Lucas Palumbo is the Centre Manager for the Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education at King’s College London, where he leads the strategic development and operational delivery of initiatives designed to transform access to higher education for underserved learners across Africa. 

In this role, he oversees multi-country programmes, governance and partnerships, driving the Centre’s transition from concept to scale-up and ensuring alignment with institutional priorities, regulatory frameworks and global best practice. His work focuses on building sustainable models for technology-enabled learning and fostering collaborations that deliver measurable impact.

Since joining King’s in 2019, Lucas has progressed through roles that shaped the university’s international and Service strategies. From supporting early-stage global partnerships to advancing institution-wide priorities as Project Officer (Vision 2029), and later managing strategic programmes as Project Manager, he has consistently delivered outcomes that strengthen King’s international engagement, reputation and global impact.

Lucas brings deep expertise in strategic programme leadership, complex stakeholder engagement, and impact-driven delivery across international higher education and development contexts. He has directed multi-country initiatives encompassing large-scale needs assessments, curriculum innovation, and cross-institutional partnerships in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.

Lucas holds an MSc in Emerging Economies and International Development from King’s College London and a BA in Combined Social Sciences from Durham University. He is professionally certified in Project Management (PMD Pro) and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL DPro), and has completed advanced training in Theory of Change, cultural competency, community organising and leadership.

His published work includes King’s first SDG Impact Report and expert commentary on global development and displacement.