University College London (UCL) is a public research university in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in the world and is the largest higher education institution in London and largest postgraduate institution in the UK by enrolment.

Founded in 1826 as London University, UCL was the first university institution established in London and the first in England to be entirely secular, to admit students regardless of their religion, and to admit women on equal terms with men. The philosopher Jeremy Bentham is commonly regarded as the spiritual father of UCL, as his radical ideas on education and society were the inspiration to its founders, although his direct involvement in its foundation was limited. UCL became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London in 1836. It has grown through mergers, including with the Institute of Neurology (in 1997), the Eastman Dental Institute (in 1999), the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (in 1999), the School of Pharmacy (in 2012) and the Institute of Education (in 2014).

UCL's main campus is located in the Bloomsbury area of central London, with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London.

World-class training and research innovation in synthetic biology-based biomanufacture at University College London is supported through the Industrial Doctoral Training Centre in Bioprocess Engineering Leadership.

The mission of the UCL IDTC in Bioprocess Engineering Leadership is to develop the next generation of international bioindustry leaders.

With the backing of the Engineering and Physical Sciences research Council (EPSRC), UCL’s Biochemical Engineering department offers around ten coveted Bioprocess Engineering Leadership doctorates for year to the very highest quality candidates.

Each EngD programme is of four calendar years duration, with typically half the time spent with a partner company, which also co-sponsors the research. This gives the researcher unprecedented opportunities to explore novel science and engineering in a process and business context relevant to future leadership roles in the international bioindustry.