Impact through community and industry engagement
Impact report - community and industry
The world is changing rapidly
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The world is changing rapidly
Foreword by Sir Ron Kalifa
In the spirit of introspection and progress, the University of East London is thrilled to present its Impact Report. This document serves as a testament to the unwavering commitment of the institution to inspire positive change and catalyse transformative initiatives in the pursuit of knowledge, progress and societal betterment. On speaking to undergraduates, it is clear to me that their university education had instilled in them the skills and qualities that we most need during periods of change: curiosity, determination, insight, and collaboration. This was not least because UEL is an institution that embodies these values through and through.
I have spent my career working with people, governments, private companies, and public institutions to navigate new opportunities, and to ensure that the spirit of innovation translates into sustainable impact. I believe that the key to this sustainability is a holistic approach, which recognises that none of us can succeed in isolation. UEL recognises this too and prioritises partnership to guarantee that the innovations of today and tomorrow won’t leave anyone behind. I was delighted to officially open the University’s Centre of FinTech in 2022.
The Centre’s work is a leading example of the application of this holistic approach to an area ripe for innovation, which I argued was vital in my independent review of the UK Fintech sector commissioned by the Government in 2020.
Active Campus, Active Communities
Through a wide range of sport-related initiatives, UEL actively engages with local communities, empowering individuals and promoting social cohesion. Its aim is to remove barriers to participation in physical activity, and utilise the power of sport to transform lives and communities. It is also a key partner in ensuring the legacy of the 2012 London Olympics is not forgotten, with a focus on sport that is deeply rooted in a commitment to the local community.
Its state-of-the-art sports facility - SportsDock - was recently refurbished as part of a multimillion-pound investment programme to improve facilities. And through work in east London with Sport England, UEL is helping to identify and support the sporting talent of the future.
UEL is developing an integrated Active Campus on its Docklands site, engaging those who do not usually take part in mainstream sports to enhance belonging and connection. Activities include a pop-up swimming pool and student-designed skate park, as the University continues to shape a programme of active health and wellbeing tailored to student, staff and local community needs.
Sport in your futures: Connecting the institution to young people
Sport In Your Futures is a programme which aims to directly tackle issues such as obesity through increasing exposure and access to high-quality sport facilities and experiences at the University. Many young people experience significant challenges to being active and rarely get to enjoy live performance sport. 50% of children live in poverty in Newham – the second highest rate in the UK. In 2020, 43% of year 6 pupils were obese, compared to a regional average of 38%.
The programme, designed in collaboration with a range of partners and stakeholders, including East London Schools Sports Partnerships and Active Newham, offers primary school aged children the opportunity to come out to campus and take part in exercise and sporting activities delivered by UEL staff and students as well as a number of local community organisations.
Sport In Your Futures was designed to capitalise on the strengths of the University - such as high-quality sporting facilities and subject area expertise - and the needs of, and barriers which face, the community when it comes to engaging in physical activity. Therefore, participants on the programme are able to watch UEL sports matches, meet sporting scholars at the University and hear more from specialist UEL staff on the wider health and wellbeing benefits of sport. In 2022/23, the Sport In Your Futures programme reached over 1,500 primary school children from a network of 20 participating schools across the borough.
Elite sport with global reach
The East London Sport Talent Pathway is funded by Sport England and delivered at UEL as a prototype talent identification and development programme. It aims to support aspiring young athletes based in east London to progress in their chosen discipline, achieving sporting excellence alongside whole-person development. Through its uniquely inclusive and holistic approach, the programme seeks to radically diversify the regional and national talent pool. It provides the young people with bespoke access to quality athlete support services, experience of a range of different sports, and exposure to relatable, role model athletes, coaches and speakers.
With unique partnerships across a wide range of sports (including West Ham Foundation, Essex County Cricket Club, London Lions, London Youth Rowing, Essex Blades, Rackets Cubed and Volleyball England), UEL also opens up opportunities for students to link with high profile sports clubs across the country. Its focus on providing pathways to elite sport means we attract talent from across the globe to study whilst they continue to develop their sporting careers.
