Engagement
Supporting local entrepreneurs and start-ups
Queen Mary supports local entrepreneurs and start-ups through free professional advice, mentoring and practical business support. These services give entrepreneurs access to specialist expertise that can help them start, strengthen and grow financially and socially sustainable businesses.
The University’s Local Offer brings together free support for East London residents, businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups and community organisations, connecting them with legal, financial, technical and digital expertise across Queen Mary.
qLegal is Queen Mary’s pro bono commercial law clinic, supporting start-ups, entrepreneurs and non-profit organisations that may not otherwise be able to afford commercial legal advice. In 2024/25, qLegal supported more than 290 entrepreneurs and start-ups, including 16 Greentech ventures, alongside businesses working in Edtech, Medtech, Fintech and social enterprise.
qTech provides free technical and digital consultancy to start-ups, SMEs and non-profit organisations. In 2024/25, it supported entrepreneurs working across sectors including Greentech, Edtech, Medtech and Fintech, helping them address practical technology, data and digital-development challenges without the cost of commercial consultancy.
qNomics provides free financial and business guidance to entrepreneurs, technology start-ups and community organisations. In 2024, qNomics supported 42 clients through one-to-one advisory clinics, helping with areas such as business planning, financial analysis, funding, business structures and marketing.
Project ReMAKE
Project ReMAKE supports formerly incarcerated people who can face significant barriers to employment and self-employment. The programme provides practical routes into employment, self-employment and greater financial independence for people who can otherwise face substantial barriers to economic participation.
The 12-week programme combines entrepreneurship training, employability development, mentoring and practical business planning. Participants develop business ideas with support from Queen Mary student advisers and industry mentors before presenting their plans to investors. To date, the programme has supported 66 formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs and 129 Queen Mary student advisers. Queen Mary reports a reoffending rate of 9% among participants, compared with a national comparator of 59.2%. Some participants have progressed to internships, while others have developed their own ventures.
Queen Mary Social Venture Fund
Queen Mary provides direct financial support to early-stage businesses through the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund, the UK’s first student-led social impact venture capital fund, backing ventures that combine commercial potential with solutions to social and environmental challenges. Run in partnership with The Creator Fund, the Fund brings together students from Business, Law, Engineering, Sciences and other disciplines to identify ventures that combine commercial potential with social or environmental impact. Each year, around 100 to 150 ventures engage with the programme, with one selected business receiving a £15,000 equity investment alongside mentoring and ongoing post-investment support.
The businesses supported show how this investment is used in practice. Carbon Cell develops compostable expandable foam made using biochar as an alternative to conventional polymer foams. Biophilica developed Treekind, a plant-based leather alternative that uses less than one per cent of the water required for traditional leather production. Leiho produces socks using organic cotton and bamboo and uses sales to provide essential items for vulnerable communities, including refugees and people experiencing homelessness.
London Social Ventures Initiative
London Social Ventures (LSV) is a pan-London initiative led by Queen Mary University of London and UCL. It helps universities turn research, innovation and local knowledge into ventures that address social and environmental challenges while creating jobs and inclusive economic development across London.
Over the last two years, LSV has provided £293,000 in grants alongside tailored mentoring and business support. One example is the Adult Social Care Impact Launchpad, delivered with Care City CIC. The programme identified research-backed solutions to challenges in adult social care, including staff stress and retention, and supported innovators to test and develop these ideas in real care settings.
LSV’s Catalyst programme has also delivered measurable economic impact. Participating ventures increased employment from 16 to 42 jobs and grew combined revenue from £1.1 million to £2.1 million during the programme period. Around half of this growth was attributed directly to LSV support, including 16 additional jobs and £520,000 in additional revenue in the first year. Over four years, this impact is projected to generate 29 jobs, £2.9 million in revenue and £1.1 million in tax receipts. The programme is projected to deliver a 320% return through tax revenue alone.
Improving Health Access
Queen Mary organises community programmes that improve access to health information, preventive support and healthcare services, particularly for children and underserved communities.
