New building developmemt with red brick houses in rural setting

Brighton Rock 2025: Town planning students to take part in inter-university debate

On 13 November 2025, students from the Town Planning MSc will join peers from across the South-East for a dynamic evening of discussion, learning, and networking at the Brighton Rock Inter-University Debate.

Hosted at the University of Brighton’s Grand Parade building, this annual event, organised in collaboration with RTPI South East, brings together planning professionals, academics, and students to explore the future of urban development.

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Meet Olafiyin Taiwo – Lecturer in Town Planning MSc

“Planning is not just about land use – it’s about creating resilient, inclusive, and forward-looking places that enhance people’s quality of life.” That belief has guided my journey into spatial planning and continues to shape my work as a lecturer in Town Planning MSc at the University of Brighton.”

Olafiyin Taiwo brings a rich tapestry of experience and passion to her role, with a career that spans consultancy, policy advisory, international development, and academia, Ola’s work is rooted in a deep commitment to creating resilient, inclusive, and forward-looking places.

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Town Planning MSc graduate Mariia Kondrateva

“Brighton helped me build a career in the UK”: Mariia Kondrateva on her Town Planning MSc journey

Meet Mariia Kondrateva, an international graduate from our Town Planning MSc  degree at the University of Brighton. Originally trained in planning in her home country, Mariia came to the UK to build on her experience and transition into a new professional environment.

We caught up with her to hear about her journey from student life to securing a role at Brighton & Hove City Council as a Transport Planning Officer.

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University of Brighton sign outside elm house

University of Brighton ranked among top 4.3% of universities worldwide

The University of Brighton has earned a place among the world’s leading universities. Brighton has ranked in the top 4.3% of institutions globally, in the 2025 Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). 

This recognition highlights the university’s continued dedication to academic excellence, impactful research, and the success of its students and alumni worldwide.

The 2025 CWUR rankings are the largest of their kind, based entirely on outcome-based data, rather than surveys or self-submitted statistics. Universities are assessed across four key pillars: education, employability, faculty, and research – all of which reflect measurable impact on students and society.

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RTPI award winner Louise Brace

Brighton graduate wins RTPI Research Excellence Award 

We are incredibly proud to share that our MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship) graduate Louise Brace has been awarded the RTPI Research Excellence Student Award at the 2024 Planning Research Conference.  

This award, which recognizes the outstanding research of planning students globally, is a testament to Louise’s dedication and the quality of her work. 

Her dissertation “The Role of Local Planning Authority Plan Making in Rural Renewable Energy Production,” explores a pressing issue combining topics around climate change, energy security, and local governance.  

Through her research, Louise developed a criteria-based policy evaluation framework that could considerably improve how Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) support renewable energy (RE) development in future.

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Town planning graduates and lecturers group shot at graduation

Town Planning MSc and Chartered Apprenticeship graduates 2024

It was a proud moment for the MSc Town Planning and MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship) course team when its students graduated in February this year.

We were delighted that so many could attend the Graduation Ceremony at the Brighton Centre. This year the majority of graduates were from the MSc Town Planning (Chartered Apprenticeship), a growing number since the route was first offered in September 2019, following its national Trailblazer status.

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Urban model with building and roads

Fellowship for Senior Lecturer


Andrew Coleman, Senior Lecturer on the MSc Town Planning and Chartered Apprenticeship Degree, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is a leading membership organisation and a Chartered Institute responsible for maintaining professional standards and accrediting world class planning courses nationally and internationally. The organisation champions the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities. Fellowship is one of the highest professional attainments available to a planner and Fellows must have made a major personal contribution to the planning profession for the benefit of the public.

Andrew Coleman headshot

Andrew Coleman’s research reflects a deep specialism in environmentalism and how to manage the risk of flooding through the planning system. He has contributed to government, government agency and research organisation projects and gained a wide range of experience, from working in private and public sectors, including in academia, as well as practising internationally, in Trinidad and Tobago. He is co-author of guidance on delivering better water management through the planning system and also a board member of the University of Brighton’s Centre for Earth Observation Science.

Speaking about the Fellowship Andrew Coleman said, “I am very honoured to be elected as Fellow of the RTPI. Ever since joining the RTPI, I have retained a profound belief that planning can deliver a better present and future for people and the environment.

“Pursuing this objective is becoming even more urgent given the climate and biodiversity crises facing the world. In my current teaching, research, RTPI and environmental activist roles, I am dedicated to equipping current and future planners with the tools to meet these challenges and my election as a Fellow demonstrates the importance that the RTPI places on addressing these issues.”

TEF silver 2023 logo

Brighton secures national Silver Award for teaching excellence

The University of Brighton has been recognised for the quality of its teaching and student outcomes in a UK-wide evaluation of higher education institutions.

The university has today secured a Silver award in the national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The award confirms that the student experience and student outcomes across all of the university’s undergraduate provision including apprenticeships are “typically very high quality”, delivering excellence above the rigorous standards set for the UK’s higher education providers. The rating lasts for four years, until September 2027.

The TEF is a national scheme run by the Office for Students (OfS). It aims to encourage universities to improve and deliver excellence in the areas that students care about the most: teaching, learning and achieving positive outcomes from their studies.

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RTPI awards for research excellence logo

Graduate finalist in prestigious town planning awards

Congratulations to Town Planning graduate Laura Hemsley for reaching the finals of the prestigious Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Research Excellence (Student Award).

Now in their ninth year, the awards continue to recognise and promote high quality, impactful spatial planning research. Laura was nominated for her masters dissertation, ‘The Effectiveness of Strategic Planning Arrangements in Mineral Planning’.

We caught up with her to find out more about her dissertation, the support from her lecturers and what it meant to be nominated for the award.

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