Read from the CEO of London Higher, Diana Beech, on joining the London Partnership Board
London’s higher education sector is built on partnerships. Whether working with employers to address the capital’s skills needs and drive innovation; collaborating with local authorities to regenerate local spaces; or partnering with schools and colleges to inspire young Londoners, improve attainment and build flexible learning pathways, partnerships are at the heart of what London’s universities do.
As the CEO of London Higher – the representative body for almost 50 universities and higher education colleges across the capital – I am proud to have a seat on the London Partnership Board and give voice to the potential of London’s higher education sector to help address the capital’s challenges and unlock future opportunities.
London’s higher education sector is already one of the capital’s most important assets, contributing over £12bn a year to GDP, educating over half a million students and employing over 223,000 people across all sectors and industries. Given their wealth of talent and networks, London’s universities are also perfect partners to enhance cross-sector projects and deliver results.
Collaborations with London’s universities can take many forms. Academics can provide research and input into initiatives, as demonstrated through London Higher’s collaboration with London Councils, providing expert support from London’s universities for five borough-led climate programmes.
Students and professional service staff can also share their enthusiasm and skills for community benefit through volunteering hours and ‘civic’ activities. Our London Higher Civic Map captures over 200 different ways in which London’s higher education institutions are already supporting their local communities through partnerships, including working with a major London football club, a London NHS Trust and a London prison, among many others.
By joining the London Partnership Board on behalf of the London Higher membership, I hope to raise awareness of the many more partnership opportunities that could be developed with London’s universities and encourage others to think of higher education institutions as essential additions to regional collaborations.
With the largest concentration of world-leading higher education institutions of any city in the world, London and its leaders should know that the capital’s many universities and research institutes stand ready to take action with partners from across the city and leverage their expertise and infrastructure to deliver positive change.
The main challenge from my perspective is nevertheless dispelling the unfounded notion of London’s universities as ivory towers, detached from the city and its communities. As anchor institutions, firmly rooted in their sense of place, and with truly civic missions to transform lives, London’s universities ooze partnership potential and I intend to use my seat on the London Partnership Board to facilitate connections and signpost colleagues to the most appropriate institutions for future initiatives.
I am delighted that London’s leaders have recognised the power of partnerships to overcome challenges through the London Partnership Board and thoroughly believe that, with access to the full diversity of London’s higher education sector, the capital will be able to achieve its ambitions easier, faster and more innovatively.
Diana Beech
CEO, London Higher