A philosophy graduate, Alex has been running digital and tech businesses since 1999. Alex thrives on turning technology innovation into businesses that transform industries. Co-founder and CEO of The Data City, Alex’s passion for technology innovation constantly drives the team forward and pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved with data.

Charlie Ball is the Head of Labour Market Intelligence at Jisc. He is the in-house specialist on the graduate labour market. He researches and analyses all things to do with post-18 employment, including regional economies, skills supply and demand and postgraduate issues, usually with a careers and employability perspective.

He sits on steering and advisory groups – including the Graduate Outcomes steering group and advisory bodies for AGCAS and the Institute of Student Employers. He is a Fellow of the National Institute of Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC) and a Visiting Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University. Before he came to Prospects, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a data specialist and before that as a postdoc – his PhD is actually in chemistry.

Dr Benedikt Steiner is a mineral exploration geologist focusing on geochemical exploration and targeting applicable to the mining industry. He previously worked as an exploration professional for Rio Tinto Exploration, and in his current role as Senior Lecturer and MSc Programme Director in Exploration and Mining Geology at Camborne School of Mines, he is involved in the development and teaching of a variety of subjects applied to practical mineral exploration and mining to under- and postgraduate learners.

Ian Dunt is a political analyst and commentator. He is a columnist for the i newspaper, host of the Origin Story podcast, and the former editor of Politics.co.uk. He has published three books: How Westminster Works….and Why It Doesn’t (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2023), How To Be A Liberal (Canbury,2020) and Brexit: What The Hell Happens Now (Canbury, 2016). A contributor to the Guardian and the Washington Post, he is also a regular pundit on TV and radio shows, including Any Questions, Newsnight, and Sky’s Newspaper Review.

Professor Duncan Ivison, FAHA FRSN, is President and vice chancellor of the University of Manchester. Duncan completed his BA (hons) in political science and philosophy at McGill University, in Montréal, Canada, where he grew up, and his MSc and PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

He has held positions at the Australian National University, the University of York (UK), the University of Toronto and, for more than twenty years, at the University of Sydney.

Baroness Dinah Caine CBE was appointed as a Labour Peer in 2025 and recently completed a six-year term as leader of Goldsmiths Council.

She is currently Chair of Camden Council’s STEAM Board. She also sits on several advisory boards focused on higher education policy. 

Dinah was formerly Chief Executive and Chair of Creative Skillset and a member of the Creative Industries Council. Her wider public service includes roles on the Civic Universities Commission, the Warwick Commission on the Future of Cultural Value, and the London Skills and Employment Board, advising two Mayors of London. 

She has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to the media and creative industries with both an OBE and a CBE and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of BAFTA, and a Fellow of the Royal Television Society.

Professor Edward Peck became Chair of the OfS board in July 2025. He has many years of experience in the higher education sector and was the Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University for over ten years. Before that, he held various senior roles at the University of Birmingham, including Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Social Sciences, Head of the School of Public Policy, and Director of the Health Services Management Centre.

He was the first Higher Education Student Support Champion at the Department for Education, and subsequently Chair of the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce, between 2022 and 2025. He was Deputy Chair and then Interim Chair of UCAS between 2020 and 2025.

He has served on the board of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and Universities UK (UUK). He was a member of the Post-18 Fees and Funding (Augar) Review Panel, 2018-2019.

He is the Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Nottinghamshire and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours List for Services to Higher Education.

Philippa Pickford is Director of Regulation at the Office for Students. She leads on the OfS’s approach to regulation, including the development, implementation and continuous improvement of regulatory decisions, interventions and enforcement.

Previously, Philippa held various senior positions at Ofgem. She led a team of over 600 people responsible for allocating £9bn of funds aimed at low carbon and customer outcomes. Her previous responsibilities include ensuring good outcomes for customers during the pandemic; strengthening the financial resilience of suppliers; and ensuring customers were protected when suppliers exited the market.

Alistair is a member of the senior executive team at the University of London. His responsibilities include governance, communications, fundraising, marketing, legal, student recruitment, inclusion, regulatory compliance, quality assurance and supporting partnerships with federation members.

He was CEO of Universities UK from 2017 to 2022. Leading the representative body for the UK’s 140 universities – a registered charity and six subsidiary entities – his role included influencing policy, strategy and member engagement. Before this, he was Deputy CEO and Director of External Relations since 2013.

Previously, he was a Director at the University of Birmingham and has held external engagement roles for national organisations. 

Alistair received a CBE in 2022 for services to Higher Education and supporting the sector during the covid-19 crisis.

He is a member of the UCAS Board of Trustees and a member of the advisory boards of Wonkhe, the UPP Foundation and the Discovery Decade project. Alistair was educated at the Universities of Kent, Leicester and the Institute of Education, UCL​.

Gemma is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Skills England. She formerly worked at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, where she most recently served as the Director of Education, Work, and Skills.

Greg Clark is a British economist and former Conservative Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells (2005–2024). Educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics (PhD), he previously worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, as the BBC’s Controller for Commercial Policy, and as Director of Policy for the Conservative Party. Throughout his parliamentary career, he held key government roles including Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2015–2016), Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2016–2019), and briefly for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in 2022. After Parliament, he became Executive Chair of the University of Warwick’s Innovation District and joined the UK’s Industrial Strategy Advisory Council in 2024.

