Provost's view

UCL is London’s global university, and I have written in Portico before about the value of our global community. Our internationalism is a defining feature of our institution and something of which we can all be proud. UCL attracts talent from all over the world and makes a positive difference on a global scale, particularly through our alumni community and international partnerships.

In looking outward, we should not lose sight of the tremendous impact UCL makes here in London: one of the world’s great cities. Less than halfway through 2025, we can already point to a number of shining moments which demonstrate UCL’s impact on London and our position as one of the UK’s outstanding universities.

In January, our Marshgate campus at UCL East was chosen by the UK government to be the location for UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement of the government’s AI action plan. It was a fitting venue for such a major speech, as UCL has long been at the forefront of AI research and innovation, and clearly recognised the role UCL will play to drive this plan forward through research taking place at both of our campuses.

In February, we welcomed Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to UCL East on an occasion marking her first visit to East Bank. East Bank is the UK’s newest cultural quarter, home to UCL East as well as Sadler’s Wells East, London College of Fashion, BBC Music Studios, and V&A East Museum and Storehouse. During a visit which encompassed everything from exploring virtual coral reefs to a robotics demonstration, HRH saw first-hand how UCL East contributes to the East Bank’s mission of driving innovation and cultural growth.

Later in February, I was pleased to attend the launch of the Mayor of London’s Growth Plan, which sets out a blueprint for accelerating the capital’s productivity.  By attracting the world’s best students and staff, conducting exceptional research, and fostering startup companies and spinouts, UCL already contributes an enormous amount to the UK economy: £9.9 billion annually in fact by recent measures.

Our physical positions in London give us a key role in achieving the goals of the plan: while UCL East sits at the heart of the East Bank, our Bloomsbury campus is within ten minutes of one of the world’s largest innovation districts, which is taking shape in the Knowledge Quarter. Working with our neighbours like the Francis Crick Institute, the Alan Turing Institute and Google DeepMind (the latter founded by UCL alumnus and supporter Sir Demis Hassabis), UCL knowledge and ideas can be shared, developed and refined to have the maximum impact.

Of course, UCL’s alumni know how special London is, how fortunate we are to be located in such an important city, and how much UCL shapes and is shaped by our location. The draw of London is immense, and one of the greatest examples of its convening power is the alumni reunions that take place at our campus each year – some 40 years in the making and some even 50 years.