University of East London

University of East London

University of East London Coat of Arms
Motto	Latin: Scientia et votorum impletio
Type	Public
Established	1992 – gained university status 1989 – Polytechnic of East London 1970 – North East London Polytechnic 1952 – West Ham College of Technology 1892 – West Ham Technical Institute
Chancellor	Vacant
Vice-Chancellor	John Joughin
Students	13,630 (2015/16)
Undergraduates	10,300 (2015/16)
Postgraduates	3,330 (2015/16)
Location	London, United Kingdom 51°30′28″N 0°3′49″E / 51.50778°N 0.06361°E / 51.50778; 0.06361Coordinates: 51°30′28″N 0°3′49″E / 51.50778°N 0.06361°E / 51.50778; 0.06361
Campus	Urban
Colours	Dark Blue and Light Blue
Affiliations	Coalition of Modern Universities Association of Commonwealth Universities Universities UK
Website	www.uel.ac.uk

The University of East London (UEL) is a public university in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford and Docklands, following the opening of University Square Stratford in September 2013. The university's roots can be traced back to 1892. It gained university status in 1992. As of October 2015 it has more than 19,000 students from 120 countries.

UEL can trace its roots back to 1892 when the newly formed County Borough of West Ham decided to establish a West Ham Technical Institute to serve the local community. The Institute was to be a "people’s university" in the words of John Passmore Edwards, speaking at the building’s opening ceremony. The college provided courses in science, engineering and art, and also established its own internal degree courses in science and engineering, which were ratified by the University of London. In addition, it had a Women's Department.

As demand for technical education grew throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Essex County Council created two further colleges at Walthamstow and Dagenham. In 1970 these three colleges (West Ham, Walthamstow, Dagenham) were combined as a merger of higher education colleges, to create the North East London Polytechnic. Campuses were modernised and revitalised by buildings such as the Arthur Edwards building on the Stratford campus, completed in 1982.

In 1988 the North East London Polytechnic became a higher education institution, renamed the Polytechnic of East London in 1989.

In 1992 the Polytechnic of East London became the University of East London, one of a number of "new universities". The UEL's succession of founding institutions exemplify the developments that took place in British further and higher education policy throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The University of East London consisted of the Barking Campus (closed 2006) and the Stratford Campus. In 1999 the Docklands Campus was opened, the first new university campus built in London for over 50 years.