Uta Staiger is the co-founder and Executive Director of the UCL European Institute. Since 2010, she has led the Institute in its mission to both create and curate opportunities for research on Europe, within and beyond UCL. In consultation with the Institute’s Academic Director, Uta leads on the strategic development of the Institute, and designs and oversees its portfolio of activities. She has also been actively involved in driving UCL’s policy engagement on EU and European matters, including relationships with key stakeholders.

In June 2017, Uta was appointed as UCL's Pro-Vice-Provost (Europe), a strategic role shaping UCL's engagement with Europe, and acting as ambassador and advocate for UCL's work on the continent. In this role she contributes to UCL's institutional strategy on Brexit, while also co-convening the university's steering group on the research-based response to Brexit.

Uta holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, gained with a scholarship from the Gates Cambridge Trust. She was also educated at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Konstanz (Germany), as well as at the Universitat de Girona during a stint working for the Barcelona-based think tank Interarts. Uta is a member of the EU Advisory Board of the Russell Group and the Advisory Board of the Scottish Council on European Relations; a Senior Fellow of the Jean Monnet Centre of European Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. A regular commentator in the media - online, print or broadcast - Uta speaks German, English, Spanish, Catalan and French.