Working at the intersection of education, industry and social impact, Professor Dean Mohamedally has spent 15 years reimagining what it means to learn at UCL.
Since joining UCL’s Department of Computer Science in 2011 from City University of London, Dean Mohamedally has built the Industry Exchange Network (IXN) into a pioneering model that connects students with charities, healthcare providers and global technology companies, enabling them to work on live projects that tackle real-world challenges.
Dean’s connection to UCL began long before his own career.
UCL is in my blood. My father studied here in the 1960s, researching biochemistry in the Cruciform Building. He always encouraged me to explore, to build, and to work with people beyond my own field. One of his sayings was 'students must publish to be seen' – and that became a foundation for what we do in IXN.
For undergraduates especially, it’s not always easy to get their work out into the world. Dean and his team try to go beyond traditional academic publishing, giving students the chance to build and deploy something real and impactful, whether this is an app, a tool, or a system. “It gives them confidence, a sense of purpose, and proof that they can make a difference”, he says.
Initially brought in to bridge the gap between academia and industry, Dean began by introducing live projects into computer science teaching – starting with charities needing mobile apps, before expanding to partnerships with organisations including Microsoft, IBM and the NHS.
The companies bring resources, charities bring real needs, and students build the solutions. We never underestimate the students – and every year they excel themselves and make themselves and us proud.
Today, IXN supports hundreds of students to deliver thousands of projects, from healthcare innovations to accessible technologies. Among these is MotionInput, now a product of UCL spinout MotionInput Games, which uses artificial intelligence to enable people of any ability to interact with technology.
We’re always asking: How can technology work for everyone? We’ve built tools for people with limited mobility to communicate, even using body movements as signals. But it doesn’t have to be a huge project, sometimes a simple solution can change someone’s daily life.
For Dean, UCL represents a unique ecosystem of ideas and expertise - one that he hopes will become even more connected globally in the future.
From empowering students to shaping socially impactful innovation, his work reflects his firm belief that education should not only generate knowledge. but actively improve the world.
