, mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows
, established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute
1952 – West Ham College of Technology
1970 – North East London Polytechnic
1989 – Polytechnic of East London
1992 – gained
university status
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
, type =
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
, chairperson = Anulika Ajufo
, chancellor = Shabir Randeree
, vice_chancellor = Amanda Broderick
, administrative_staff =
, academic_staff = 716
, students = ()
, undergrad = ()
, postgrad = ()
, doctoral =
, profess =
, city = London
, state =
, country = United Kingdom
, campus = Urban
, colours = Teal, black and white
, affiliations =
MillionPlus
MillionPlus, formerly known as million+, the Campaign for Mainstream Universities, and the Coalition of Modern Universities (CMU), is a membership organisation, which aims to promote the role of " modern universities" in the UK higher education sys ...
Association of Commonwealth Universities Universities UK EUA
, website =
, coor =
, logo = UEL Logo in Black with Strapline, Spaced.png
, footnotes =
University of East London (UEL) is a
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...
located in the
London Borough of Newham,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England, based at three campuses in
Stratford and
Docklands, following the opening of University Square Stratford in September 2013.
The University of East London began as the West Ham Technical Institute and it was officially opened in October 1898 after approval was given for the construction of the site by the West Ham Technical Instruction Act Committee in 1892 following the Technical Instruction Act of 1889. It gained university status in 1992.
In February 2019, it had more than 17,000 students from 135 countries.
History
UEL can trace its roots back to 1892, when the newly formed
County Borough of West Ham
West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the River ...
decided to establish a West Ham Technical Institute to serve the local community. The institute was to be, in the words of
John Passmore Edwards speaking at the building's opening ceremony, a "people’s university". The college provided courses in science, engineering and art, and also established its own internal degree courses in science and engineering, which were ratified by the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
. In addition, it had a women's department.
As demand for technical education grew throughout the 1930s and 1940s,
Essex County Council created two further colleges at
Walthamstow and
Dagenham (
South West Essex Technical College and
South East Essex Technical College).
In 1970 these three colleges
(West Ham, Walthamstow, Dagenham) were combined as a merger of higher education colleges, to create the North East London Polytechnic.
Campuses were modernised and revitalised by buildings such as the Arthur Edwards building on the Stratford campus, completed in 1982.
In 1988 the North East London Polytechnic became a higher education institution, and was renamed the Polytechnic of East London in 1989.
In 1992 the Polytechnic of East London became the University of East London, one of a number of "
new universities". UEL's succession of founding institutions exemplify the developments that took place in British further and
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
policy throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. The University of East London consisted of the Barking Campus (closed 2006)
and the Stratford Campus. In 1999 the Docklands Campus was opened, the first new university campus built in London for over 50 years.
[ from text provided to the publisher by UEL]
In 2012, following previous opposition, UEL adopted the full increased tuition rates of £9,000 permitted by legislation enacted in 2010,
[Aisha Labi,"In London, a Working-Class University Wrestles With Change" ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' 29 April 201]
/ref> an increase from the previous rate of £3,290.[Aisha Labi, "British Lawmakers Approve Sharp Increase in Tuition at English Universities" ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' 9 December 2010]
/ref> The university is a lead academic sponsor of Hackney University Technical College which opened in 2012, one of the first university technical college
A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...
s in England.
In April 2013 the university was granted armorial bearings by the College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...
.
Campuses
UEL has three campuses, at Stratford and Docklands, the newest of which, University Square Stratford, opened in September 2013. The Barking campus was closed in 2006.
UEL delivers programmes and short courses at the Barking Learning Centre
The Barking Learning Centre, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, is a community-based learning facility. The centre is located in Barking Town Square and hosts a library, a cafe, an art gallery, a sauna and spa, and offers a range of c ...
in a nearby borough. Off campus, there are students registered on programmes with UK and non-UK academic partners, such as the Women's Institute of Management in Malaysia.
UCFB is a college of the university.
Stratford Campus
The Stratford Campus is close to the 2012 Olympic Park. It is centred around University House, a 19th-century listed building. The campus is home to the School of Education and Communities, the School of Health Sport and Bioscience and the School of Psychology. The Centre for Clinical Education was opened in January 2008. Operating in partnership with the National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
, the centre is London's only provider of podiatric education.
In 2011 UEL appointed Make Architects to lead the design of a replacement library at the Stratford Campus. The project had a budget of £13 million and the library opened in June 2013.
Docklands Campus
The Docklands Campus, opened in 1999, is the largest of the three campuses, It is in the redeveloped Docklands area of east London, at the Royal Albert Dock, closed to commercial shipping since the 1980s and now largely used as a water sports centre and rowing course, for example for the London Regatta Centre
The London Regatta Centre (now formally known as Royal Docks Watersports Centre) is a rowing and dragon boat racing centre located in the Docklands area in the East End of London. It is built at the west end on the northern quayside of the histor ...
