UEL Pulse Your Employer Partner Newsletter
Update From Our Pro Vice-Chancellor
The Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability: Driving Vision 2028 and Beyond
At the University of East London, we are reimagining the future of education and enterprise. Our Vision 2028 strategy, designed to prepare students for the careers of tomorrow, has established UEL as a transformative force in East London and on the global stage. Central to this mission is the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability (RDCS)—a living embodiment of our commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable impact.
The RDCS is not just a building; it is a bold statement of our ambition to shape a sustainable, inclusive future for all. Its spaces and programs bring together students, graduates, entrepreneurs, and global partners to foster ideas that make a difference. This is where talent, opportunity, and innovation converge, building on the remarkable successes of Vision 2028 to ensure UEL leads the way in the decades to come.
The ground floor is home to The Millionaires Club, a dynamic space dedicated to empowering our student and graduate freelancers, creatives, and gig economy entrepreneurs. With a clear target of contributing ￡1 million to East London’s economy by 2028, this space captures the essence of Vision 2028: creating opportunities for personal and professional success. The club’s launch event featured UEL alumnus Miroslav Gospodinov, founder of Staykeepers, whose ￡1.8 million success story serves as inspiration for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Here, our students gain access to expert guidance, workshops, and co-working spaces—providing the foundation to build careers and businesses that thrive in the modern economy.
Above this vibrant community hub lies TerraDock, a centrepiece of RDCS’s mission to support sustainable enterprise. With 18 ventures already in residence and more joining soon, TerraDock nurtures businesses driven by purpose. From social enterprises tackling inequality to green startups combating climate change, these businesses benefit from bespoke support, including acceleration programs, mentoring, and the guidance of our Entrepreneurs in Residence. This is where Vision 2028’s focus on sustainability and employability comes to life, translating bold ideas into tangible impact.
The spirit of innovation runs through every aspect of the RDCS. The Hackathon Space on the second floor is a crucible for collaboration, bringing together students, researchers, and industry leaders to address global challenges. Later this month, our inaugural SDG Hackathon?will showcase UEL’s leadership in sustainability, encouraging participants to design solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This reflects the entrepreneurial, forward-thinking mindset that has become synonymous with a UEL education.
The RDCS is also a global gateway. Recently, we welcomed 30 students from Karnataka, India, as part of the Karnataka Scout Programme. This was led by The Royal Docks School for Business & Law through a British Council Grant secured by Jaya Kypuram and Mark Crossey. During this visit the students undertook an intense incubation programme under the guidance of Dr. Yuliana Topazly empowering them to develop their entrepreneurial ideas and ambitions. These international partnerships reflect our Vision 2028 ambition to be a truly global university, inspiring new connections and collaborations that transcend borders.
Inclusion and equity are central to our work. During Black History Month, we hosted the inaugural Black Founders Summit, a powerful event celebrating Black entrepreneurship and addressing the barriers faced by Black business leaders. With a keynote from Dr. Olajumoke Jummy Okoya, the Summit challenged attendees to break down barriers and forge new opportunities. It exemplifies our commitment to diversity—a value that drives every aspect of Vision 2028 and defines the culture of the RDCS.
Beyond our students and graduates, the RDCS extends its impact through strategic partnerships with organizations such as Grow London Local, the Newham Chamber of Commerce, and Newham Council. These collaborations strengthen East London’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, ensuring that our work not only supports individual success but contributes to the growth and resilience of our local economy. Together, we are creating a sustainable infrastructure that will empower generations to come.
The Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability is a symbol of UEL’s transformation under Vision 2028 and a beacon of what is to come. It is a place where students and graduates create businesses, solve challenges, and inspire change. It is a hub where local impact meets global ambition. And it is a testament to UEL’s leadership in building a future defined by innovation, inclusion, and sustainability.
As we look to 2028 and beyond, the RDCS embodies the very best of UEL: an institution that dares to innovate, inspires success, and delivers impact at every level. Together, we are shaping the future—one idea, one business, and one partnership at a time.
UEL Partner Insider
Preparing graduates for jobs AI has yet to create
Dr Mario Moya is Course Leader MA in Education at the University of East London. His paper Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce: The role of AI and Higher Education in the future of jobs will be published shortly in The Journal of Higher Education.
In five years, millions of jobs will disappear—but many universities are still stuck preparing students for a world that is already vanishing. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the rules, and what’s truly surprising is how slow educational institutions are to catch up.
BAFTA for UEL film alum
University of East London (UEL) graduate and filmmaker Andy Mundy-Castle has scooped the ‘Best Specialist Factual Programme’ at this year’s BAFTA Television Awards, for his documentary White Nanny, Black Child – which is streaming on Netflix.
