UCL / Disruptive Thinkers

Showing the human impact of engineering.

I developed and delivered a video strategy for UCL Engineering that made world-leading research more visible, understandable and relevant.

Big idea.

Engineering shapes everyday life, but its contribution can often feel hidden or narrowly defined.

UCL Engineering wanted to challenge those perceptions by showing how its researchers were tackling urgent, human problems - from sustainable business and inclusive cities to autonomous vehicles, public health and climate change.

Simply told.

I created the Disruptive Thinkers video series, working with academics to identify and sharpen the central idea behind their research.

I commissioned and managed the design and film teams, oversaw production and created a framework for storing and sharing the content. The result was a series that placed researchers’ work in the context of the real-world questions it helps answer.

Lasting impact.

The series gave UCL Engineering a compelling, reusable platform for communicating the breadth and relevance of its research.

By centring people, questions and practical outcomes, it helped audiences see engineering as a diverse discipline that underpins and improves everyday life.

Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series

A young woman with long brown hair and glasses looks at her phone, wearing a black top, against a blurred light-colored background.

Image from the Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series: How is innovative thinking changing forensic science? Brand identity was created by Boyle&Perks and filmed by Cinematic Pictures.

Calling all armchair detectives! Find out how Prof. Ruth Morgan and the team at the UCL Centre for Forensic Sciences are moving the sector forward.

Is there a trade-off between being a sustainable business and turning a profit? Prof. Paolo Taticchi of the UCL School of Management gives tips on how businesses can do better when it comes to sustainability - without compromising profitability.

A woman with long dark hair walking on a city sidewalk, with a man wearing a black jacket, beanie, and backpack walking past her on the left. The scene includes trees, cars, buildings, and a pedestrian crosswalk.

Image from the Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series: How can we reimagine cities to create more inclusive spaces?

How can we reimagine cities to be more inclusive and include a feminist perspective? Hear how Dr Ellie Cosgrave and UCL STEaPP's research is changing the world.

How can engineers draw from the fundamental lessons of nature to create the transformative technologies of tomorrow? In the first of a new series of Disruptive Thinkers videos Prof. Marc-Olivier Coppens and colleagues from the Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering are exploring how the structures of trees can build new reactors, how kidneys can inspire water purification systems and how the structure of insect nests can influence the way cells communicate.

A person lying inside a vehicle while another person tending to them under a bridge or overpass, with subtitle reading 'Of paramount importance is understanding the level'.

Image from the Disruptive Thinkers: Video Series: How can we build trust with autonomous vehicles?

How do we engineer a city, its architecture and its infrastructure so that it works socially in an era of physical distancing? In the third of our Disruptive Thinkers video series, we focus on the groundbreaking work from UCL PEARL (Person – Environment – Activity Research Laboratory) on designing a pandemic proof city. Prof. Nick Tyler, Dr Liora Malki-Epshtein, Prof. Thorsten Stoesser, and Dr Taku Fujiyama (UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering) talk about how we maintain social interactions in a physically distanced city, and how we can design better public transport to minimise virus transmission.

How can we engage safely and build trust with autonomous vehicles? We look at how Dr Bani Anvari (UCL Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering) and Prof. Helge Wurdemann (UCL Mechanical Engineering) are improving the way we as drivers interact with autonomous vehicles when we switch between manual and self-driving modes.

Watch full video series here.

Royal College of Art Expo 2020
UCL / Bartlett Alternative