UEL currently has the following Research Centres, Institutes and Groups:
All Research Institutes and Centres are approved via the Research Committee. All Research Groups are approved by the relevant School Board. If you are a member of staff intersted in setting up your own Research Institute, Centre or Group, please see the appropriate documentation on our Document Library page.
To view information about the research going on in our Academic Schools, please click here.
The Applied and Professional Psychology Research Group focuses on therapeutic models of treatment, training of professionals, and the development and assessment of clinical services and therapeutic practice. Members are concerned with developing new frameworks that integrate theoretical hypotheses of pathology with therapeutic practice, so that they can be applied to the evaluation of training programmes, particularly those requiring personal development, the importance of personal development and beliefs, particularly religious beliefs, and examine how these affect both client and therapist, and the application of counselling practices to vocational issues.
The Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Research Groupexamines human neurocognitive, affective and other behavioural functions primarily in terms of their biological bases (but not exclusively). Particular research strengths are grouped under: Neurorehabilitation, Human Behavioural Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuropsychology and Experimental Cognitive Psychology
The Built Environment Research Group brings together like-minded researchers principally from the Civil Engineering and Surveying Fields within the School of Computing and Technology. The group’s strategy is to coordinate the growing research activities in the Built Environment area. It aims to encourage and facilitate built environment research through cohesive and carefully focussed collaboration.
The Teaching and Learning Research Group has been established to provide a forum for the critical evaluation of solutions to learning and teaching issues where individual actions by Business School academic staff would form the focus of the practice that the group will evaluate and critique, and where in the process of interaction and encounters, new ideas will emerge, knowledge will be created, and resources and expertise shared. Please note that at present the Business School's research pages are being rewritten and links may not work.
The Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB), brings together the interdisciplinary work carried out within the School, in the related areas of migration and refugee studies; diasporas and social cohesion; racism, nationalism and political religions; as well as citizenship, identity and belonging.
The Centre on Human Rights in Conflict (CHRC) is an interdisciplinary centre promoting policy-relevant research and events aimed at developing greater knowledge of three areas in which human rights are in conflict in a variety of ways.
The Continuum Research Centre for widening participation policy studies aims to provide a focus for critical understanding of widening participation policy and practice. Continuum has developed a wide portfolio of work concerned with research into widening participation policy – regionally, nationally and internationally, developing a critical understanding of the interrelationships between widening participation policy and practice, establishing a major resource base to support the analysis and understanding of widening participation policy and practice, and developing collaborative and partnership modes of working to further understanding of widening participation.
The central theme of Control Research Group is to advance the state of the art in control theory and techniques along a path determined by the needs of practical applications, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the modern digital implementation medium. In order to realise the positive results of this research in practical applications, the work of the group encompasses all control system components, including actuators, measurement systems and the digital processors on which the control algorithms are programmed.
The Centre for Cultural Studies Research (CCSR) was established to serve as an international centre for research in contemporary cultural studies, cultural theory and cultural production. The centre supports research into political and theoretical issues in cultural studies and cultural practice. It is committed to interdisciplinary research in five general areas: cultural studies and politics; cultural studies and its disciplinary neighbours; cultural studies in the public sphere; cultural studies and creative practice; and cultural studies and national contexts
The Design Materials and Manufacturing Research Group investigates new design concepts and methodologies for the utilisation of composite materials in engineering structures, the mechanical response of different FRP structures to typical in-service loading and environmental conditions, with an emphasis on the damage processes in fibres and composite products, and aims to assist organisations around the world to improve the quality of their processes while managing their bottom lines, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
The Centre for Disabilities, Sport and Health is based in the School of Health and Bioscience at the University of East London and has been operational since March 2008. It has principally been developed as a research centre which focuses on individuals with a disability and their differing relationships to sport and health. To this end the Centre provides research into various types of human disability and gathers data across all age ranges and gender.
The Early Childhood Research Group in the School of Education investigates the integration of care and education in the early years, the effectiveness of support programmes for young children who have directly experienced armed conflict; and long-term cost-benefit studies of early childhood interventions.
