Happy Birthday UCL! Celebrating 200 years of London’s oldest university

Today, UCL begins a year of celebration to mark its bicentenary. It was on this very date 200 years ago that the title deeds of settlement for the university were signed and it was established as the UK’s first secular alternative to the established religious universities.

Among its many firsts, UCL was the first to admit students regardless of religion or social background, and the first to welcome women into higher education alongside men.

This year, the UCL200 programme will offer an engaging range of activities, events and storytelling to mark UCL’s bicentenary and celebrate and reinforce UCL’s commitment to its founding principles of academic excellence, fair access for all and research aimed at addressing real-world problems. These principles continue to inform the university’s ethos to this day.

Although UCLH in its current form is a modern construct dating to 1994, University College Hospital can trace its history back to 1834, meaning it has been a key university partner almost since its founding. In 1828 the university decided its medical students should be provided with clinical training in a hospital setting and opened the University Dispensary. Six years later in 1834, wanting to create a space for inpatients, the university opened the North London Hospital (later University College Hospital) with space for 130 patients.

In fact it was UCL founder Isaac Goldsmid who co-founded University College Hospital to support wider access to medical training, serving as its treasurer for 18 years. 

UCLH chief executive David Probert said: “We are immensely proud of our special relationship with UCL and we value our colleagues and friends in their endeavour to show that knowledge, research and innovation can serve as a force for good in the world. 

"UCLH is a leader in innovative patient care, making use of advancements in artificial intelligence, high-precision technologies, and robotics to transform diagnosis and treatment. We hope to use the bicentennial year to come together with colleagues across our partnership to build on this important work and shape an even better future." 

The UCL200 programme will highlight the impact of the university’s groundbreaking work and trailblazing people. This year, the university is also creating open, honest and constructive spaces to explore, discuss and debate the issues and stories of UCL's past, present and future. It also hopes to present an ambitious and inspiring portrait of the university’s future as it attempts to inspire future leaders and convey the type of organisation it wants to become in its third century.

For a full list of activities and events, explore UCL’s calendar.