UCL signs agreement with engineering firm Arup

UCL has signed an agreement with the engineering and construction company Arup to boost collaboration and training in a number of fields including design, engineering and sustainable development. The memorandum of understanding builds on projects including The Thames Gateway Institute for Sustainability, a research institute to be set in the heart of a new sustainability industries park at Dagenham Dock, as part of the regeneration of the area.

The agreement paves the way for researchers from the two organisations to work jointly on projects, exchange personnel, jointly supervise doctoral training programmes and enable students to spend time in each place, and share thinking on innovation. It also aims to boost knowledge transfer to businesses. The agreement comes into effect on 15 July 2009 and runs until 2014.

UCL President and Provost Malcolm Grant said, “One way to come through the recession is to invest in key staff and continue to plan for growth. This partnership will ensure our innovations in the laboratory translate to the real world, while our new Institute for Sustainability should act as a magnet to attract industry to the area and business opportunities beyond.”

Arup Chairman Phillip Dilley said, “Formalising our relationship with UCL through this agreement acts as direct recognition of the growing importance of our long term collaboration. We anticipate that this will increase opportunities for secondments and joint projects, and will help both organisations realise the potential of collaborative research to address the societal and environmental challenges that we face today.”