Too many expenses for too few members. The University of Northampton has decided: it is closing the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT). That is, the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies Research and Enterprise. The academic year 2024/25 will be the last. The university will establish a protection plan for already enrolled students. Four years ago, it invested 5.5 million pounds in the new facility.
The Institute for Creative Leather Technologies will close
ICLT is a highly regarded research and training centre in the leather industry, especially in northern Europe. It offers (or rather: used to offer) undergraduate, postgraduate and short or vocational courses, as well as a research programme with an impact on several sectors. Due to high costs, low revenues and declining enrolments (also due to Brexit), the University of Northampton had to consider the cost-effectiveness of the institution: earlier this year it announced that it would make a decision on its future. And the decision has come.
The academic year 2024/2025 will be the last
“Tuition costs and declining student numbers can no longer justify subsidisation from other areas of the university, especially when the whole sector is in financial difficulty”, Anne-Marie Kilday, vice-chancellor of the University of Northampton, told International Leather Maker. The university said that its fashion and footwear courses “will remain active and adapt” to any changes in leather provision.
