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Transatlantic partnership hots up as US academics visit UEL to plan student exchange

Tuesday 7 February 2006

With Valentine’s Day in the air, staff and students at the University of East London (UEL) are forging new partnerships with an international flavour.

A group from Columbia College, Chicago recently visited UEL as part of a growing link between the two universities which will soon see UEL students studying in the US.

Staff from the American university have been greatly impressed by UEL’s diverse demography, commitment to local regeneration, and high-profile community art projects. A formal partnership was signed by the two universities in summer 2005 and plans are currently being drawn up for regular staff and student exchange programmes.

Students from UEL’s School of Architecture and the Visual Arts will mark the beginning of a rolling exchange programme by spending time in Chicago this September, with the first US students coming to East London in January 2007.

Three UEL lecturers - John Cockram, Graham Jeffery, and Stephen Maddison - have already visited Chicago, while Loraine Leeson, Director of cSPACE, a community arts organisation based at UEL’s Docklands Campus, delivered a keynote speech at a conference hosted by Columbia College in 2004. Last year, she returned to the US to offer training to artists working in two Chicago hospitals.

Loraine said: “Columbia College specialises in visual, performing, media and communication arts, and its Centre for Community Arts Partnerships is renowned as a flagship of innovation in arts education in the US. The way they develop, fundraise and run practical community-based projects in the arts is very similar to the way UEL supports local cSPACE projects, and the potential for the two universities to benefit from each other's experience is tremendous. I very much look forward to working with Columbia College staff and students over the coming years."

During their recent four-day visit, the Columbia College delegation were taken on a tour of East London, including visits to Canary Wharf, Stratford and the Museum in Docklands and a viewing of work in progress on cSPACE’s Young Person’s Guide to the Royal Docks, currently on show at London City Airport.

In welcoming the visitors, Professor Michael Thorne, UEL’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “This is a great new partnership for UEL and we're all very excited about the wonderful opportunities that working with Columbia College will offer both our staff and students.”

For further information, contact Loraine Leeson on 020 8223 7531 or l.leeson@uel.ac.uk.

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For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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