UCL Global Business School for Health (GBSH), the world’s first business school for healthcare management, launched its inaugural Societal Impact Report at the House of Commons on May 6 2026, marking five years of research and community impact.
Published in the same year as UCL’s bicentenary, the report brings to life GBSH’s contribution to healthcare innovation, bringing together the best minds in business and healthcare in one world-leading business school, all motivated by solving some of the biggest challenges in healthcare. The report is a celebration of the impact of five years of academic rigour focused on transforming frontline patient care.
Hosted by the Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston, Gisela Stuart, we gathered over 100 members of community, including students, alumni, faculty, partners, and healthcare professionals, to celebrate GBSH’s impact to date, including:
- 1,200+ students engaged in live consultancy projects with real-world health organisations.
- 430+ peer-reviewed articles published and £4+ million in grants secured.
- 280+ innovation ideas and prototypes developed, and 9 student ventures launched.
- 70+ partnerships formed and 1,100+ people attending knowledge-sharing events.
315 executive education and leadership delegates supported.
Reflecting on the last five years, the Vice-Provost, Health, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar, remarked:
“GBSH has become more than a school. It has become a living laboratory for the future of health leadership.
We are educating students who want to work across the entire health economy, in health systems, consulting, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, digital health, policy, finance, entrepreneurship and international organisations. We are supporting executives who are already leading complex organisations and want to strengthen their ability to navigate change. We are building research that looks not only at what health systems should do, but how they can actually do it.
And we are creating partnerships that allow us to test ideas, learn from practice, and contribute to real-world change. We are not here to admire problems from a distance. We are here to help solve them.”
We are grateful for other speakers who joined us on the night including Dr Marzena Nieroda, Dr Annmarie Hanlon and GBSH visionary, Chris Outram.
The next five years
Looking ahead to the next five years, the report announces the introduction of the GBSH Societal Impact Framework, a structured model to ensure GBSH creates and evidences impact across all of its activities, and that research and programmes remain connected to real-world needs.
The framework tracks the pathway from research and insight through to outputs, outcomes, and wider societal value, including improved health outcomes, stronger health systems, and greater health equity. It provides students, researchers, and partners with a shared structure for ensuring that GBSH’s work continues to deliver evidence-based change.
GBSH remains committed to advancing societal impact through collaboration and innovation, supported by a growing ecosystem of Health Executives in Residence, senior leaders from organisations including the NHS, WHO, Deloitte, and Google, who bring real-world insight directly into its programmes and help shape its contribution to global health systems. As GBSH enters its next chapter, it will look to strengthen partnerships, expand its impact, and invite new collaborations to shape the future of health systems globally.
The full GBSH Societal Impact Report May 2026 is available to read here:
In a year that asks us all to think about what universities are for, this room offers a clear and confident answer: they are for this, bringing together knowledge, partnership and purpose, and putting them to work in the service of better health.
