The King visits UEL to mark University’s 125th anniversary
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Published
08 February 2023
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On a truly historic day for the University of East London, His Majesty King Charles III visited its Stratford Health Campus on 8 February to mark the University’s 125th anniversary.
His Majesty was welcomed by well-wishers as he met students, staff and visitors during the visit.
The University of East London is both the most socially inclusive and representative university in the UK, providing life-changing education to students from the London Borough of Newham, the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond. This year sees the 125th anniversary of its founding as the ‘people’s university’, proud to continue pioneering futures, now for the 4th and 5th industrial revolution.
As part of the historic occasion, The King toured the University’s state-of-the-art Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub. The multi-million-pound facility is a European first in end-to-end healthcare education, demonstrating cutting-edge, innovative inter-professional practice and simulation technologies to enhance careers-1st learning, to tackle health inequalities, and to supply the healthcare sector with practice-ready professionals. The Hub also demonstrates the University’s pioneering work in addressing inequalities in child development and mental health.
His Majesty was also shown some of the University’s ground-breaking work in sustainability, including how the University is promoting and supporting the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
On arrival, His Majesty The King was received by the Lord Lieutenant of Newham, Sir Ken Olisa; Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Newham Kim Bromley-Derry; Chancellor of UEL Shabir Randeree CBE; Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz; UEL Director of Careers & Enterprise Saadiya Ahmad, UEL Chair of the Board of Governors John Garwood; UEL Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors Doris Olulode; and the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Amanda Broderick.
The Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub includes a multi-professional simulation suite that boasts the latest in augmented and virtual reality equipment.
This includes two high-tech patient simulator mannequins, known as SimMan 3G Plus, which can display a range of neurological and physiological symptoms such as sweating and crying. These mannequins are some of the most life-like physical simulators worldwide – and which UEL is the first university in Europe to procure and utilise.
Accompanied by the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Amanda Broderick, His Majesty was shown the facilities, which include a mock A&E department, an ambulance, a general ward, an intensive care unit, and a flat designed to imitate an at-home social care environment.
The educational advances demonstrated to The King at the Hub, which showcased the University’s commitment to training the next generation of healthcare professionals, were also a timely commemoration of the National Health Service’s 75th anniversary.
Accident & Emergency Ward
The University of East London’s A&E ward offers an unparalleled educational experience for health students. Within a fully operational A&E setting, students can develop their skills and practice complex scenarios in a safe, simulated environment. Utilising the latest in Augmented and Virtual Reality technology, this fully functional clinical setting immerses students in real-world scenarios, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to make meaningful impact on their communities and beyond. With this innovative approach, the University is at the forefront of equipping future healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in the dynamic and ever-evolving healthcare landscape.
BabyDev Lab
The University of East London’s ‘BabyDev Lab’ is at the forefront of cutting-edge research in child development, using state-of-the-art physiological and psychological techniques to gain a deeper understanding of how babies think and behave. From birth onwards, the Lab delves into a range of pioneering research projects, including:
- Exploring the development of brain functions in the first months of life
- Studying the progression of language and attention
- Examining infants’ ability to recognise emotions in facial and bodily gestures
- Investigating how the home environment can stimulate brain development
With a focus on child- and parent-friendly methods, the Lab is unlocking the secrets of baby development.
Intensive Care Ward
The University of East London’s Intensive Care Unit simulation ward offers a unique and state-of-the-art learning experience for students. Equipped with the latest technology, including two high-tech Laerdal SimMan Plus mannequins, students can practice and perfect all procedures in a fully operational intensive-care setting. UEL is the first university in Europe to procure and utilise these highly realistic physical simulators. Partnering with Oxford Medical Simulation, the integration of Virtual Reality into the ward further emphasises the innovative and inclusive approach to practice learning at the University and ensures students are equipped with the necessary skills to make effective clinical decisions in a safe and controlled environment.
Multi-Professional Healthcare Ward
The University of East London’s Multi-Professional Healthcare Ward is unlocking the potential of cutting-edge healthcare education. Our inter-professional approach allows students and apprentices in fields such as physiotherapy, nursing, podiatry, sports therapy, occupational therapy and physician associates to hone their clinical decision-making skills in a diverse and dynamic setting. By tackling real-world challenges, our students gain a deep understanding of how to address health inequalities in east London and beyond, preparing them to excel in today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment.
These state-of-the-art technologies and facilities are all used for scenario-based learning and role-play activities to support the health and science courses, preparing students to be career-ready for the NHS and health social workforce at a time of dramatic shortage of skills and personnel in the care sectors. The University is investing heavily in real-world simulation suites to blur the line between learning and work as part of its careers-first mission.
As future healthcare professionals, students at the training hub were given the opportunity to showcase their skills and training to His Majesty in a unique and engaging way. Using the cutting-edge Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, students demonstrated how they immersed themselves in real-life health scenarios, helping them to develop their skills and learn how to cope under pressure.
Speaking about the visit, Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Amanda Broderick, said,
We are truly honoured to have His Majesty The King visit our innovative Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub. His Majesty’s visit is testament to the importance of the facility in training our next-generation healthcare professionals - reducing health inequality and producing the caring and effective multi-professional teams of the future.
“With the challenges and complexity of global healthcare - including in the NHS - recruiting, developing and retaining healthcare staff are critical. It is more important than ever that we have the best-trained healthcare professionals.
