LIS – which offers an American-style liberal arts education in a sector dominated by single-discipline study – felt “fresh”, while traditional institutions seemed “a bit outdated”, says Fatima, speaking to Times Higher Education at the institution’s small home on Whitechapel Road in east London. Two of the universities that launched in the 1960s – the universities of East Anglia and Kent – are now struggling financially, after losing out on students to the Russell Group following the removal of student number controls in 2015.