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University of London Estate

“We are a bold, pioneering, creative and inclusive University and together we will meet modern challenges head on and harness the strengths of our history to deliver a truly unique student experience.” Professor Wendy Thomson CBE, Vice-Chancellor

Our five-year strategy has a core aim

To enrich our academic work in the pursuit of excellence in education, research and knowledge exchange through collaboration with our federation members, developing academic programmes, networks and partnerships that further our federation’s goals across London, the UK and internationally.

What role does the Estate Strategy play in helping us achieve the strategic objectives?

The Estate Strategy is core to our ambition to mobilise our physical estate to support our academic functions and realise its commercial value for the benefit of the University of London federation.

It is also the key driver in delivering a world class Estate, which is fundamental to delivering excellent student and stakeholder experience in the centre of the biggest global city – London.

Our green spaces

Facilities Management

The department ensures our Estate is maintained and operational 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year through a dedicated team of cleaning, maintenance, security, front of house and logistics operatives.

The team focus on:

  • cleaning, securing and maintaining the University Estate, Intercollegiate Halls of Residence, University green spaces and the public realm.
  • our teams of skilled engineers and maintenance technicians deliver a comprehensive responsive and planned preventative maintenance service.
  • providing logistical support for the University through porterage services.
  • managing the print, post and document services for the University.
  • providing a dedicated Helpdesk service to all users and occupiers of the University Estate.
  • The team manage the delivery of 9 ancillary Facilities Management support contracts i.e., pest control, window cleaning, waste, feminine hygiene etc.
  • our Building Services team are responsible for all Statutory and Mandatory activity linked to building services engineering.
     

Residential Services

The Residential Services team oversees the operation of our seven Intercollegiate Halls of Residences that provide approximately 3,600 bed spaces to students attending one of the 17 Higher Education federation members.

Our functions include:

  • Supporting Member Institutions to meet their student’s housing needs through accommodation in our Intercollegiate Halls.
  • delivering a professional approach to student accommodation management, from initial application to arrival and throughout the Academic Year to enhance the student experience.
  • providing an unrivalled Residential Life programme supported by resident Wardens and Resident Advisors and adopting an approach to Student Health and Wellbeing that recognises the need for helping develop and shape our resident’s wellbeing.
  • managing the largest student housing service in London.
  • hosting a property platform of rooms, flats and houses offered by private landlords on our website.
     

Sustainability

The Sustainability department is responsible for improving the sustainable performance of the University and leading on the delivery of the University’s strategic aim to ‘build on cutting edge sustainability practices, working towards our zero operational carbon target.’

Through the management of four key sustainable delivery areas of 'Carbon Emissions', 'Resources', 'Nature', and 'Knowledge/Engagement' the team works collaboratively across all levels of the University to promote awareness of UoL’s sustainability goals and ensure statutory requirements and best practice are incorporated into projects, activities and management decision making.

The team are currently focused on a number of sustainability initiatives across the estate, including:

  • Embedding sustainable specifications into our capital works, retrofit and maintenance projects
  • Improving biodiversity (including for our resident bees that live at the top of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies building!) 
  • Stakeholder engagement projects to increase recycling rates
  • Operating a zero to landfill policy for the waste that we are unable to recycle
  • Collaborating with federation member universities on place-based solutions
  • Monitoring and reporting on our environmental performance and compliance obligations
  • Recruiting and training Sustainability Champions across both our staff and student cohorts