Loughborough University London was once again celebrating 10 years of collaborations with June’s Collaborative Project Show 2026. Hosted by Loughborough University’s President and Vice Chancellor Professor Nick Jennings the show featured partners such as Sports Interactive (makers of the iconic Football Manager computer game), Workplace Futures Group, West Ham United and Sysdoc. It was an opportunity for student teams to share their work with partner organisations, academics, alumni and the wider community.
The Collaborative Project Show is the culmination of Loughborough University London’s Collaborative Project module, which is powered by real business challenges from organisations and showcases the achievements from winning student teams, with innovation, collaboration and meaningful partnerships at its heart. Since in opened in 2015, Loughborough University London has collaborated with over 200 organisations. This has come in the form of internships, mentoring, guest lectures all the way through to collaborative research.
Professor Nick Jennings, President and Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University said:
When we opened our campus in London we wanted to build strong collaborations with a broad range of partner organisations. The Collaborative Project is a central part of how we do that in London. For ten years it has been bringing new insight to organisations and companies and providing a pathway for knowledge exchange with the wider university. Congratulations to all the winning teams involved!
Amy Pyle, Learning Partnerships Manager at Loughborough University London said:
The Collaborative Project is a key part of the learning journey here at Loughborough University London. It is a huge opportunity for our students to take on a challenge from a real UK employer. They work in teams and build real experience to put on their CV or LinkedIn profile. The fact this is guaranteed into their programme of studies is a massive boost to their employment prospects after graduation. Having our recent alumni join us and share how the project helped them get their current job was a very special moment. Thanks to all the staff, partners and students that took part.
This year Loughborough collaborated with 9 brilliant organisations, who committed their time, expertise and energy to the module. In turn they gained new insights, perspectives and ideas from our student teams:
- Sports Interactive (SI)
- Workplace Futures Group (WFG)
- West Ham United Foundation
- Sysdoc
- This Great Adventure
- The Commonwealth Secretariat
- Our Equilibrium
- State
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Awel Bol who graduated from Loughborough University London in 2025 was part of the team from Workplace Futures Group (where she now works) who set one of this year’s projects. Awel said:
The team here at WFG got involved to get some fresh perspectives on our challenge. Having studied with Loughborough I knew we were going to get some good stuff, but nothing could have prepared me for the insight and detail students were able to get so quickly. I’d encourage future students and organisations to check it out.
Kunal Sharma an MSc Digital Finance and AI student in one of the showcasing teams said:
The Collaborative Project was a real star of my experience here at Loughborough. I got to work in a great team on an AI challenge. This stretched my thinking and gave me an opportunity to showcase what I can do with a real organisation.
Looking Ahead: 2027 and Beyond
Are you a business or charity with a challenge that could power the Collaborative Project module 2027? If you are interested in what this could look like for your organisation please email collaborate@lboro.ac.uk.
Are you a prospective student who wants to learn more about the Collaborative Project module? Please take a look at our Collaborative Project webpage.