and the BRIT Awards for student work experience. The School achieved 1st in the UK For student satisfaction in the 2020 National Student Survey (NSS). The School was awarded in 2025 double Platinum Sustainable Essex award for its Uniform Reform and Food Waste sustainable initiative projects.
==== School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering ====
The School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering was inaugurated on 1 August 2007. It was created by merging two long-established departments: The Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering which both began in 1966.
According to a report to UK Parliament, the UK's AI research started in the 1950s and 1960s when the four major AI research centres at universities of Edinburgh, Sussex, Essex, and Cambridge were formed.
Notable academics linked to the school include Tony Brooker, Richard Bartle, Mohammed Ghanbari, Riccardo Poli, Edward Tsang, Ray Turner, and Hani Hagras.
==== UK Data Archive ====
The UK Data Archive is a national centre of expertise in data archiving in the United Kingdom (UK). It houses the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the UK. The UK Data Archive was originally founded in 1967 on the Colchester Campus as the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Data Bank.
== Partnerships ==
The university has stated its priority to enhance new and existing partnerships and initiatives at international and domestic level.
A recent development includes the establishment of the first "European university" through the Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE), an alliance of eight leading young European universities and six associate partners of higher education, non-governmental and private sector, selected by the European Commission. Essex is a member of the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN) which promotes timely and relevant research collaboration across significant areas with special attention towards future educational strategies …
