Vijdan Zorba started life at UCL as a physics student. Nearly 20 years later she's still here, leading a team in evaluating and strengthening the university’s work to widen access to higher education.
Vijdan Zorba, or Vij to most, first discovered UCL as a young teenager, fascinated by ancient Egypt. Just five minutes from the British Museum, she discovered UCL’s Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Although, she ultimately decided to study Physics, there was no doubt in her mind that UCL was the place for her.
I walked through the quad to go to my interview with the Department of Physics, and I remember walking out just thinking, wow, I fit in here. I feel like they really understood me and that there’s a place for me here.
Vij has been working to help others feel the same ever since. As a student, she became a longstanding ambassador for UCL’s Access and Widening Participation team, working on Saturday schools and summer programmes that introduced young people from underrepresented backgrounds to new academic possibilities.
After graduating, Vij transitioned into a full-time role, beginning as an Outreach Officer. She coordinated and delivered large-scale programmes, from masterclasses to residential summer schools, building lasting partnerships with schools and communities. Her work offered thousands of young people a tangible sense that UCL was a place for them.
Vij then shifted her focus from direct delivery to long-term impact. As Data and Impact Manager, she analyses the outcomes of widening participation initiatives, supports departments in identifying gaps and trends, and collaborates closely with student success and funding teams to ensure underrepresented students not only get into UCL, but are supported once they are here. Her work spans the full student lifecycle, from GCSE attainment to degree outcomes.
Working in data is where Vij feels she can create the most change:
The data reveals the story: who we’re reaching, who succeeds, and who gets overlooked. By understanding the long-term impact, I can turn those insights into real, meaningful change.
A first-generation student from east London, Vij isn’t perhaps your typical physics student or data expert. She champions the idea that excellence comes in many forms - and that university should be a place where everyone can belong, succeed, and flourish.
You don't have to look or sound like everyone else in order to thrive. It’s a cliché, but it’s true!
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2026 marks 25 years since the launch of UCL’s first Widening Participation Strategy. Since its launch in 2001, UCL’s Access and Widening and Participation (AWP) team has made significant progress in widening our UK undergraduate intake and in helping more young people see university as something that can happen for them.
