City, University of London links with businesses in the City of London. City has also joined forces with other universities such as Queen Mary and the Institute of Education (both part of the University of London) with which it jointly delivers several leading degree programmes. London Centre for Arts and Cultural Exchange is a consortium of nine universities. It was established in 2004 to foster collaboration and to promote and support the exchange of knowledge between the consortium's partners and London's arts and cultural sectors. The nine institutions involved are: University of the Arts London; Birkbeck, University of London; City, University of London; The
City, University of London its royal charter, becoming "The City University" to reflect the institution's close links with the City of London. In 1971 the Apollo 15 astronauts visited City and presented the Vice-Chancellor, Tait, with a piece of heat shield from the Apollo 15 rocket. In October 1995 it was announced that City University would merge with both the St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery and the Charterhouse College of Radiography, doubling the number of students in City's Institute of Health Sciences to around 2,500. The University formed a strategic alliance with Queen Mary, University of London, in April 2001. In May