Warwick Business School gets green light for campus at the Shard

The University of Warwick wants to create two lecture theatres as well as offices and meeting rooms on the 17th floor of Western Europe's tallest building.

This week Southwark Council planners granted permission for the scheme.

Courses to be offered at The Shard include a part-time masters in finance, part-time masters in human resource management and employment relations and executive MBA.

In its planning application documents, the University of Warwick said the proposal was driven by the need to establish a reputation as a global rather than regional player and to position the business school as a "premium and internationally recognisable brand".

To start with the new London centre will have three support staff and five academic staff in addition to lecturers who will travel from the university's Coventry campus to teach at The Shard.

The new university outpost will help to cement the original ambition of the Shard's architect and developer to create a 'vertical city' with a wide range of uses.

Already there are restaurants, offices, a hotel and a visitor attraction within the tower, and there are also plans for a private hospital.

Al Jazeera's television studio is due to open at The Shard later this year.