hosted breakout session led by Tasmyn Brittlebank, Partner at Dentons, alongside Laura Everitt, Director and Head of MLRO, Kalim Akhtar, Solicitor, and Anna-Marie Spears, Paralegal from Elite Law Solicitors presented an engaging breakout session where students explored frequently asked questions about both firms, common myths surrounding careers in law, and the wide range of pathways into the profession.

In the Vinson Foyer students had the opportunity to network with lawyers, HR professionals, trainee solicitors and paralegals and gather valuable career advice.

LawFest continues to be a tremendous success, with students demonstrating exceptional enthusiasm and engagement throughout the day. Feedback from attendees and stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the value of connecting students with professionals from across the legal industry.

A special thank you goes to all our visiting law firms, speakers, volunteers, first aiders, facilities teams, and University staff who contributed their time and expertise to make the event possible. Your support ensured that LawFest ran smoothly and provided an inspiring experience for everyone involved.

We look forward to building on this success and welcoming even more students and legal professionals to future LawFest events.

Residents from Clarendon House, Buckingham, visited The University of Buckingham’s School of Computing last month to learn about some of the latest advances in robotics and immersive technology.

The visit was organised by Psychology undergraduate student Sina Zadeh, who also works at Clarendon House. Working with the School of Computing and the Faculty Registrar, Sina arranged a day of learning, discovery and social engagement for the residents.

A highlight of the visit was seeing our Boston Dynamics Spot robot in action. Residents were fascinated by Spot’s mobility and capabilities, asking questions about how it is used in practice. Staff explained how Spot is deployed for inspections and in hazardous environments, helping organisations carry out tasks in areas that may be unsafe for people. The group also saw Birdly, our virtual flying machine. While the residents were unable to experience Birdly themselves, they watched with interest as their carers enjoyed the virtual flying experience, gaining a unique insight into the immersive technology.

The visit also created opportunities for residents to share stories from their careers and reflected on how technology had changed throughout their lifetimes, creating a valuable exchange of experiences and perspectives with Computing staff.

Sina welcomed the opportunity, saying:

“The visit provided the residents with an opportunity to learn about new technology, explore different experiences, and spend an enjoyable day outside the care home. They were very interested in the demonstrations and enjoyed seeing how technology is developing and being used in everyday life”.

The School of Computing was delighted to welcome the group and looks forward to further opportunities to engage with the local community, inspiring curiosity and fostering meaningful connections across generations.

On 21 August 2026, the School of Computing welcomed Dr Wenge Xu, Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction at Birmingham City University, for a seminar exploring how immersive technologies can be designed to be more accessible and deliver meaningful real-world impact.

Dr Xu presented his ongoing research in accessible interaction, mixed reality (combining augmented reality – AR and virtual reality – VR), and real-world simulation, with a significant emphasis on designing technology around diverse user needs.

Dr Xu discussed research into how sign language interpreters can be rendered effectively in VR, where users can move freely and look around a 360-degree environment. The work considered both the positioning of interpreters, ways of directing users towards the person currently speaking thereby improving awareness of the physical surroundings and introducing familiar people into virtual environments to support users who may otherwise feel uncomfortable or disorientated.

Dr Xu also discussed hands-free interaction in VR, particularly for users who may find conventional controllers difficult or impossible to operate. The research presented explored alternative interaction methods including head movement and intentional eye blinking, demonstrating how interaction methods can be reconsidered and redesigned around different capabilities and needs of different users.

On health and wellbeing, Dr Xu explored the relationship between games and physical and mental health. He highlighted studies comparing VR games with traditional displays, including their potential to encourage physical activity and provide engaging experiences. Dr Xu also presented research investigating regular VR gaming and virtual pet therapy for disabled people. Initial results indicate that the experiences have the potential to reduce depression and improve mental health.

The seminar then demonstrated how VR can support research into autonomous vehicles and the experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing pedestrians. Simulated road-crossing studies highlighted the importance of involving disabled people directly in design and evaluation, including understanding how combinations of visual and auditory information may support communication between pedestrians and autonomous vehicles.

These themes have a direct connection with our User Experience Design module, where understanding users and creating accessible, effective and inclusive interactions are important considerations. The seminar provided practical research examples of how user experience principles can extend beyond conventional interfaces into emerging immersive environments.

The visit also builds on an existing academic relationship, with Dr Xu having previously served as an external examiner for one of our MSc research students. The seminar therefore provided a valuable platform for sharing expertise while opening conversations around future research and academic collaboration.
Thanks to Dr Noman Hanoosh and Professor Harin Sellahewa for supporting this guest seminar.

We are delighted to share that Dr Philip Obiorah (Learning Development Coach in Computing) has officially been accepted into the Google Developer Experts Programme as a Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Cloud AI.

The GDE programme is a global network of professionals recognised by Google for their technical expertise and significant contributions to the developer community through speaking, publishing, mentoring and knowledge sharing.

Dr Obiorah’s profile is now live in the official Google Developer Experts Directory.

Reflecting on the recognition, Dr Obiorah said:

“I look forward to using this opportunity to further support AI education, knowledge exchange and external engagement within the University and the wider developer community.”