.
London City Airport
London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...
is across the dock from the campus. The Cyprus station of the Docklands Light Railway is adjacent to the campus, and offers links to Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...
and central London.
The campus was shortlisted for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' ''Building of the Year'' in 2001.
New student accommodation opened in 2008 and the campus now has 1,200 student rooms, together with shops, cafés and a restaurant, launderettes and an open-air fitness suite. SportsDock, a £21 million sports and academic centre, opened in March 2012. SportsDock served as the High-Performance Training Centre for Team USA during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The campus library is housed in the Royal Docks Business School building.
University Square Stratford
A third campus, University Square Stratford (USS – not to be confused with University Square at the Docklands Campus), opened for the 2013–14 academic year. Co-owned with Birkbeck, University of London it is situated in Stratford and delivers part-time and full-time study for adults. The project was the first time two higher education institutions created a new shared building. The building provides shared teaching spaces for both higher education institutions and their partners. It is home to the Royal Docks School of Business Law, as well as UEL's Institute of Performing Arts. Facilities include performance studios, editing suites, a mooting room and lecture theatres.
The building was nominated for the 2014 Carbuncle Cup.[bdonline.co.uk]
The Carbuncle Cup award for the worst new building
access-date: 24 August 2014
Organisation
Faculties and schools
Degree programmes and other courses are taught by one of the seven teaching schools. In addition, the Graduate School provides support and administrative services for postgraduate research students.
Royal Docks School of Business and Law
The School of Business and Law (RDBSL) is a combined school which offers undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD degree programmes, as well as non-degree executive education for individuals and companies. The School's main location is at the Stratford Campus but it also offers programmes at the Docklands Campus. Its programmes are recognised by professional bodies including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, (ACCA), the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is an association for human resource management professionals. Its headquarters are in Wimbledon, London, England. The organisation was founded in 1913 - it is the world's oldest associat ...
, (CIPD).
The school also offers a range of business support, enterprise development services and conferencing facilities. Knowledge Dock helps students start their own companies by supplying help and business start-up incubators. Knowledge Dock is accredited by the European Business Network as a Business Innovation Centre (BIC) and is the only BIC in London, and one of only 12 in the UK.
School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering
The School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering was established in 2011. It delivers undergraduate programmes in architecture, computing, civil engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mathematics and product design.
School of Education and Communities
The School of Education and Communities delivers teaching and supports research in comparative education, early childhood, diversity and language, multilingualism, professional education, race and community, social work, teacher education and technology-enhanced learning.
School of Health, Sport and Bioscience
The School of Health, Sport and Bioscience supports research and delivers teaching in nursing, health studies, physiotherapy, microbiology, biomedical science, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, forensic science, sports science, conservation and ecology.
School of Psychology
The School of Psychology delivers programmes such as BSc (Hons) Psychology, accredited by the British Psychological Society
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom.
History
It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...
, and a qualification in counselling training, BSc (Hons) Counselling and Mentoring.
School of Arts and Creative Industries
The School of Arts and Creative Industries delivers courses that cover fashion, film, design, fine art and media, digital arts and communications, games design and animation, music, theatre and dance, creative writing, cultural and heritage studies, journalism, advertising and performing arts.
Graduate school
The Graduate School provides support for postgraduate research students, research and scholarly activities.
Validations
In 2018, UEL partnered with renowned theatre arts school Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and became validators of their BA (Hons) Musical Theatre course. The course takes place at two locations; The academy, Barbican
A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.
Europe
In the Middle A ...
and Italia Conti Arts Centre, Guildford.
Academic profile
UEL offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. In addition, extended degree programmes are available for many of the single honour programmes. In these programmes, students add a preliminary foundation year to the usual three-year programme. UEL offers a range of postgraduate degrees, including taught master's degrees, professional doctorates and research degrees including MPhils and PhDs.
UEL has an MBA programme in Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
via collaboration with ''Women's Institute of Management Malaysia''.
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
UEL's campuses are in Newham, the host borough of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, close to two Olympic venues; the Olympic Park in Stratford and the Excel Centre
ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
in Docklands. UEL has had Olympic and Paralympic projects including research, student involvement and sporting partnerships underway since it was announced that London's bid to host the Games was successful in 2005.
Partnerships
Asics had a five-year partnership with UEL, and provided bursaries and scholarships to support research athletes at the university. During the 2012 Games, ASICS played host to athletes, ambassadors and business partners in their brand centre at UEL's Stratford campus
The (LOCOG) was a Games-time partner with UEL and students volunteered as Games-makers during the Games.
British Swimming
British Swimming is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Great Britain. has had a partnership with UEL since the London Olympic Games in 2005.
British Swimming used UEL residencies during the Games.
The United States Olympic Committee's Team USA used SportsDock as its training centre during the Games. UEL sites acted as a base for USOC's sports performance services, logistical operations and media relations. Michelle Obama addressed the Team USA athletes at the SportsDock facility on Friday, 27 July 2012, speaking of the pride and excitement that the Games bring to people.
