What was it about the University of East London and its place in the higher education landscape that drew you to the role of vice-chancellor?
The University of East London (UEL) is the most socially inclusive university in the UK, but it’s also based in a region that has some of the highest economic and health inequalities in the UK.
So the job presented an irresistible opportunity to tackle those wider societal challenges. It’s about really rethinking how we can work to break down those barriers and ensure that talent – wherever it’s found – can flourish and thrive in the world being created by the fourth industrial revolution, rather than being excluded or left behind.
What personal values did you bring in 2018 to the task of reimagining UEL’s future with the Vision 2028 strategy, and how did they shape it?
My belief in higher education as an agent of societal change is a core motivation. My mum always used to say that you can have your health taken away from you, or love, or your job, or money, but the one thing that can never be taken away is education.
For Vision 2028, the way I see strategy was also central: it isn’t something that you develop, do a big song and dance about at the launch, and then let sit on the shelf. Strategy is everything that we do: it’s live and it’s continuously changing.
Vision 2028 has been hailed as transformative. A good way through the 10-year plan, what do you see as its biggest achievements for students and staff?
Back in 2018, UEL was the institution that was the most likely to fall over financially. Today our position is quite radically different. We’re one of a small number of UK universities with no debt. We’ve gone from being one of the smallest to one of the largest universities in London.
We’ve achieved the fastest improvement in graduate outcomes and increases to graduate employability across the whole UK, increasing the number of graduates in meaningful work by more than 25 percentage points in just five years. We’re also in the top 10 in the UK for overall student positivity, as well as recording the largest and fastest growth in new business enterprise and graduate startups.
UEL began life as the West Ham Technical Institute in 1898. How does its mission then compare with what it does now?
The institute was established as the “people’s university”, founded to unlock opportunity and drive social mobility during the second industrial revolution. Almost 130 years later, in the fourth industrial revolution and heading into the 5.0 economy, that’s really what we’re doing now. We’ve gone from a position of serious financial and academic risk to a thriving, resilient, student-ready, employer-connected and impact-led university that’s making a massive difference in the communities we work with and for.
What makes the university an exceptional place to work?
With access to such a diverse population, academics at UEL can undertake truly game-changing research that has the potential to make a massive difference to people’s lives. Working here is career-making; you have the opportunity to really transform things.
In terms of our culture, inclusion is core to who we are and we work hard to celebrate and uplift each other. There’s a renewed sense of shared purpose and pride in redefining what success looks like.
How do you support and reward staff?
University Development Week, a whole-institution professional development and support event held each summer, is a really important part of our calendar. It’s a chance to reflect on the last year, to thank and celebrate people, and also to re-energise ourselves for the next academic year.
We also know that when you’re going through a radical transformation, it’s crucial everyone is involved, and is recognised and rewarded. Our sector-leading Shared Success award includes an institution-wide discretionary bonus when we can show evidence of success: this Christmas every member of staff will be getting £1,000. There’s also an annual team award and individual award.
Who should consider an academic career at UEL?
We’re seeking academics and researchers who are motivated by real-world impact.
We want people who are committed to breaking down the divide between education and work, who believe that talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t, and who want to continue to push themselves. People who are curious, hungry to do more, and to do things differently.
Those ideal candidates prioritise innovation and genuine collaboration over perhaps a more traditional academic hierarchy. We need professionals who are passionate about actively tackling inequality within education and who can also translate education into transforming lives, and knowledge into jobs.
What do you believe sets UEL apart from other higher education institutions?
Our careers-first vision is embedded into everything we do. Our Careers Guarantee means students benefit from real-world experiences, mentoring and enterprise opportunities, and courses co-created with employers, to ensure they’re job ready and future-focused when they graduate.
Our location also offers something special. They say that London’s moving east, and our students have unrivalled access to global business partnerships and cutting-edge industry links, alongside diverse community engagement opportunities.
What has been your proudest moment so far, and why?
My proudest moments are always our student stories: hearing about the impact our careers-first education has had not just on their own lives, but also on the lives of their families and communities.
I’m also so proud of the economic growth we’re driving – for our community, for our region and indeed for the UK as a whole. We support more than 15,000 jobs and generate more than £1.2bn in UK annual output.
You’ve been at the helm at UEL for seven years now – are there more pioneering changes and plans in the pipeline?
We see an exciting role for UEL in the critical innovation needed to solve issues around capacity and capability in the NHS, and our recently opened Neighbourhood Health Hub is a prototype for a university hospital in primary care. That’s just phase one of much more significant ambitions to drive our health development to the next stage, including the introduction of a primary care and preventative-focused medical degree.
We’re also exploring opportunities for new types of collaboration between universities. While I can’t share too much at this point, we believe this kind of innovation will benefit industry, the economy and society. Watch this space!
To find out more about the exceptional opportunities at the University of East London, visit jobs.uel.ac.uk
