Knowledge Dock was originally named the Thames Gateway Technology Centre (TGTC) in 1998, and then changed it's name in 2004.  The TGTC was set up to enable the University of East London to contribute to the economic and social regeneration of East London and the Thames Gateway.

Over the last ten years Knowledge Dock has worked with thousands of businesses, inventors, entrepreneurs, students and academics.  Throughout Knowledge Dock's history it has also been awarded ‘Shell Step Agency for London and the South East,’ after achieving exceptional success in sourcing work placement opportunities for students.  Knowledge Dock has also been named as one of the few Business Innovation Centres (BIC) in Europe, following accreditation given by the European Business Network (EBN) on behalf of the European Commission.  This prestigious accolade now makes Knowledge Dock the only BIC in London.

TGTC was established with Single Regeneration Budget funding invested in phase one of development of the University of East London’s (UEL) Docklands Campus.  TGTC then operated with a substantial donation from the Ford Foundation, additional SRB money, funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and London Development Agency (LDA). Today, Knowledge Dock’s core funding comes from the Higher Education Innovation Fund awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). 

The Knowledge Dock Business Centre (KDBC) was opened in 2006 and is funded by LDA, ERDF, the Department for Communities and Local Government and UEL. 

The KDBC trebled the number of business start-up and growth units managed by Knowledge Dock and pulled together in one location existing expert centres, new ventures, eg MAGIC, the Multimedia and Games Innovation Centre, which shares space with the Smartlab Digital Media Institute.  

If regeneration has been the aim from the outset, then a key means has been partnership.  TGTC was established by a partnership of UEL, London Metropolitan University, Queen Mary, University of London, Newham Council and local community support. Collaboration continues today through KnowledgeEast, a HEFCE-funded centre for knowledge exchange which includes all the university institutions within the London Thames Gateway.