A new era for UCL

This article originally appeared in the UCL Policy Lab Magazine.

UCL was born in Bloomsbury, in the beating heart of London. It’s a place we continue to call ‘home’. But just as London changes, so does UCL. It’s why we’re so excited to be opening our new UCL East campus.

Just like the Bloomsbury campus back in 1826, UCL East sits at the heart of a new wave of vibrancy and innovation. In recent years, Stratford and east London have been home to momentous change. They have given birth to new ideas and innovation.

As we open our new campus, we are reminded of our role as a civic institution within London, and our duty to serve all Londoners. From teaching to research, from UCL hospitals to international collaborations, we know that all of this work is dependent on the foundations we’ve built within communities.

Our focus on developing strong collaborations across communities and sectors is central to these foundations. We have more than 300 collaborators across the city, with many more across the UK. Working with the boroughs of Camden, Newham and Islington, we’ve aimed to strengthen how we support the places UCL calls ‘home’.

Creating greater access to UCL also remains a focal point of this work. An example of this is the partnership between UCL and the UCL Academy, the school founded ten years ago with whom we work extremely closely. This is where we can work directly with young people, driving ambitions and creating opportunities. With the school’s support, we run a year-long lecture series each academic year, where school pupils hear from academics across UCL on specialist subjects. We also run the annual full school tour of UCL, and support the school’s sixth form societies.

In the years and months ahead, our city and the UK will face challenges to which we must lend our support to help tackle – working with our partners to understand and meet them.

And so as we embark on yet another chapter in UCL’s history, I’m reminded of the individuals and communities that have shaped UCL. As we write this new chapter, I hope we’ll continue to work with and collaborate with partners not just in London, but across the UK, to help tackle some of our biggest challenges.

Prof Alan Thompson, UCL’s Pro-Provost for London