University of East London Homepage

'Laters' - UEL launches innovative internet soap for students

Friday 19 September 2008

Grange Hill may be no more - but with the new academic year getting underway next week, the University of East London (UEL) is launching a pioneering internet drama series designed to inform and entertain  thousands of new students, who come from over 100 nationalities and all backgrounds.

The online show, called 'Laters', will address a range of topical issues around student life and is made by TEAfilms – a group of young actors and filmmakers who have previously worked with the National Theatre, Young Vic and the National Youth Theatre.

The Laters team have been on campus over the past few weeks filming storylines that reflect the issues that face all new students when they start off at UEL, such as homesickness, student finances, finding somewhere to live and social networking.

In preparation for their roles, the actors have interviewed staff and students and will dramatise the results of the interviews into the daily mini drama.

Brian Hipkin, Director of Student Services said: “The internet is a vast market and people watch thousands of You-tube clips every day. Internet soaps are already very popular and we wanted to make one relevant to new students at UEL and beyond.

“Laters is a great idea – an internet soap that will help students in the You-tube generation to integrate and understand the ups and downs of university life.

“As far as we know, it’s the first of its kind and we’re hoping it will help students feel at home at UEL, as well as helping them to bring out the creativity they need for their work!”

‘Laters’ will air on its own Youtube channel, with the first of its ten daily episodeslaunching on September 22nd  and running until October 3rd. To view the show, visit www.youtube.com/LATERSatUEL. A teaser trailer is available now at www.facebook.com/LATERSatUEL

During the first week of the new semester, we are expecting over 8000 new students.

UEL is a leading university for employability and student facilities – 93% of UEL's students are in work or further study 6 months after completing, one of the highest employability rates in London.

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.

Information for screenreader users:

For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link: Link to general description

For further information on this web site’s accessibility features please follow this link: Link to accessibility information