There is, however, a desire to act. Awareness of social injustice is rising, especially among young people. Social movements, like Black Lives Matter and Greta Thunberg’s School Strike for Climate, grew out of a more connected world. Latin America’s buen vivir movement highlights a global need for harmony with the natural world.

At UAL, helping to change and influence society is central to its social purpose. And as one of the world’s leading creative universities, we can make a significant difference. Central to this is research and knowledge exchange. Creative practice has a role to play developing this with external partners, like-minded organisations, and across disciplines and industries. It is our task, therefore, to identify the issues where we can make the biggest impact.

This display platforms research, innovation and practice which demonstrates what design can do when social purpose is at its core, celebrating research from across UAL’s six colleges. The colleges believe creativity has a role in solving great problems – to imagine a better world and bring it to fruition. To deliver our social purpose and to meet the needs and expectations of staff and students, we need to change, too. We believe the world needs creativity.

At UAL, helping to change and influence society is central to their social purpose. And as one of the world’s leading creative universities, we believe we can make a significant difference. Central to this is research and knowledge exchange. Creative practice has a crucial role to play in developing this research and knowledge with external partners, like-minded organisations, and across disciplines and industries. University of the Arts London offers an extensive range of courses in art, design, fashion, communication and performing arts. With close to 22,000 students from over 130 countries, UAL is ranked second in the world for Art and Design in the 2022 QS World University Rankings®. The University is made up of six renowned Colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Arts. The 4 Institutes, AKO Storytelling Institute, UAL Creative Computing Institute, UAL Decolonising Arts Institute and UAL Fashion Textiles and Technology Institute, bring together people from across the University to develop expertise and drive innovation.