Ian Parkes receives Honorary Fellowship at Queen Mary Graduation

Ian has provided valuable support, connections and opportunities to our School of Business and Management  and helped hundreds of students, supporting a local mentoring pipeline that runs through East London school and college students to university business students to London-based alumni employers.

He is a committed advocate for Queen Mary’s unique achievements in enabling social mobility for our students from low-income backgrounds to succeed in their future careers.

Ian’s passion for community development and equity in access to employment and opportunities is also demonstrated by his commitment to impactful partnerships across the region beyond his ELBA role – through being a Chair of Governors at a London school, his engagement with local employer partnerships and the trust he has built with local and regional authorities. 

Ian said:

“I am so delighted and humbled to receive this Honorary Fellowship in recognition of my work with ELBA and in promoting Queen Mary University and the School of Business and Management. 

Very early on in my time as ELBA CEO I recognised that Queen Mary shared the same commitment to social mobility and equality and to ensuring that all young people of all backgrounds should be able to get a great start to their lives and make the most of their potential. The proportion of students who are from east London, who are the first in their families to go to university, who come from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds is unique for a Russel Group university. 

Together we have built partnerships and relationships with employers from east London and the large corporate businesses in the City and Canary Wharf. It has been a particular pleasure to work with and support the efforts of the School of Business and Management to help their students get the careers they deserve after working so hard for their degrees.

Just now, it is important to speak up for equality and social mobility, and I am so proud to have been awarded this Honorary Fellowship for the work I have done in this field.”