Salford

History: Opened by the Duke and Duchess of York, later George V and Queen Mary. In the fifties it became a college of advanced technology, and in 1967 a university. It merged with University College Salford in 1996. Address: Western edge of Manchester, a mile and a half from Manchester city centre. A new campus at MediaCityUK opened in October 2011. Ambience: Campus university in a buzzing city, reputedly with the biggest student population in Europe. Green site in leafy Peel Park. Modern and dynamic at MediaCityUK, where students from a range of courses rub shoulders with industry bigwigs from the BBC and ITV.