Vice-Provost's View: Developing the UCL London strategy

Dr Celia Caulcott joined UCL as Vice-Provost (Enterprise) in October 2015.

UCL's President & Provost, Professor Michael Arthur, has also asked her to consider how to develop the UCL 2034 London strategy.

UCL - London's Global University, in London, of London, for London. This is how we describe our vision for UCL's role in the capital, which is one of the six principal themes in UCL 2034. I have been tasked with developing this vision into a full strategy for London which tells our story to date, as well as laying out plans for increasing our impact and making a difference to our city.

The task is an exciting and challenging one. All universities contribute to their local economy and the success of their environment. For UCL, one of the world's leading universities, located in London, one of the world's greatest cities, the opportunity is outstanding. With well over 50,000 staff and students from 150 countries, we form a large and diverse community that engages in many ways with so very many aspects of London.

You probably already know of some of the many examples of UCL's involvement in London. Our UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) delivers rich information about London as a city through its visualisation and modelling (and provides the image for the UCL London identity used in this piece). 

Our outstanding biomedical and clinical research is advanced through partnerships with organisations and communities and we have many collaborations with leading NHS hospitals in London. Among students, UCL connects to London through its remarkable record of London-based volunteering. Our future institutional plans will see UCL extend our influence into East London, notably through a new campus at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There are many others examples too - discovering these will be a great experience.

How can you help?

I am looking for your help in bringing together more examples of how UCL currently contributes to London in the many diverse areas and ways in which we are involved.

Working with the UCL 2034 London team, we would like to discover what UCL already contributes to London so that we can clearly articulate the extent of our presence here.

I need your help to do this. We are asking everyone at UCL to submit case studies or examples of activities, work and projects that you are involved with in London, or with London partners, or with local communities in the city and wider region.

• We would like to hear from professional support staff and students at UCL as well as academic staff
• Projects could include research case studies, examples of interaction with public policy, engagement with business, industry and the NHS or involvement with cultural activities in London
• We are interested all stories, however large or small, so please don't be shy at singing the praises of your project.

Case studies, projects and ideas should be submitted here

The deadline for submitting your examples is the end of the Easter vacation, on 25 April 2016. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ruth Davis who is leading on the data collection. Any of the UCL 2034 London team will also be happy to talk with you about this important project - view the members of the team here.

Once we have brought together what I know will be a vast and exciting array of examples of how UCL impacts and influences London, we will use the evidence to tell the story of our role in London. Your submissions will help us to develop a number of focused activities to enhance our involvement in London, to the benefit of UK society and economy.

UCL's presence in London is wide-ranging - did you know that?

• Together, UCL and SOAS teach around 80 languages. Our nearest competitor is Berkeley Language Center in California which teaches about 50 languages

• For the last 65 years, UCOpera has staged a rarely performed opera - this year it is Donizetti's La Favorite - and they are going to perform it in the Theatre Royal in Stratford.

Dr Celia Caulcott, Vice-Provost (Enterprise)

Comments? Please provide your thoughts on this form

Link: See the UCL London website