“Our state-of-the art simulation suites, equipped with the latest augmented and virtual reality technology allows our students to experience real-life scenarios and gain hands-on experience in a safe and controlled environment.
“We are proud to be one of only two universities in Europe with this technology, and we are grateful for the opportunity to showcase this to His Majesty.”
The King also had the opportunity to learn about another important aspect of the University’s work –sustainability.
The University of East London aims to be a pioneer in the field of sustainability with the University positioned as a global centre of excellence for disruptive technologies in the GreenTech sector, operating as a living lab for the next generation of green pioneers and innovators.
At the heart of all research and education at the University lies a commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically in the areas of health (SDG 3), gender equality (SGD 5), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), and climate action (SDG 13). Through pioneering research-led interventions, the University has made a significant impact in countries around the world, particularly in the Commonwealth, by providing technical support to governments, developing sustainable materials and environments, creating innovative tools for marginalised communities, informing policymaking, and building critical capacity. The University is steadfast in its goals to achieve Carbon Net Zero by 2030 and is working in partnership with Siemens to achieve this.
The King was introduced to staff and students working on sustainability projects across the University, including staff with the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI). Established in 2001, SRI was one of the first of its kind in the UK and has since developed an outstanding reputation on the international stage in areas such as nature-based solutions, energy efficiency and conservation of vital peatlands.
Through groundbreaking research and development, SRI has been able to apply its findings to real-world challenges, making meaningful impact in the battle against climate change. His Majesty was able to learn about the various initiatives and projects the SRI is currently working on as well as the University’s ambitious plans to be net carbon neutral by 2030.
On arrival at the University, His Majesty The King was greeted by Year 6 children from Sandringham Primary School in Forest Gate singing Hummingbirds with their teacher Simon Lambert on soprano saxophone. They were joined by performing arts students and Tristan Parkes, programme leader for Sound and Music for Theatre BA (Hons) who had written the song.
Sustainability Exhibitions
As part of the 125th commemorative tour, His Majesty was given an insight into UEL’s work in sustainability through a range of exhibition and demonstrations. Further information on what His Majesty was shown during the visit is below:
Exhibit 1: Achieving Net Carbon Zero by 2030, in partnership with Siemens:
The project is central to the University’s drive for sustainability and reduction of its carbon footprint as a key part of its 10-year transformation strategy, Vision 2028. This includes:
- Carbon-producing energy reduction and green energy production across campuses, pushing out into the Enterprise Zone and wider community - UEL’s Net Zero Journey.
- The Internet of Things Living Lab of live green data for research and innovation and to train students in NetZero technologies and new transformative methodologies.
- The Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability supporting new green business development and growth through commercialization, incubation and acceleration.
- Developing and growing an inclusive, future talent pipeline for the green economy
Exhibit 2: Sustainable Benefits of Sphagnum Farming:
Finding a viable replacement for commercially extracted peat as a growing medium for gardening and horticulture has been a major environmental and UK Government objective for decades - an objective actively promoted by His Majesty - but finding a material that matches the undoubted properties of peat has so far proved challenging. However, peat is merely ancient Sphagnum bog moss, and UEL has supported a leading micropropagation company (Microporpagation Services Ltd) to develop a genuine peat replacement in the form of farmed Sphagnum as part of a radical new global approach to farming on peat soils. Melcourt Industries (who have a Royal Warrant) has tested this new material and found it performs as well as, or better than, peat composts.
Exhibit 3: Sustainable Materials from Paludiculture.
Conventional agriculture on drained peat soils is currently the UK's largest source of carbon emissions from any form of land use, and the Government's 25 Year Environment Plan has identified such practices as 'not sustainable' even though this represents some of the UK's finest Grade 1 agricultural land. Yet wetland species can be as productive as conventional crops, so UEL is partnering several pioneering UK field trials of a radical new form of agriculture for such soils, termed 'paludiculture', based on re-wetting these drained peat soils and growing wetland species commercially. The largest of such trials is being orchestrated by our partners The Great Fen Project in the Cambridgeshire Fens. The project is developing an entirely new range of sustainable and commercially viable agricultural products from farmed wetland plants, including construction materials (developed from our work on sugarcrete by Dr Bamdad Ayati), clothing (developed by our partners SatltyCo), food such as cranberries and medical products such as wound dressings.
Exhibit 4: Connected Nature: Nature-based solutions for Climate Resilience.
This exhibit presents the Connecting Nature Framework – a global first framework for cities to support them in mainstreaming nature-based solution approaches to urban planning. The Framework supports cities in restoring biodiversity, increasing their resilience to climate change, and improving the health & wellbeing of their communities. The Framework is being disseminated globally through UrbanByNature hubs, and we demonstrate how the Framework supports this with a biodiverse green roof exhibit.
Exhibit 5: Global Sustainability Interventions: Sustainable Communities.
This exhibit showcases some of the sustainability innovations emerging from our PhD students. This includes a study on cultural barriers (such as dwelling types and purchasing behaviour) to electric vehicle adoption in London that has direct policy relevance in relation to incentivising electric-vehicle uptake. The showcase includes a study investigating the potential for creating artificial veteran tree habitats for insects threatened with extinction that was carried out at Windsor Forest and Great Park.
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