“The magic of working with UEL is the way they understand the needs of their local community. We have worked in partnership to create and pilot a place-based approach to talent development that we now hope will provide a nationwide blueprint for city-based talent recruitment and development.”
Hannibal Morris Head of England Talent Development Pathways, Sport England
Case study: East London Phoenix
The East London Phoenix wheelchair basketball team is the first sporting franchise in UEL’s history. The British Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Premier League team is made up of talent from across the local community including a number of UEL students. Home games are played at the University’s £21m SportsDock facility - where members of the local community are able to purchase tickets for games for £3 - £5. The franchise also provides a number of free fan days to help reach all corners of the community. The team has reached the final of the Women’s Premier League for the first two seasons that the league has been running.
Case study: University Mental Health Charter
UEL believes that a student’s mental and physical health is a necessary foundation for effective learning, and actively structures its approach to teaching around students’ wellbeing. UEL was one of the first five universities to be granted the University Mental Health Charter Award in December 2022. Some examples of UEL’s work and initiatives that led to its successful award of the charter include:
- The Student Wellbeing Service, a multidisciplinary team of psychological professionals, is UEL’s central service that supports students who are at risk. It has a dedicated duty worker whose role is to respond immediately when students at risk are brought to their attention.
- Better gathering and analysis of cross-institutional data, to assess the effectiveness of interventions.
- Investment in online resources including self-help options: Blackbullion, Being Well, Living Well and Consent Matters courses, Togetherall’s Live Therapy, and Report + Support are all available to students. Providing a broad range of channels and methods, both online and in person, encourages students to access help in a way that works for them.
- Recognising that external services support is often the most appropriate intervention, UEL invested significant internal funding (£300k) to the OfS Challenge project testing mental health analytics and paid to be part of the Advance HE ‘Embedding wellbeing in the curriculum’ project.
- Student wellbeing is part of the University’s audit cycle. The University’s Health Gain and Wellness Committee was established to ensure student support is embedded in governance. With cross-institutional representation, the committee works to embed wellness into all working practices, monitor benchmarks and KPIs, and oversee the implementation of relevant policies, procedures and training.
Case study: Student Exercise Referral Programme
East London Sports Centre staff have developed an exercise referral scheme in partnership with UEL’s Wellbeing Team. The scheme aimed to support students experiencing mental health issues to exercise to improve their mental and physical health, reduce isolation and increase social engagement. In a pilot during the 2021/22 academic year, the Wellbeing team referred 42 students to the programme with 29 students being reported as becoming more active following the referral. One year after joining the scheme, 90% of the students engaging with the programme either continued, graduated or repeated the year, higher than the broader completion rate at UEL. Two of the students referred onto this programme now work for the University.
Transforming lives through sport and exercise
SportsDock and its facilities are not only open to UEL staff and students but also provide the local community with the opportunity to engage with sport and physical activity. The facilities have been used by over 35,000 students and residents in the last 10 years, and the fitness centre underwent a £500,000 refurbishment in 2022. The University has also been able to take its wellness mission outside the walls of these facilities and introduce different initiatives in new spaces such as the library, where they now run lunchtime relaxation and stretching sessions for all students and staff.
UEL’s gym facilities are free for students to use - which has led to an 800% increase in the number of students engaging with East London Sports over the past year.
Preparing for the technologies of the future
Staying safe in an online world
UEL researchers are helping policymakers to understand drivers of cybercrime and to build a safer online world.
As society progresses towards an increasingly digital future, it will be crucial to understand the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. With expertise in computer science, AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, and digital innovation, UEL is at the forefront of research and education in this rapidly evolving field. Through collaborations with industry partners, policy engagement, and cutting-edge research, UEL aims to drive innovation, address emerging digital challenges, and ensure an inclusive and secure digital future. UEL has also contributed to the UK’s rapidly growing safety tech sector, helping make the online world safer for millions of people. UEL's vision for the future of the internet combines technical expertise, ethical considerations, and a commitment to safeguarding digital rights and privacy.
Case study: Exploring the human and technical drivers of cybercrime
UEL was part of a consortia of partners awarded €5 million Horizon 2020 funding to better understand drivers of cybercrime. The emergence of new platforms for criminal activities and the flourishing cybercrime economy have yielded a staggering sum of $1.5 trillion in illicit profits acquired, laundered, spent, and reinvested by cybercriminals.
