Article
There's a glitch in the Google Maps matrix.
Originally posted on LinkedIn on January 21, 2026.
There’s a glitch in the Google Maps matrix. At least, that’s how it feels if you search for “Universities in London”. Ulster, the West of Scotland, and sizeable bits of Nottingham and Coventry all seem to be jostling for space inside the M25📍 Most alarming of all: Sheffield appears to have relocated to somewhere near Brent Cross. This is not, sadly, a thrilling tear in the space–time continuum. It is the more mundane (and more profitable) phenomenon of the “satellite campus” 📍🏢: the modern practice whereby regional universities set up London outposts to hoover up international demand, particularly for high-fee Postgraduate Taught (PGT) courses 🎓💷. The campus “experience” in these locations can be… interpretive. Instead of dreaming spires, red-brick quadrangles, or the damp charisma of a mid-century concrete library, students may find themselves enjoying the romantic ambience of a leased office floor above a Pret 🏢. The fees can be spectacular 💷, though the extras are often less so: no sprawling sports centre, no bustling students’ union, and pastoral support that may feel rather more “available on request” than “part of the community”. In the sector, these outposts are often waved away as cash cows 🐮: maximum revenue, minimum overheads, and a business model that occasionally looks less like higher education and more like a transaction involving a whiteboard, a timetable, and an invoice. It can feel uncomfortably close to exploitative. And yet the punchline is not really optional 💡. With domestic fees capped and costs climbing, these odd little geographical glitches may be the only thing keeping the lights on back at the mothership. It is a curious state of affairs when the survival of a historic institution in the Midlands depends on how many students it can fit into an office block in East London 🏢. #HigherEducation #UKHE #Universities #InternationalStudents #Postgraduate #StudentExperience #HigherEdPolicy #UniversityFinance