Some years ago NCH was set up as a glamorous Oxbridge alternative with some famous names dropping in for occasional lectures, but now as the UK branch of a private American university (Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.) it’s staffed mainly by post-docs. on 6-12 month contracts.
Don’t expect an office, your own desk, computer or a phone, or even somewhere secure to hang your coat. That’s because, classrooms apart, all space is open-plan and communal, and tech is strictly BYO! Many staff are unhappy about all these points.
Classes are usually recorded and /or transmitted live in case students can't attend in person, which is not to everyone's taste, although it becomes routine after a while.
Colleagues are interesting, although often from a narrow demographic (rather like the students), meaning a fairly traditional outlook, and a certain cliqueness among those who were around in the early days and still haven’t left.
Senior management is still finding its feet, and seems inexperienced and struggling to deal with control from Boston, in what is still a very turbulent time, with a change of owners and location.
Pay is around 10-15% lower than the public unis. in London.
Northeastern say they want more interdisciplinary, world-beating, impact-yielding research, but fancy, London-flavoured short courses for their affluent students will probably be enough.
