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UEL awarded national honour for enterprising industry partnership

Thursday 21 August 2008

The University of East London’s (UEL) contribution to industrial development has been celebrated with a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Certificate of Excellence, awarded by the Department of Trade and Industry.

The national certificate recognises the success of UEL’s partnership with Liverpool-based manufacturer Rawell Environmental Ltd in a project aimed at enhancing the performance of one of the company’s best-selling products.

Since 2004, UEL Civil Engineering graduate and PhD student Eric Loh (33), of Wanstead, has been working with Rawell to develop their ‘Rawmat’ membrane, a Bentonite clay mat used for structural water-proofing and to cover contaminated land.

Eric, who was named one of the UK’s top 100 young engineers in 2005, said: “I had a great time doing my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at UEL, so I jumped at the chance to get involved with this project when Rawell approached the University in 2004.

“To work effectively, their Rawmat product needed to be both flexible and entirely waterproof. It’s a pre-hydrated clay mat, which meant that, in particularly hot or humid conditions, it tended to dry out before it could be properly laid.

“Rawell asked me to develop a new formula that could delay moisture loss, something I’ve happily been able to achieve – the new design offers fourfold better performance. The company have now taken me on as a Technical Development Manager, and I’m really enjoying the job.”

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is Europe's leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills residing within the UK knowledge base. KTP is funded by the Technology Strategy Board alongside seventeen other funding organisations.

Professor Devapriya Wijeyesekera supervised Eric's PhD throughout the collaboration with Rawell. Professor Wijeyesekera said: “Our Certificate of Excellence follows receipt of the highest possible grading of 'Outstanding' from three independent KTP assessors.

“We kept the project on time and delivered everything we promised and more. The new product is already being manufactured, and we’ve developed a very good working relationship with the company.”

UEL’s School of Computing and Technology has state-of-the-art laboratories and a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offering invaluable opportunities for placement within industry.

Internationally recognised areas of research include satellite guidance systems, manufactured aggregates and pipeline technology. UEL's civil engineering programmes are highly rated and the Geo-information Research Centre provides consultancy services world wide.

For further information, call 020 8223 2041 or visit www.uel.ac.uk/scot.

For details and pictures contact Daniel Cherry: 020 8223 2194

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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