The Education and Community Research Group - 'CREATE' (Community, Resistance, Education, Activity, Traditions, Equality) is a research centre comprising those whose interests are in the broad areas of education and community. Interests of the research group are in multiculturalism and diversity of many forms (race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality), performativity, equality and social justice, social capital / cohesion, youth cultures, learning communities, historical perspectives and international students. We take a multi-disciplinary approach to these issues and utilise a variety of critical perspectives including critical race theory, Marxism, Afrikan, post-structuralism, feminism and queer theory.
The Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Research Group has been established to provide a forum and network of researchers interested in developing a sustainable interface with the business community. The intellectual capital of the group is focused on providing applied and theoretical research to enhance the reputation of the Business School in the areas of enterprise and entrepreneurship. Please note that at present the Business School's research pages are being rewritten and links may not work.
The Environmental Research Group (ERG) embraces research across a wide range of environmental issues, including peatland, insect and freshwater ecology, botany and ethnobotany, carbon budgeting, nature conservation, environmental quality, environmental forensic science, sustainability and quality of life, virtual environments and virtual learning.
The Centre for Evolutionary Computing in Architecture (CECA) developed out of the success of the MSc Computing and Design course that has been running at UEL since 1991. With a network of staff, a post-doctoral fellow and research students, the centre builds upon staff research expertise into the potential that computers offer for generative modelling and the applications this has for the architectural design of space.
The Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre is committed to developing and supporting research in the systemic field. The aim of the Centre which is based at the Tavistock Clinic & the University of East London is to become a national resource for, and developed by, qualified and training systemic family psychotherapists across the UK. It endeavours to provide support, foster links and collaborations between researchers, and to facilitate applications for research funding. The Centre will complement and support the work of the Academic and Research Committee of the Association for Family Therapy.
The Centre for Geo-Information Studies (CGIS) specialises in data integration, analysis and modelling of physical, social and cultural phenomena. The issues studied often (but not exclusively) relate to where things happen as a key to understanding the nature and dynamics of the processes at work. Particular use is made of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in conjunction with a broad range of other data handling and analytical software tools.
The UEL Global Studies Research Group (GSRG) is a space of inter-disciplinary research through which to promote the study of global issues, their interrelation and dynamics from a plurality of critical perspectives. Based within the Business School at UEL, the GSRG seeks to encourage and participate in research related to global issues within and outside of the University. The GSRG therefore is a node of a broader network of scholars that is preoccupied with research on complementary topics on global issues, such as organisations and management, environment and sustainability, development, social movements, transport, risk and finance, governance, economic growth, power and institutions. Please note that at present the Business School's research pages are being rewritten and links may not work.
The Health Psychology Research Group (HPRG) examine health behaviour and outcomes from a combination of psychological, social and biological perspectives. For example,the psychosocial concomitants of irritable bowel syndrome and more latterly of chronic fatigue syndrome; thepsychological precursors and consequences of drug use and abuse on mental and physical health; post-traumatic growth among female breast cancer survivors; psychological aspects of prostate cancer and lower urinary tract symptoms; individual differences in rebelliousnessand in mindfulness, as they relate to health behaviour; and antisocial behaviour and mental health. The group also employs a positive psychological approach to health-related research, with a focus onmeasuring and understanding psychological well-being.
The Human Motor Performance Research Group's (HMPG) research programme focuses on how physical activity impacts physiological function and mitigates the effects of disease and trauma. Operating within a multi-disciplinary team in areas of emerging science, the emphasis is on research into motion analysis, neural control mechanisms, changes in skeletal muscle contractile properties and neural activation together with oxygen uptake as a measure of physical fitness. The group thrives as a forum for supporting multi-disciplinary research with internal and external collaborations with UK and overseas institutions, fostering a dynamic research culture.
The Innovative Informatics Research Group brings together the computing researchers in the School of Computing and Technology. The formation of this group is part of a strategy to coordinate the growing research activities of the computing area and to enhance research outputs and achievements through carefully focussed collaborative activity. The work of the group takes place within the context of three overlapping themes: Information Security and Digital Forensics, Virtual Society, and Software Engineering and Intelligent Systems.
