Russell Group

The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in London and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to government and parliament; nineteen smaller British research universities formed the 1994 Group in response, which was disbanded in 2013. In 2010, Russell Group members received approximately two-thirds of all university research grant and contract income in the United Kingdom. The group is widely perceived as representing the best universities in the country.Russell Group members award 60% of all doctorates gained in the United Kingdom, and over 30% of all students studying in the United Kingdom from outside the EU. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, 68% of world-leading (4*) research and 68% of research with an outstanding (4*) impact was carried out in Russell Group universities.The Russell Group is so named because the first informal meetings of the Group took place at the Hotel Russell in Russell Square, London. Meetings generally take place shortly before meetings of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (now Universities UK) in nearby Tavistock Square, close to the University of London buildings and, particularly, Senate House.