UEL students volunteered with Team USA in a number of roles during the Olympic season, including writing for the team's Games-time publication.
Team Singapore (SSC)'s recovery centre was based at UEL, providing high-performance athletic services including an athletes' lounge. UEL also provided accommodation for SSC's medical team.
Research
In the seven years to 2012, UEL produced around 70 pieces of research work, including the Westfield Transport Observation, Newham Impact Evaluation and LOCOG Impact Evaluation.
Student life
Students' Union
The University of East London Students' Union (UELSU) is the university-wide representative body for students at the university. It exists to represent UEL students in university decision-making, to act as the voice of students in the national higher education policy debate, and to provide direct services to the student body. It is affiliated to the National Union of Students, which represents students nationwide. Elections are held every year to elect a new executive committee. The Students' Union runs a number of clubs and societies, campaigns and entertainment. There is also a social meeting space, on the Docklands campus and another, the Dome, on the Stratford campus
There are over 50 societies at UEL. There is a student e-zine called Your Universe, a joint partnership between UEL and student writers.
Sports
UEL's sports clubs participate in the British Universities and Colleges Sport leagues and sports activities are managed by UELSports. In 2011, UEL was named the most improved university for sport at the BUCS awards, having jumped 43 places in the league table.
A sports centre at the Docklands campus, Sportsdock, opened in 2012. This was used by Team USA for their training during the 2012 Summer Olympics. The centre features a gym and fitness suite, two large indoor sports arenas, ten badminton courts, two competition basketball courts, volleyball and netball courts, cricket bays, two five-a-side football pitches, a sports café and covered seating for 400 people.
Notable alumni
UEL and its predecessor institutions have a number of notable academic staff and alumni, including politicians, business people, authors, actors, musicians and sports people.
* Kemi Adeosun – Minister of Finance of Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
* Tazeen Ahmad – British journalist and broadcaster
* Hilary Armstrong – British Labour Party politician and formerly Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
* Roger Ashton-Griffiths – British actor, writer and director
* Garry Bushell – British journalist and broadcaster
* Simon Carter – Artist
* Marina Diamandis – Marina and the Diamonds, singer-songwriter
* Jake and Dinos Chapman
Iakovos "Jake" Chapman (born 1966) and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman (born 1962) are British visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers. Their subject matter tries to be deliberately shocking, including, in 2008, a series of works that ...
– Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
nominees
* Daljit Dhaliwal – news presenter for Al Jazeera English
* Mark Frith – journalist and editor (did not graduate)
* Gemma Gibbons – Judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...
Olympian
* Preet Gill – British Labour Co-operative politician, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston
* Max Hattler, visual artist, animator
* Rupa Huq
Rupa Asha Huq ( bn, রাবেয়া "রূপা" আশা হক; born 2 April 1972) is a British Independent MP, columnist and academic. Elected as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Ealing Central and Acton at the 2015 genera ...
– British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
* Edison James – former Prime Minister of Dominica
Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...
* Carolyn Kagan – community psychologist and social activist
* Sonam Kapoor – Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
actress
* Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confiden ...
– solicitor to the Stephen Lawrence family
* Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun – track athlete
* Gina Miller – initiator of '' R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'' 2016 case against the British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
over its authority to implement Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
without approval from the House of Commons (did not graduate)
* Kate Osamor – Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament
* Mike Pittilo – Principal and Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of the Robert Gordon University
* Helen Pluckrose - British author and cultural writer known for critiques of Critical Social Justice
* Margaret Prosser, Baroness Prosser – Labour Life Peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
and Deputy Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission
* Bill Puplampu – occupational psychologist and Vice Chancellor of the Central University (Ghana)
The Central University was founded by the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) in Accra, Ghana. It was founded as a pastoral training institute by Mensah Otabil in 1988. In June 1991, it was known as the Central Bible College. It later b ...
* Lucy Quist
Lucy Quist, née Afriyie, (born 1974) is a Ghanaian-British business and technology executive. She is a managing director for Morgan Stanley
Early life and education
Born in London to Ghanaian parents, Peter and Mary Afriyie, Lucy Quist s ...
– first Ghanaian woman to become the CEO of a multinational telecommunications company in Ghana
* Mark Stephens – broadcaster, lawyer, mediator and writer
* Tinchy Stryder – musician
* Roger Taylor – drummer of the band Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
* Alexander Trotman, Baron Trotman – former chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
* Bianca Williams – Commonwealth Games track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
athlete
* Iolo Williams – Welsh nature observer and television presenter
See also
* Armorial of UK universities
* List of universities in the UK
* Post-1992 universities
References
External links
*
UEL Students' Union
{{authority control
Education in the London Borough of Newham
Educational institutions established in 1992
1992 establishments in England
Universities in London
East London