Originally made for Channel 5 and co-financed by the BFI Doc Society Fund, White Nanny, Black Child explores the story of how more than 70,000 West African children were fostered, unofficially, by white British families between 1955 and 1995, in a practice known as ‘farming’.?
Creative programmes at UEL rank among the best in the UK
The University of East London’s School of Arts and Creative Industries (ACI) continues to build on its reputation as a leader in creative arts and industries education, with its courses receiving national recognition in the recent Guardian University Guide 2025 rankings.
This achievement reflects the school’s commitment to innovation, industry connections, and a careers-first approach, ensuring that ACI is a place where creative talents can truly flourish.
UEL celebrates Alumni Achievement Awards
The University of East London (UEL) celebrated another milestone in its Year of Science with the sixth Annual Alumni Achievement Awards.
This glittering event honoured UEL alumni for their remarkable contributions across a range of fields, including human rights law, sustainable fashion, media, and green engineering.
Giving back for World Mental Health Day
On October 10, in celebration of World Mental Health Day, the UEL Alumni team, Advisory Board, and UEL Volunteering collaborated with the east London branch of The Felix Project, to help in the organisation’s efforts to rescue good-quality, surplus food from the food industry that cannot be sold and would otherwise go to waste.
The rescued food, much of which is fresh fruit and vegetables, is delivered to hundreds of food banks, charities, primary schools, and holiday programmes across London with the team at The Felix Project collecting and receiving food from hundreds of suppliers, including supermarkets, wholesalers, farms, and restaurants.
Heartwarming return for alumni after 40 years
Three former students of the University of East London’s earlier days returned for a special reunion, marking 40 years since they first met.
Janice Burton and Pam Bhachu, both law graduates, and Gurbinder Kaur, who studied chemical engineering, reconnected on campus, reminiscing about their student days and reflecting on the paths their lives have taken since their graduation in the 1980s.
Architecture student wins tenacity award
A student from the University of East London’s Architecture and Physical Design, Gertrude Teca Nsamba, has won the Assael Architecture Award for Tenacity. The award recognises a student that has completed architectural studies, in spite of hardships and obstacles.
Nsamba was delighted with the recognition and said, “I am immensely grateful that my efforts and hard work have been recognised. This honour will undoubtedly be a motivator for my future academic pursuits and a precious accolade in my educational career. This award will be a constant reminder of my commitment to academic excellence.”
Debut Creative Industries Festival a success
Hundreds of creative minds flocked to the University of East London for the inaugural Creative Industries Festival, a multi-day event boasting workshops, performances, and a careers fair, alongside inspiring sessions with industry heavyweights, including Canva, Bow Arts, London Higher, creativeLDN and many more.?
Driven by a desire to improve connections between emerging creative talent and sector-leading organisations and individuals, Alison Lowe MBE, Director of Careers and Enterprise at UEL’s School for Arts and Creative Industries, pulled together a diverse festival programme designed to spotlight the depth and breadth of the sector and encourage people to share their knowledge and expertise.
Researcher wins responsible innovation award
University of East London PhD student and researcher, Oluchukwu Okonkwo won the Double Gold Responsible Innovation Award at the Global Women Innovators and Inventors Network (GWIIN) awards, held in London. The GWIIN awards recognise exceptionally creative, inventive, and innovative leaders and scientists from across the globe.
Okonkwo is a collaborator on Sugarcrete??, a project to create a low-carbon alternative to bricks and concrete blockwork, developed by UEL. As part of her role, she carries out a constant literature review on the topic while making Sugarcrete?? samples for testing. Her PhD objective is to optimise the product so it can be used safely, especially in countries with an abundance of sugarcane waste.
Architecture alumn featured in V&A exhibition
Structures made by University of East London alumnus and Director of Studio Bark, Nick Newman are being featured in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s (V&A) latest exhibition ‘Barricade and Beacon’. Known as U-Build, his designs are modular, plywood boxes, which have been used in Extinction Rebellion protests, and were first tested in a workshop at UEL, where Mr Newman frequently collaborates.
Mr Newman studied for his MA in Architecture part 2 at UEL’s Docklands campus where he was taught by Michele Roelofsma, Sofie Pelsmakers, and Mark Heyduk, who offered a hands-on approach, from model making with Michele to printmaking with Mark. He said, Ms Pelsmakers was particularly influential in his career, pushing his environmental design understanding and connecting him with his first employer. It was at UEL that he also met Wilf Meynell, co-founder of Studio Bark.
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