SOAS University of London (SOAS) is a major leading institution in Europe for the study of Asia, Africa, and the Near and Middle East. Founded in 1916 and located at its current site in the heart of Bloomsbury since 1941, SOAS offers instruction in specialist regions and a range of language teaching unparalleled elsewhere in Europe, such as instruction in Yorùbá, Pashto, and Nepali. Teaching, learning, and research at SOAS is anchored by its unparalleled library: with more than 1.5 million volumes and periodicals and audiovisual materials in over 400 languages, the library is one of only five National Research Libraries in the United Kingdom. SOAS has ranked in the top 25 in the UK in the World Reputation Rankings 2021 (Times Higher Education) and was first in UK and fifth in the world for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 'Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions' (THE Impact Rankings 2020).

With more than 300 academic staff, SOAS supports an undergraduate and post-graduate community of over 8,000 students across a rich array of subjects, from languages and linguistics and cultural-historical studies to political science and law. SOAS’s diverse academic family is united by a commitment to living out the university’s core values of diversity and inclusion, freedom of speech and tolerance, and an ongoing engagement with both its neighbours in London and the wider global community.

Heritage as Placemaking’s SOAS team includes lead researcher Stefanie Lotter and research fellow Emiline Smith.