LSBU’s business and community engagement makes an impact
We’re a top 10 London university and in the UK top 50 for our work with business and the community in the latest KEFThe latest Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF4) shows excellent results for London South Bank University (LSBU).
We’ve received top marks for Local Growth and Regeneration and Working with Business and have risen in the Research Partnerships category.
We’re 50th overall across all 140 participating institutions, up 12 places from 62 last year. In London, LSBU is up three places to seventh out of 21 universities, and in its cluster of 33 similar institutions, we’ve risen to 15th. (These placings are calculated using the KEF data by the sum total of all perspectives (using the quintile number) for each institution and then ranking them in ascending order.)
These results further endorse our reputation to deliver real world impact and demonstrate the strength of our relationships with businesses and communities. These links help to build real-world experiences for our students in the classroom too.
Examples of initiatives the KEF rates highly include:
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and graduate start-ups: entrepreneurial support through South Bank starters and the government-backed exemplar Help To Grow: Management Course are major highlights:
"I've had so much help with my pitching, structuring my pitch, being confident, talking confidently.” Bethany Brown, School of Engineering graduate and founder of ZenDen Sensory Spaces, a special place for children in moments of crisis with support to regulate their emotions. "Since completing the course, we doubled our turnover in one year. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to grow." Hasan Dikme, Director, Stonna Limited.
Local growth and regeneration: we’ve scored top marks for programmes which accelerate business growth and support local people with skills development, helping them gain access to employment.
LSBU has also increased its Research partnerships: one project – the Circular Economy for the Data Centre Industry – is transformative, reducing e-waste, increasing resource efficiency, and building sustainable supply chains. This project has also been shortlisted for its Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership in the Times Higher Awards 2024.
Working with business: our engagement with SMEs is rated as very high. Our recent Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with HR Wallingford aims to develop the world's first laboratory capable of generating tsunami wave trains and return flows.
Public and community engagement: this includes our Net Zero Bootcamps for unemployed London residents with an interest in the green sector.
Professor Rodney Day, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), said:
“LSBU has performed brilliantly in KEF4, further solidifying our position as a leader in knowledge exchange. This is a testament to the tremendous efforts of our academics, students, and professional services staff, along with the invaluable contributions of our external partners in business, government, and the local community.
“Our success in KEF4 reflects the University’s deep commitment to creating impactful partnerships that address real-world challenges and shows how we are driving meaningful change for society and the economy. I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in these exceptional outcomes.”
The KEF success further cements LSBU’s progress. This year, we’ve received our third consecutive nomination for Entrepreneurial University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2024 (with four nominations overall). Other recent rankings show a rise of 22 places in The Guardian league table, and we’re named University of the Year for Social Inclusion and the top London modern by the Mail University Guide 2025.
The KEF is an annual assessment that evaluates how universities interact with the wider world. It sits alongside the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) as indicators of the University’s quality, impact and outcomes.
Explore the full set of KEF results online.