The Centre for Institutional Studies (CIS) provides research, consultancy and teaching on a range of social policy issues and for organisational and professional development. Its current work is mostly in research for policy and practice in urban regeneration and renewal, youth justice and inclusion, community development, voluntary organisations and voluntary actions, and post-compulsory education.
The Institute for Health and Human Development (IHHD) was set up in March 2006 and brings together expertise across the university to carry out research on health and wellbeing and their social, economic and cultural determinants. The Institute has a track record of research geared towards policy and intervention in both developing and developed countries; a commitment to community participation in research; and a focus on the potential of structural and cultural interventions to influence consumption lifestyles and promote health and wellbeing.
The Institute for Performing Arts Development (IPAD) has been established as a national centre for excellence with groundbreaking undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in music, theatre, dance and community arts. More than a collection of degree programmes, or even just a building to house them in, the Institute is a forum for research, debate, creativity and partnership development in the performing arts – a hub for both acting local and thinking global.
The Institute for Research into Child Development acts as a focus for academic child development research in East London, which has always been exposed to deprivation and this inevitably has an impact on the development of children. IRCD is committed to work that allows us to understand the complex processes of development and those factors that have both positive and negative influences on development from birth onwards.
The International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare is a multi-disciplinary research centre which brings together academics and students from across this university and other academic institutions nationally and internationally, as well as childcare business leaders, childcare professionals, national and local policy makers and politicians and representatives of unions and of private equity firms and other financial groups interested in investing in early childhood education and care provision.
The Group for the Study of International Social Science unites staff and students working in Politics, Sociology, Psycho-social studies, Social work and anthropology. The interests of the Group relate to discourse about ‘intercultural dialogue’ – examining the political consequences of international encounters between differing ways of conceptualising the fields of social, political and cultural action - and the analysis of cross-cultural dialogue in respect of two possible contexts: the encounter between Western European colonial conceptualisations and indigenous self-understandings in ex-colonial African states, and the encounter between Western European social and political organisation and the legacy of Ottoman organisation in contemporary, modernising Turkish society.
The Law and Development Research Group (LDRG) aims to promote scholarship and research on the interface between law and socio-economic development
The Language and Linguistics Research Group in the School of Education is ranges across areas such as sociolinguistics, bilingualism, classroom discourse and endangered languages, the area of cultural politics of TESOL and ELT education, ELT materials and corpus studies, stylistics, narrative structure, learning support and professional development, pronunciation.
The London East Research Institute (LERI) has been established to connect the University's research and consultancy strengths to issues of urban regeneration, drawing on a broad range of disciplines to provide strategic in-depth analysis of the past, present and future of the region
The Manufactured Aggregate Research Centre (MARC) is a national facility available to those who wish to manufacture aggregates. Current developments in the science and technology of themal processing now enable aggregates to be designed and manufactured from a variety of resources including waste materials. Research being undertaken at MARC will enable the production of aggregates that meet European construction product specificiations and ecotoxicity legislation while reducing the quantities of hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposed of in landfills.
The Matrix East Research Lab (MERL) is a new, unique, cutting-edge research facility in the Digital Media Arts. It will, bring together a wide range of researchers, mainly from the Schools of Cultural and Innovation Studies, and of Visual Arts, will offer advanced facilities and research support to staff and research students, as well as to digital media artists in the region.
The Medicines Research Group (MRG) embraces research across a wide range of biomedical issues concerning the safety and efficacy of medicines: phytomedicines, nutritional medicine and pharmaceuticals. The Group hosts the European Journal of Herbal Medicine.
The Centre for Narrative Research (CNR) brings together work on narrative that is being pursued in a variety of contexts across the social sciences. Such work includes the analyses of the structure of social stories and the processes of social storytelling, and explorations of the relationship between narratives and the social world.
The vision of the Neurorehabilitation Unit is to employ state-of-the-art assistive technology to enhance recovery of functional movement, intricate sensory awareness and communicative skills following stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and cerebral palsy. To this end, we employ our expertise in adaptive robotics and advanced neuroimaging technologies to study brain function in health and disease. Our key mission is to develop new rehabilitation tools and translate their use into clinical practice in the NHS and wider community.