We are proud to support staff development and celebrate their successes. This recognition is a great example of how our colleagues stay connected to industry and bring current professional practice into the Faculty.

As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, we held our first Research Day on Friday 11 September, bringing together postgraduate researchers and staff to showcase the breadth, diversity and impact of research taking place across the University.

Our Chancellor, Dame Mary Archer, also lent her support to the event by attending the day, which featured a postgraduate research conference, with researchers presenting their work on a wide range of fascinating topics including:

• Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset: How University Ecosystems Shape Innovation Capability and Startup Success Among Graduates
• AI vs Human Examiners: A Comparative Study of Viva Voce Question Generation in Higher Education
• Judicial Independence and Sustainable Good Governance in Nigeria
• No Feminism without Socialism: The Politics of Class in the novels of Angela Carter
• Supervision in Schools: Understanding an Emerging Professional Practice
• How Creative Do You Think AI Art Really Is?

In her opening speech, Dame Mary Archer, Chancellor of The University of Buckingham, commented:

“I’m proud as Chancellor that the University is holding its first Postgraduate Research Conference. I’m proud of the range of work represented here. I’m proud of the supervisors and staff who support it. Above all, I’m proud of the researchers themselves, whose work reminds us what a university is for.

A university is not only a place where knowledge is transmitted. It’s a place where knowledge is questioned, extended, corrected and created. It’s a place where inherited wisdom sometimes has to yield to new evidence. It’s a place where disciplines develop, but also where they meet. It’s a place where the next question is always just round the corner.”

Congratulations for the following six students who all received an award for their research:

• Best Oral Presentation awards: Rashmi Perera, Charlotte Carry & Shiyamalaraj Kandasamy
• Best Poster Presentation awards: Isuri Uwanthika, Kemisola Adesida & Cedric Nnah

The programme highlighted the innovative and interdisciplinary research being undertaken across our academic community. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with presentations, connect with researchers and vote for the Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster Presentation awards, recognising excellence in both research and academic communication.

You can discover our postgraduate research offering in our course finder.

The University of Buckingham ranks 2nd in the UK for Graduate Salaries and 3rd for Graduate Careers on Track in the Daily Mail University Guide 2027

The University of Buckingham is proud to announce that we have achieved two top-five rankings in the Daily Mail University Guide 2027 that recognise our salary outcomes and the proportion of graduates who feel their career is on-track.

For Graduate Salaries, our 2nd place ranking is secured with an average salary of £36,000 15 months post-graduation for undergraduate courses.

For Graduate Careers on Track we have ranked 3rd in the UK, further highlighting our focus on graduate outcomes and preparing our students for the world of work.

In addition to these achievements, our overall ranking has risen significantly by 18 points, to 63rd in the UK.

These rankings follow our other recent success in the Complete University Guide 2027, where we achieved 2nd place for Graduate Prospects On Track and 10th place for Graduate Prospects – Outcomes.

Interim Vice-Chancellor, David Cole, said:

“To be recognised once again for our commitment to graduate success is a tremendous achievement for the University. At Buckingham, exceptional student experiences and outstanding outcomes are at the heart of everything we do, and we have consistently focused on enhancing this at every stage of the student journey. This recognition from the Daily Mail University Guide reflects the dedication, ambition and unwavering commitment of our staff to delivering an exceptional education and empowering our graduates to thrive.”

In 1976, The University of Buckingham was founded on a bold proposition: that there was another way to deliver higher education.

Fifty years later, the landscape facing students has transformed. Artificial intelligence is changing the workplace at pace, pathways into employment have diversified, and learners are questioning the traditional assumptions surrounding university study more than ever before. Yet Buckingham’s founding spirit remains remarkably relevant.

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we are not simply reflecting on our history. We are asking an important question about the future.

How should universities respond when students are increasingly weighing traditional higher education routes against apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, employment and alternative routes to success? For institutions across the sector, this moment requires more than nostalgia. It demands innovation.

At Buckingham, innovation has always involved challenging established thinking. Our pioneering two-year degree model was once considered unconventional. 50 years after welcoming our first students, it still addresses many of the challenges that students cite most frequently:

• the cost of study and return on investment
• the time commitment required to achieve a degree
• concerns about the level of contact time with academics

The launch of our celebratory fees offer reflects this ethos. It is not simply a pricing initiative. It is a statement about our responsibility as a university to engage honestly with changing student expectations and evolving market conditions.

Buckingham was founded by people who believed higher education could be delivered differently. As we mark our 50th anniversary, we remain committed to that spirit of innovation. Our role is not simply to preserve established models but to challenge ourselves continually to meet the needs of future generations.

The higher education sector is entering a period of profound change. Students are becoming more discerning consumers of education. They are asking tougher questions about outcomes, affordability and return on investment.

This is not something universities should fear.

In fact, it presents an opportunity to reimagine how we demonstrate value, how we support student success and how we deliver education in ways that are both academically rigorous and financially sustainable.

Buckingham’s story has always been one of progress through innovation.

After 50 years, that story is far from finished.

Find out more about our celebratory fees offer.