ECDL Prepares Undergraduates for the Workplace at one of the UK’s Fastest Growing Universities

With more than 28,000 students from 120 different national backgrounds, the University of East London (UEL) is one of the UK’s most progressive, inclusive1, and fastest growing universities. Based in two East London campuses, one of the main aims of the university is to provide its students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend university, with an enriched education, and ultimately to prepare them with the skills that they will need to succeed in today’s labour market.

The university currently has 1,500 networked computers in very modern facilities, which provide the students with the ICT access that they need for both research and practical tasks. The university has chosen the ECDL programme to enable these students to competently use the ICT infrastructure available to them, and to prepare them with the ICT skills that they will need in the workplace; during the 2010 – 2011 academic year, 1,555 students at the university enrolled in the ECDL programme. This number is likely to increase in forthcoming years, as the university will open new campus buildings in 2012 that will accommodate 3,400 more students.