I was delighted to see this report come out from London Higher. The report highlights the critical role of London’s higher education sector in bolstering the UK’s soft power and global influence. As global change and instability persist, London’s ability to forge international networks, attract resources, and exert influence remains the key to the UK’s global success.

The report, which features two maps illustrating the soft power of London university alumni across the UK and the world, underscores the significance of London’s universities in maintaining and enhancing this influence.

This is very much in line with my repeated point about the strength of the City of London being its role as a global, intellectual, powerhouse:

As I state in the Foreword:

Beyond Borders: Exploring The Soft Power Of London’s Universities

As a truly global city, London stands at the forefront of the UK’s ability to wield influence and exert soft power on the world stage. The capital’s world-class universities play a vital role in cultivating and projecting this soft power abroad.

London’s higher education institutions attract the brightest minds from around the world, foster critical research collaborations that tackle global challenges, and produce graduates who go on to become leaders and innovators across multiple sectors and industries internationally. The phenomenal academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and diverse cultural vibrancy of London create an unparalleled engine for generating new knowledge, artistic expression, entrepreneurial thinking and technological breakthroughs.

This concentration of intellectual capital cements London’s position as a global hub with influential soft power. The universities in London propagate values of openness, creativity, democracy and free speech around the world through their teaching, research endeavours and networks of international alumni. In this interconnected world, soft power assets like London’s higher education sector are invaluable for promoting stability, cross-cultural understanding and cooperation to address shared global issues.

This is why it has been my priority as 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London to bring together thought leaders from the scientific, academic, and business worlds to demonstrate the City’s strengths in solving global challenges through my ‘Connect to Prosper’ approach.

This report aligns with this mission and comprehensively demonstrates how the global impact and esteem of London’s universities contribute tremendously to the economic and societal benefit of the UK as a whole. It is therefore of paramount importance that policymakers across the board appreciate the full value of Brand London in higher education, and take every measure to protect, sustain and nurture the international pre-eminence of the capital’s academic institutions. Doing so will ensure the UK’s enduring status as a trusted partner and influential voice internationally for generations to come.

Professor Michael Mainelli
Lord Mayor of the City of London, 2023-24