The Organisation Studies Research Group (OSRG) stimulates research and critical thinking about organisation and management both within the University of East London Business School and the wider academic community. It arranges seminar series and Business School collaborations, has acted as conduit for the extension of networking activities that have helped to link Business School staff with the broader academic community, bringing together those interested in developing critical thinking, and establishing the University Business School as an active participant and generator of knowledge about organisation and management. Please note that at present the Business School's research pages are being rewritten and links may not work.
The Psychoanalytic Studies Research Group focusses firstly on psychoanalytic ideas in the study of contemporary society and culture, including implications for political and social theory, education and for understanding advertising, consumption and the emotional aspects of social phenomena. Secondly, it focusses on clinical and observation research, and its relevance for the enhancement of welfare practice.
The core focus of the Psychology and Social Change Research Group is a commitment to research with an emphasis on social change. This is a broad overarching theme for the Group, and involves diverse and varied activity across theoretical and methodological arenas, and driven by a number of different topic areas. Central to research in the Group is to consider the psychological and the social as inseparable
The Psychology Learning and Teaching Research Group is based within our School of Psychology.
The Raphael Samuel History Centre initially focussed on research and scholarship on the history of London since the eighteenth century, set within a wider framework of comparative research into other metropolitan sites. Its remit has now broadened to include research on the place of fantasy and memory in the historical imagination, and a new outreach programme was initiated. The Centre’s approach to history is broadly cultural, addressing both the institutional and social history of urban life and its representational forms. In this we have demonstrated a commitment to interdisciplinarity, combining the interests of social and cultural historians with researchers in adjacent disciplines, especially sociology, human geography and psychoanalysis.
The RIX Centre is a research and development centre which brings the benefits of multimedia to people with learning disabilities. About 2% of the UK population have learning disabilities: with their families and carers they make an important community. Multimedia can help this community achieve social inclusion by improving their personal communication; developing their social relations; gathering vital information in accessible ways; and helping them advocate for themselves. The Rix Centre works with a wide range of clients including the BBC, local authorities, learning disability groups, other charities and central government. It is funded by charity donations, its project work and research programmes.
The Secondary Initial Teacher Training Research Group has a wide range of research interests, including the role of values in the emerging professional identities of newly qualified teachers, educational management, partnership development, the educational impact of mega-events, ethnicity and teaching styles, the impact of culture on teaching, education and regeneration, and development of online learning communities.
The SMARTLab @ UEL addresses questions surrounding artists and technologists working in artistic domains, who have long encountered difficulties in placing their work in relation to the academy: in finding appropriate ways to 'measure' artistic practice in 'research exercises', in identifying appropriately flexible and experimental forms for artistic research processes and outcomes, and in competing for academic funding as well.
The Centre for Social Work Research is a new research centre formed in collaboration between the University of East London and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust. It was launched on Tuesday, 21st March 2006, and offers a distinctive approach to relationship-based approaches to to social work practice and policy, psych-social approaches to understanding individuals, society and institution and inter- or multi-disciplinary perspectives on social work practice.
The Sustainability Research Institute is based within the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering (CITE) under the directorship of Mr Darryl Newport.
The Sustainable Mobilities Research Group was formed in June 2010 and currently hosts three research projects. Their aim is to conduct primarily sociological research into forms of sustainable mobility and barriers to sustainable mobilities. In particular the group will focus on issues of culture, identity, and inequality, and how these issues interact with decisions to use or not use particular transport modes. We seek to foster collaborations inside and outside UEL with people working in the area of sustainable mobility, broadly defined.
The Transport Studies Unit was formed in March 1997 and undertakes research on the social impact of transport on society. Current research includes Women and Society, Transport and Ageing, and Door-to-Door Public Transport.
The World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (WRSTSD) is a multidisciplinary refereed review on issues that are central to global sustainable development through efficient and effective technology transfer - on the challenges this poses for developing countries and the global framework for dealing with science and technology. Its purpose is to improve and enhance the literature on the developing world for its own benefit and for the world at large. The WRSTSD will be of interest to a wide range of institutions, including universities, research centres and government departments, in both developing and developed countries. Please note that at present the Business School's research pages are being rewritten and links may not work.
© 2008
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