Sophie is the Director of London Engagement and the London Met Lab: Empowering London at London Metropolitan University. She leads the Civic and Community stream of the University's strategy and is a passionate advocate for civic engagement.
Her commitment to community impact is evident through her numerous roles and affiliations. She is a member of the UK's National Civic University Advisory Board, a Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Place Fellow, and Chair of London Higher's Civic Network.
Sophie's work is grounded in a deep understanding of the interconnectedness between academia and the community. She collaborates with colleagues across the University and the wider community to ensure that London Met fulfils its role as a civic university, creating opportunities for students to develop into value-driven leaders.
Sophie plays a key role in the UK's civic university movement. She serves on the National Civic University Advisory Panel, is an LPIP Fellow, and chairs London Higher's Civic Network, fostering collaboration and innovation across the higher education sector.
Her extensive contributions to London's civic landscape include membership on various boards and working groups within local government, the National Health Service, and community organisations. These include the London Anchor Institution Network's (LAIN) Hiring & Skills and Place working groups and the Tower Hamlets Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). Additionally, Sophie is a Trustee for the London charity Friends of Upward Bound.
With a background in youth work and over 20 years of experience at London Metropolitan University—including her previous role as Head of Outreach and Widening Participation—Sophie brings a wealth of practical expertise to her current position. Her early career transition from finance was inspired by her volunteer work with at-risk young people, where she witnessed the transformative potential of community engagement.
A proud alumna of London Metropolitan University, Sophie holds a Master of Education (2011) and a BSc (Hons) in Sociology from its predecessor institution, London Guildhall University.

More about Sophie Cloutterbuck
Papers
- A Multi-disciplinary Approach To Supporting Student Transition into Higher Education: a pilot study. Investigations in University Teaching and Learning vol. 7 spring 2011
Book Chapters
- Chapter 17: Students as Partners and Peer Coaches in Student Engagement: Themes from PASS Scheme Biographies. A Handbook for Student Engagement in Higher Education: Lowe Tom, El Hakim Yassein: SEDA 2020
- Chapter XX -Community Engaged Learning in Higher Education: A Decolonial Approach to Experiential Learning Editor(s): Andrew Pitchford, Pooja Thomas, and Sonal Purohit, Routledge – To be published
Blogs
- Multiplying Evidence Based Strategies for Inclusion. Upward Bound Project. Multinclude, 2016
- HEPI blog: Keeping The Momentum Going: Universities and the Community Spirit in Covid-19 and Beyond. July 2020
- Business LDN : Why London universities must work locally. 28 October 2020
- Civic University Network Blog: Why student engagement is the key to a civic university 12 July 2021
- Hepi blog: Community cohesion: how students can support recovery among social enterprise, charities and small business.19 November 2021
- Universities UK Insights and Analysis: Levelling up: why we can't leave London behind 20 Dec 2022
- Bridging Research and Practice: Harnessing Community Engagement for Social Impact, NCCPE and LPIP websites April 2024 and July 2024
Videos/Podcasts
- AccessHE Online project - Social Problems and Issues – Feb 2016
- Justine Greening’s Fit For Purpose Podcast: Episode 19 - Minding the privilege gap with Lynn Dobbs, Zainab Khan, and Sophie Cloutterbuck of London Metropolitan University 13 Nov 2020
- ‘Governing and Leading Transformation.’ Vodcast – Advance HE and UUK – Filming Jan 2025
- London Met Civic University Video
Toolkits
- Taking stock of Engaged Learning: How universities are supporting community-based and service-learning – Case Study
- Community Engaged Learning Tool-kit – Westminster University & David Owen – Part of the Video Toolkit – To be published
- The London Met Lab: From Ambition to Action: Civic University Network Case Study 2022
Sophie Cloutterbuck
Director of London Engagement
E: s.cloutterbuck@londonmet.ac.uk