Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Securing the future of our planet is arguably the greatest challenge we all face.
We’re helping to develop innovative thinking for the Green Revolution, considering how we can address the climate emergency from many different angles.
Our impact extends from the local to the global.
By involving as many different voices as possible and looking at the problem from diverse perspectives, we’re working to secure a greener future for all communities.
We’re supporting people to live healthy lives, promoting physical, social and mental wellbeing for all. We co-create research that addresses some of societies biggest challenges, be it inactivity, obesity, dementia or community-based wellbeing, always putting people first.
As a university well-known for our excellence in sport, we’re leading the way in opening up access and opportunites for all to live healthy lives and achieve their potential.
A commitment to tackling inequalities runs throughout out work; understanding the barriers to participating in activities that enhance health and wellbeing and developing inclusive approaches to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate.
Developing strong, successful economies that enable everyone to prosper, while also tackling deep-seated inequalities, is a significant policy priority for national, regional and local governments.
This approach to building inclusive, prosperous communities starts with people and places.
We work with decision-makers and businesses to identify opportunities for growth, developing innovative solutions to deliver the right results, at the right time.
We’re working to shine a spotlight on injustice so that structural inequalities can be properly addressed, upending accepted narratives about issues such as race or gender by providing different perspectives and understandings.
Greener, sustainable communities
Sport and healthy communities
Inclusive, prosperous communities
Our mission: Producing knowledge that's changing the world for the better
Our why: At Leeds Beckett University we are using research and knowledge exchange to address three global core challenges where our expertise, networks and and approach can effect meaningful change both in the region we call home and worldwide.
Our how: Redefining the knowledge exchange rulebook
The world is becoming increasingly uncertain.
New challenges require new solutions. And devising those solutions requires bold thinking from diverse thinkers.
Our approach to research and knowledge exchange brings together curious minds from a range of backgrounds – working collaboratively in the relentless pursuit of a better future for everyone.
Across our schools, centres and institutes, we are helping to address the defining issues of our times – from combatting the climate crisis, to promoting gender, racial and social equality, to pioneering new technologies in healthcare and sport so that people can stay well and active for longer.
We’re doing this by re-writing the research and knowledge exchange rulebook:
The world has problems we need curiosity to solve, and universities have a critical role in providing the solutions.
Conventional wisdom no longer cuts it.
The times we live in demand new perspectives and insights. We need to look at research and knowledge exchange differently if we are to respond successfully to these substantial challenges.
At Leeds Beckett University, we’re using research and knowledge exchange to address three core global challenges where our expertise, networks, and approach can effect meaningful change, both in the region we call home, and worldwide.
These themes reflect the priorities set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both national UK government and regional institutions’ policies, and the changing needs of business.
Running through these three themes is an emphasis on communities.
Driving change means understanding issues from different perspectives, especially the people who are impacted the most by those issues and are therefore in the best position to shape effective responses.
It is only by working with and for communities that Leeds Beckett University can develop the ideas that can reshape our world and create a better future for everyone.
Our research and knowledge exchange approach isn’t about ticking boxes; it’s about breaking new boundaries to find the right solutions to a known problem.
We’re based in a region with a reputation for shaping the future according to its own rules - and doing so with a firm commitment to fairness and compassion.
As well as the quality of our research and knowledge and the outcomes that we deliver, it’s how we conduct this work that sets us apart.
Our approach is built on four pillars, linked to our overall university values. Together, these ensure that the research we deliver makes a meaningful difference in the world.
How
We go beyond collaboration. Our research and knowledge exchange work is built on meaningful co-production with communities, policymakers, businesses, and other research partners, so that we can learn from many different perspectives and lived experiences. Our research and knowledge exchange team is made up of diverse individuals from different backgrounds, which enables us to tackle problems from multiple angles to find new solutions. Although each of our schools, centres, and institutes has depth of expertise in their respective subject areas, our best results are produced through teamwork: bringing together specialists from different academic fields to disrupt conventional thinking and develop innovative responses to global challenges. Our research is multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted. It’s the engineer working with the sports scientist to pioneer new technologies that are changing the face of sport and helping people live healthier lives.
How
Above all, we’re focused on producing research and knowledge that has real-life impact. We approach every project with purpose, pragmatism and ambition. We’re driven by creating change that makes a real, practical difference to people’s lives. We do the right things to get the right results, even if that means going against conventional or accepted wisdom. We know that impact isn’t generated in a vacuum: our research produces ripple effects that extend far beyond their original scope, helping to tackle the big global challenges that define our times. This is all part of our relentless pursuit, converting knowledge into action that changes the world for the better.
How
Our purpose-driven approach includes a deep commitment to social justice, and we work with community partners to provide a voice for those who are often underrepresented in academic research. We know that a one-size-fits-all solution can often end up fitting nobody, and that unique solutions and discoveries often come from unexpected collaborations. That’s why we endeavour to create change through including as many perspectives as possible. By involving under-represented voices meaningfully in our research, we can deliver better outcomes and play our full part in building a better future for everyone.