In 2024/25, the Big Mouth Tower Hamlets programme worked with residents, community organisations and English Speakers of Other Languages groups to identify barriers to oral healthcare. The project focused particularly on groups who can face difficulties accessing services because of language, cost or lack of information. More than 370 survey responses, alongside workshops and community discussions, were used to identify priorities for improving oral health information, research and services in Tower Hamlets.
Queen Mary students also provide regular health education through Teddy Bear Hospital and Barts Community Smiles. Teddy Bear Hospital runs interactive sessions in primary schools to help children understand healthcare and reduce anxiety about visiting doctors and dentists. Barts Community Smiles provides oral-health education through schools and community settings in Tower Hamlets. In 2024/25, both groups were recognised through Queen Mary Students’ Union’s Volunteering Awards for their community work.
Growth & Economic Development Partnership Board
Queen Mary is a member of the Tower Hamlets Partnership Executive Group, which brings together key organisations from across the borough to coordinate action on shared local priorities. The Group oversees six thematic partnerships, including the Growth & Economic Development Partnership Board.
The Board supports delivery of the Tower Hamlets Partnership Plan, with a focus on inclusive growth, economic opportunity and reducing inequality. Through this partnership, Queen Mary contributes to borough-wide discussions on employment, skills, enterprise and the wider economic conditions that affect poverty and disadvantage in Tower Hamlets.
Queen Mary Policy Hub
The Queen Mary Policy Hub helps academic staff maximise the impact of their research on policymaking. Through training, resource development, advice, case studies, and engagement activities, the Policy Hub aims to foster a research culture that encourages the translation of research into evidence-informed policymaking. Examples include:
Development Economics & Policy Engagement
Professor Bandyopadhyay’s research focuses on the economics of growth, inequality and poverty. Her policy-engagement activity includes work for the UK’s Department for International Development, where her findings on growth and development economics were translated into policy briefs addressing poverty and inequality. Her efforts illustrate how rigorous academic work can inform government strategies for economic inclusion, representing a strong example of QMUL’s contribution to inclusive policymaking.
Inequalities in Employment & Policy Impact
Professor Williams investigates socio-economic inequalities in job quality, pay, and labour market outcomes, with specific attention to socio-economic background, ethnicity and gender. His research has been cited in UK government departments and House of Commons debates, demonstrating direct policy influence. Through these collaborations, QMUL is shaping frameworks that address systemic work-based poverty and labour-market disadvantage - aligning with our mission for social mobility and equity.
Contributing to anti-poverty policy at local, regional, national and global levels
Queen Mary works with policymakers at local, regional, national and global levels to address poverty, low income and the wider inequalities that can keep people in poverty. At a local level, Queen Mary is a university partner in the Tower Hamlets Health Determinants Research Collaboration, working directly with Tower Hamlets Council and local organisations. The collaboration brings researchers, the Council and communities together to generate evidence that can inform local policies and services on issues including poverty, unemployment, housing and overcrowding. In 2024, the partnership received the London Higher Award for Best Research Collaboration in London.
At a regional level, Queen Mary’s Food Improvement Goals in Schools research examines the impact of Universal Free School Meals on children and families. More than 650 people have engaged with the research, and findings have been shared with the Greater London Authority and other policy and professional organisations. The programme has also secured £155,815 for further work examining the cost-effectiveness of Universal Free School Meals and producing evidence for future policy development.
At a national level, Queen Mary research has contributed to policy discussions on low pay and in-work poverty. Research on low-paid workers helped provide evidence for the Living Wage campaign, which developed from an East London initiative into a UK-wide movement. Queen Mary also became the first UK university accredited as a Living Wage employer in 2006. Queen Mary researchers have also worked directly with national government. Professor Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay worked with the Department for Work and Pensions on how poverty is measured, including research on households living just above conventional poverty thresholds.
At a global level, Professor Bandyopadhyay also worked with the UK Department for International Development and the World Bank on research examining whether improved access to telecommunications and the internet could help reduce poverty in developing countries. The research looked at how access to market information could support rural communities and farmers, and contributed to policy discussions on expanding access to affordable communications. This work shows how Queen Mary's research on poverty, economic development and inequality has informed policy beyond the UK.