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Our strategy 2022-2032

Guiding policy 2

A silver, metallic, 3D-rendered cube which features some erosion through and around the object. The erosion is similar to the texture of coral.
A silver, metallic, 3D-rendered cube which features some erosion through and around the object. The erosion is similar to the texture of coral.
‘Imagination cubed’, Nicola Constantina, 2023 MA Art and Science, Central Saint Martins, UAL

To bring a high-quality creative education to more students than ever before.

A greater desire for creative education

A demographic boom at home, population growth abroad, and longer working lives, means more students than ever before.

The ubiquity and power of digital technology means we can reach and engage them, while constantly improving their education experience.

By growing student numbers here in London and expanding online, we can provide more students, whoever, or wherever they may be, with a high-quality creative education.

A 3D-scan of a physical object made out of wood and strips of material. The material is stretched around the rectangular wooden frame, so the frame is not visible. The material strips are yellow, red, black and off-white. They are arranged randomly and overlap each other.
‘Assemblage’, Eva Dixon, 2023 BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, UAL | 3D-scan: Grey Moth
A 3D-rendered chair. The material is transparent and iridescent, mostly pink, orange, purple and green in colour. The base of the chair is a diamond shape, made of tubes. The seat attaches to the base via a tube. The seat is round and egg-shaped, with a hole in the back. The chair has smaller, thinner tubes inside of varying colours.
‘To be continued’, Xin Gao, 2022 MA Designer Maker, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL
A 3D-rendered chair which has three seats, facing outwards at different angles and heights. The chair is dark grey with blue and orange lights shining onto it.
‘A Seat for Demand’, Lily Hornsbury, 2022 BA Product and Furniture Design, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
A 3D-scan of a physically-made object. The object is a cube shape and made out of multi-coloured paper (mostly purple, orange and blue and black). The top face features the numbers 1-4 in each corner. Around the side faces, bits of paper and illustrations are stuck to the sides, extruding from the object. On the closest corner, a piece of paper says, ‘If the walls could talk manifesto’.
‘Spin’, Paula Molina, 2023 MA Biodesign, Central Saint Martins, UAL | 3D-scan: Grey Moth

What we'll do

  • Increase the number of student places on courses delivered in London by 5,000 (3,000 full-time equivalent).
  • Increase flexibility in how and where students study through online and low-residency courses providing 15,000 places (5,000 full-time equivalent).
  • Invest in our infrastructure and capacity to increase the scale of our online and low residency courses.
  • Research and prototype the digital student experience.
  • Re-imagine access and participation to lift financial barriers and create new access routes through pre-degree education, Short Courses, UAL Awarding Body and UAL Future Creatives.
  • Pioneer an offer in creative professional development and executive education.

What we’re doing now

Case Study 1: Low residency postgraduate courses

We are already reaching out to more students. Central Saint Martins, for instance, has pioneered low residency Masters courses. Three are up and running: MBA with Birkbeck, MA Arts and Cultural Enterprise, and MA Cities, with additional courses to come. The courses are delivered over a weekend. This benefits prospective students already in employment. The proportion of UK students on these courses is higher than the UK university average.

Case Study 2: Insights programme

Too often university admissions processes work against students from poorer backgrounds. Our Insights programme is designed to offer places to students whose parents have never been to university, students from low-income backgrounds, students in receipt of benefits for living costs such as Universal Credit, and looked-after children and care leavers. This will ensure our admissions process is fairer and that our university reflects Britain in its fullest. The programme currently partners with 166 schools and colleges, and in our 2021 entry over 200 students progressed from Insights to study at UAL.

Case Study 3: Fashion Analytics and Forecasting

According to Hal Varian, Chief Economist at Google “The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualise it, to communicate it - is going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades”. There has never been greater demand for graduates skilled in data. But there is currently a shortage of graduates with the right data skills. London College of Fashion is helping to change this, launching its MSc in Fashion Analytics and Forecasting. It is the first online postgraduate course to combine fashion business knowledge with data analytics.

  • A 3D-scan of a 3D-printed object, in an off-white colour. The top part of the object has the form of a lemon squeezer, with a ridged appearance, rounded top and pointy bottom. Three arms come out of this and attach to the bottom part of the object, which is long, curved and thins towards the end.
    Isabella Furness, 2021 BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, UAL | Photograph: Grey Moth
  • A silver, metallic 3D-rendered sculpture, which is an abstract take on the scales of justice. It features four pink hearts at the top.
    Joanna Domagalska, 2022 BA Graphic and Media Design, London College of Communication, UAL
  • A purple, swirling 3D-rendered sculpture. Two purple, metallic hands at either side appear to make the object float in space.
    Kate Petersons, 2023 BA Design for Branded Spaces, London College of Communication, UAL
  • Multiple 3D artefacts that are computer rendered, 3D printed and photographed, and physically made and scanned, all on a black background.
    Artefacts created by current students and graduates, 2022 UAL | Campaign design direction: Brand and Creative Services, UAL