This significant increase can be attributed to the evolution of cybercriminal practices, which no longer need intricate or meticulously orchestrated operations to infiltrate IT systems. UEL’s research focused on developing prevention strategies to discourage young people from engaging in cybercrime activities. Their research found that two thirds of young people in Europe engaged in some kind of online risk taking that could lead to criminal activity - including using Dark Web forums or engaging in non-consensual sharing of images. Their research aimed to better understand the drivers behind this and to prevent initial exploration developing into more serious cybercriminal behaviour.
As a result of the research, a new taxonomy of cybercrime has been created to inform governments, policy makers and law enforcement across the globe. A number of resources have also been created for young people and their families to raise awareness of what types of online behaviours are risky, harmful, or criminal. The materials have been disseminated throughout the EU to thousands of young people and parents on Safer Internet Day 2023 via the network of Safer Internet Centres.
Case study: Staying safe in the metaverse
The world of 3D headsets and virtual reality is still in its infancy - but millions of children already engage in the metaverse every day, through online games such as Roblox and Minecraft. These apps are popular and ever present - but come with a number of downsides including online harm and exploitation; cyberbullying; and increased risk of child abuse.
The UEL Institute for Connected Communities is part of a UKRI funded collaboration working with partners from policy, practice and industry to:
- Understand the challenges that tech companies using metaverse apps face while ensuring that as many children, including those with neurodivergent conditions, can use their platforms safely.
- Identify the knowledge gaps and resource needs of professionals and practitioners who work with children at risk of abuse and exploitation in the metaverse.
- Improve safeguarding measures and the ability of law enforcement to report and investigate instances of child sexual abuse that may occur on new metaverse platforms.
- Listen to the voices of children themselves and understand their needs for safety and support while using the metaverse.
The research aims to help industry and policy makers create a safer and more supportive environment for children in the digital world.
Case study: Conversion courses in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
There is a national shortage of data science and AI specialists in the UK, with a recent Government report finding that there were more than 111,000 AI and data science vacancies in 2020. Addressing this shortage will be of vital importance if the UK is to keep up with the pace of technological change, and the supply of skilled graduates needs to increase significantly to keep pace with demand. It is also important that AI and data science fields continue to encourage graduates from diverse backgrounds to consider a career in these areas.
UEL is one of 30 universities selected as part of an Office for Students-led programme delivering postgraduate level conversion courses in AI and data science. The programme will provide scholarship funding to students from currently underrepresented groups who wish to pursue a future career in data science.
Bringing the tech revolution to industry: Fintech
FinTech has the potential to disrupt traditional financial systems, challenge established players, and foster financial inclusion by reaching underserved populations who may have limited access to traditional banking services. And UEL is determined to be a leader in this disruption. Launched in 2022, the UEL Centre of Fintech aims to be a hub for expertise, research, and information on all aspects of financial technology, building a pipeline of FinTech talent and facilitating a global digital economy. The Centre has already made a significant contribution to policy, most recently responding to the Financial Stability Board’s Public Consultation.
Working in collaboration with industry partners such as Arm, Radix, and Finder, the Centre acts as both a dynamic research group producing new insights and technologies, and a route through which to engage with the wider financial services industry. UEL has recently launched some of the first higher education courses in FinTech, including an MSc in Blockchain and Financial Technologies, and an MBA in Fintech Management. All students will work closely with financial services industries throughout their studies - critical to keeping up to date with developments in both research and industry.
Case study: Using AI to tackle insurance fraud
The UK insurance market has seen a surge in insurance fraud, with estimated annual costs of £40 billion. A team led by Dr Julie Wall worked with the tech and insurance industries to create an innovative AI-based software to expose potential insurance fraud - with the aim of reducing fraud and associated financial losses, that would ultimately lead to lower costs on insurance premiums. Researchers worked in collaboration with leading industry partners, Intelligent Voice and Strennus, as well as with insurance companies.
For more information on our methodology or the sources cited please email publicaffairs@uel.ac.uk.
Download the full report
UEL Impact Report
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