1. Foreword from the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive About

As London Met’s new Vice-Chancellor, my mission is to advance our 2025 strategic ambitions while building on Professor Lynn Dobbs’ legacy of championing social justice. I also intend to follow Professor Dobbs’ lead of financial sustainability, ensuring that this wonderful institution continues to play its role changing lives through the power of education. We owe a significant debt to Lynn and the change she drove during her 6 years at London Met.

Despite the global challenges faced this year, we have demonstrated financial resilience. London Met's strategy achieved an impressive operating surplus, enabling us to invest what we have carefully accumulated into improving the experience for students, staff, and the wider community.

We have a thriving student body, a diversified income portfolio, and an unparalleled commitment to social impact and inclusivity with our civic university status, helping future-proof the institution for generations to come. I am proud of our strong relationships across the university. We have worked closely with the Students’ Union to support students with cost-of-living challenges. Good industrial relations mean that we mitigated some of the impacts of widespread industrial action seen across the sector. I am hugely grateful to all our colleagues during a turbulent time for higher education.

Recent months have seen several significant milestones. In 2024, we launched the Centre for Applied Research in Empowering Society (CARES), bringing together a multi-disciplinary group focused on applied research and knowledge exchange. Our research community continues to grow, with increasing engagement and income from partnerships with public institutions, community groups, and socially responsible businesses. London Met doesn't pay lip service to working with the community. Our aim is to make a difference to marginalised, voiceless, and discriminated-against people.

We've also made strategic investments in both physical and digital infrastructure, including new student facilities and the transformational MyView platform, London Met's new one-stop platform for people and finance.

Our commitment to improving the student experience is reflected in the three National Awards for Teaching Expertise and the National Student Survey, where we have maintained a strong position. However, we recognise the ongoing challenge of reducing non-continuation rates and are actively implementing measures to ensure more students successfully complete their studies.

I was delighted earlier this year when the hard work of our staff and students was recognised, with London Met being shortlisted for the 2024 University of the Year award by Times Higher Education. This recognition is a testament to the remarkable transformation within our community. Students are central to our strategy; however, to deliver the best for them, we recognise the immense value of investing in our staff. Staff who are well supported and respected will always go the extra mile to help achieve the university's aims.

With that in mind, this year we have designed a generous parental leave policy — we now grant 52 weeks of fully paid maternity and adoption leave to qualifying staff, a substantial increase from the previous provisions. Additionally, paternity leave has been extended to 8 weeks at full pay. Our entire compensation packages are regularly under review.

In this year’s annual report, we have mapped out the progress we have made and take stock of our achievements. I am optimistic about where we are heading; the steps we have taken so far have primed us for a positive future, irrespective of the socioeconomic and political conditions we will face in the coming months.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone in the London Met community for their invaluable contributions as we continue to build a leading institution, driving genuine social change through education, and especially to Professor Dobbs as she starts her well-deserved retirement.