University of East London
London is home to some of the finest educational institutions in England — from University College London, to University of Westminster and London Business School — there are many reasons students from all over the world come to London. The University of East London is one of the lesser known institutions for higher education in the capital. Despite this, it is a rather good place for learning and deserves your attention.
The historical roots of University of East London can be traced back at least to 1892, but the institution got the status of a university relatively recently, in 1992. The university currently has two campuses — one in Docklands and one in Stratford. According to the official statistics that are available on the university’s website, currently 19 000 students from as many as 120 countries are enrolled in the various programs that are offers by the two campuses.
The history
It was in 1892 when the County Borough of West Ham Council decided to establish the so called West Ham Technical Institute in order to serve the needs of the community of the former county borough. Usually this is considered to be the genesis of the University of East London. John Passmore Edwards, who delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the institute called it “a people’s university”. Science, engineering and arts were taught there at the time, but what the West Ham Technical Institute was really notable for was the fact that it was one of the few institutions of its kind that had its own Women’s Department too.
The next step into the history of the University of East London came in the period between the 1920s and 1940s. At that time the demand for quality technical education was on the rise. This prompted local councils to created technical colleges at Walthamstow and Dagenham. Those were subsequently merged with the West Ham institute into the North East London Polytechnic, which happened in 1970. The campuses were updated, new buildings were added and improvements in both the facilities and the curriculum were made in order to meet the needs of the modern age. It was in 1989 when the place was renamed to Polytechnic of East London. Then again, in 1992, it became the University of East London, one in a string of new universities that opened doors in London in the period. Initially there were campuses at Barking and at Stratford, but after the closure of the Barking campus in 2006, the Docklands one was built. It was a rather notable event, because University of East London’s Dockland’s campus became the first university campus built in the capital in the past 50 years.
Faculties and schools at the University of East London
The learning and research process at the University of East London is governed by a number of different schools and departments, including:
· The School of Business and Law (RDBS)
· The School of Social Sciences
· The School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering
· The Cass School of Education and Communities
· The School of Health, Sport and Bioscience
· The School of Psychology
· The School of Arts and Digital Industries
· Graduate School
The Stratford Campus
The Stratford campus is located in one of the best recognized areas in Newham, right next to the 2012 Olympic Park. The whole place is centered round the so called University House, a Grade II listed building dating back to the 19th century. Cass School of Education and Communities, the School of Health Sport and Bioscience and the School of Psychology as well as the recently opened Centre for Clinical Education are to be found here. In the middle of 2013 the new library of the Stratford Campus was opened. The project cost 13 million pounds.
The Dockland Campus
The Dockland Campus is the most substantial campus of the University of East London. It is located in the Dockland area of East London. The district was known to be in a pretty bad shape due to the decline of the shipping industry. The derelict parts however went through a substantial regeneration in the 1990s and by the opening of the Docklands Campus in 1999, it was already one of the finest areas in London. The Royal Albert Dock, which is widely used for water sports, including as a key point in the Royal Regatta, are quite nearby. The London City Airport is also nearby. In addition to the buildings that are designed for study purposes, the Docklands Campus is also home to extensive student accommodations, themselves very recently renovated and redeveloped. There are 1200 rooms available for students from the university.
Stratford Square
The third campus of the University of East London, is the University Square Stratford. It is also the most recently opened one, in 2013. It was built in the centre of Stratford and is aimed at accommodating both part-time and full-time studies. The University Square Stratford is not fully owned by the University of East London, which is why it is sometime skipped from lists of campuses of the university. Co-owner of the University Square Stratford is Birkbeck, University of London. The campus is home to the School of Law and Social Sciences as well as UEL’s Institute of Performing Arts. The building itself is an architectural marvel, or at least it was considered such by the jury of the 2014 Carbuncle Cup.
Quality of education
According to recent studies, students at the University of East London show an increase of satisfaction by the educational services that are provided here. It was particularly notable in 2011, when the university showed an increase from 76% to 81% in student satisfaction. In recent years, there is a substantial increase in applications too.
Alumni
Notable alumni of the University of East London end up at important positions in the political, cultural and scientific world. Some of those include:
· Hilary Armstrong
· Garry Bushell
· Gemma Gibbons
· Margaret Prosser, Baroness Prosser
· Iolo Williams
· Jake and Dinos Chapman
