UEL unveils new multimillion pound bioscience laboratory
High-tech facilities to have major impact on bioscience learning experience
The learning
experience of UEL students enrolled on UEL’s bioscience courses will be greatly
enhanced following the opening of new laboratory facilities at the University’s
School of Health, Sport and Bioscience in Stratford.
Last year UEL were awarded a £1.2 million grant from the Higher
Education Funding Council for England to build a new high-tech super-lab. This
was match-funded by the University, making an overall investment of £2.4
million.
Phase one of
the redevelopment has now been completed with the new lab coming on stream.
Phase two will involve an adjoining room being knocked through to make a single
giant lab.
The new facilities are set to have a major impact on the student
experience at UEL and boost the University’s reputation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
Head of Bioscience Dr Joanne Tocher said, “In our previous labs we could
only accommodate 40 or so students at a time.
Once the second phase is completed, over a hundred students will be able
to work in the lab.”
“We’re not just spreading out the old equipment into a bigger
space. We have also purchased a lot of
new equipment for the lab, and whole new workstations for students, so they
will have more access.”
The new facilities will be of benefit to postgraduate researchers as
well as undergraduates.
Dr Tocher said, “Because we’ve now got more space for taught sessions,
it frees up other areas for project work. So, when students get to do their master’s,
we’ve now got space for them to do that lab work in a dedicated area.”
The facilities are also more in tune with what students can expect to
find in commercial laboratories.
“What we’re trying to do with students is give them an experience as
close as you can to what they will have when they move into industry,”
explained Dr Tocher.
The new laboratory space will even benefit local people who are not
enrolled as students at UEL.
The University is planning more showcase events such as taster sessions for local schools and colleges, and there will be sessions for science teachers who need to bring their skills up to date to prepare school pupils for university study.