Shân Wareing is vice chancellor of Middlesex University London. Previously she was Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Northampton. She is Chair of the Leadership and Management Strategic Advisory Group and Co-Chair of the Leadership Framework Steering Group, both for Advance HE. She is also chair of Unite Foundation, a charity that supports care experienced and estranged students, and a governor at Moulton FE College. She’s a National Teaching Fellow.

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli is President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, former Principal and Vice Chancellor at the University of Glasgow and is a Distinguished Honorary Professor at the Adam Smith Business School.

Dr Anna Valero is the Director of the Growth Programme and a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Centre for Economic Performance; Deputy Director of the Programme on Innovation and Diffusion (POID) and an Associate of the Grantham Research Institute. In 2024-2025 she served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves. She previously sat on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s advisory panel and was a member of the Economic Advisory Council set up by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Paul Kett is chief executive and vice chancellor of LSBU Group.

A specialist in policy, skills, employability and transformation, Paul was Director General at the Department for Education between 2016-2022 where he had responsibility for overseeing the post-16 education and training system in England and acted as principal advisor to the Secretary of State on higher education, further education and adult skills.

He joined LSBU Group from PwC where he was Senior Adviser and Global Director, Education and Skills, working with a wide range of education and training providers and employers.

Phil Allmendinger is Professor of Land Economy and pro vice chancellor (education) at the University of London. Prior to taking up this post in July 2024 he held positions at various UK universities including 14 years at the University of Cambridge where he was Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences. His research is focused on urban planning theory and practice including changing conceptions of space and territory, post-politics and most recently smart cities and the impacts of the pandemic. He has published 16 books including his most recent Forgotten City (2021). In 2025 he will publish Critical Planning Futures with colleagues from UCL and Cardiff and the fourth edition of Planning Theory will be published in 2026.

Katherine Newman joined the University of California in January 2023 as systemwide Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at UC Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology at UC Berkeley and her B.A. in Philosophy and Sociology from UC San Diego. Provost Newman has held leadership and academic appointments at Princeton, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UMass Amherst, Columbia University, and the School of Law at UC Berkeley.

Provost Newman is the author of fifteen books on topics ranging from technical education and apprenticeship to the sociological study of the working poor in America’s urban centers; on middle class economic insecurity under the brunt of recession; and on aspects of inequality, social policy and family life in Japan, Western Europe, South Africa and India. Her most recent book, Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor (co-authored with Dr. Elisabeth Jacobs), was released by UC Press in April 2023.

Shushma Patel is Professor of Information Systems. She is pro vice chancellor for artificial intelligence at De Montfort University. Shushma is responsible for Artificial Intelligence, looking at how to embrace the opportunities and challenges of AI across the university. Shushma is passionate about promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. She has actively promoted women in STEM and leadership and is currently an ally for the DMU LGBTQ+ network.

Jonathan Simons is a Partner, and Head of the Education Practice, at the strategy and public policy consultancy Public First.

Jonathan has spent the past nineteen years working in and with government on education issues – eight years in government including 2.5 years in the No10 Strategy Unit; as the Head of Education for the think tank Policy Exchange; and working in international education for the global charity Varkey Foundation.

Jonathan is a Trustee of Education Development Trust and the co-founder of Ark Greenwich Free School. He sits on advisory boards for Teach First, Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation, Impetus, and the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) at UCL

Dionne Lee is Head of Partnerships at Universities for North East England (UNEE).

Sam is a Principal Associate and senior member of the Corporate team at Mills & Reeve. Sam works with Higher Education institutions to design and implement a range of different collaboration models, as well as advising on corporate governance matters, mergers & acquisitions, and complex reorganisation and restructuring exercises.

Emma Woodcock is Chief Information Officer at York St John University. She started her career in higher education at Sheffield Hallam University 14 years ago. She took up her current role as chief information officer at York St John University in 2019, where she is responsibile for IT operations, technology-enhanced learning and delivering an ambitious digital strategy. She is the chair of the Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA), the professional body for IT professionals working in education, and over the last four years has supported the development of its strategy and helped its communities grow, evolve and share their expertise. She has represented the UCISA membership on high-profile work with key digital suppliers, and is a member of the Universities UK/Jisc software negotiation strategy group.

Roshan has been UCEA’s Deputy Chief Executive since August 2017. In her role, Roshan leads on work relating to UCEA’s strategic priority aimed at supporting HE employers in enhancing the employee experience and engages with members and various stakeholders on a range of employment matters alongside being responsible for UCEA’s organisational effectiveness, business operations and governance. Roshan’s previous experience in the areas of employee relations, HR and organisation development was gained through work in the not for profit and private sectors, local government, the NHS and Probation Services. She has undertaken extensive consultations and negotiations including in Higher Education as part of UCEA’s National Negotiating Team, and has led on successful employee engagement, cultural transformation and restructuring programmes. Roshan is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and possesses a Master’s degree in Management Studies and a first degree in Chemistry.

Liz is the Programme Director at Insights North East and Programmes (Practice) Co-Lead at the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)

Seb leads Universities UK’s communications function which includes the political affairs, digital and media teams. Seb has over a decade and a half’s experience working in communications across a variety of sectors, most recently at the Great British Railways Transition Team, influencing the biggest reforms to the railway in a generation.

Seb loves working in sectors that make a real difference to people’s lives and to the country. Higher education definitely fits that bill and Universities UK is brilliantly positioned to lead the conversation on the future, making it a really exciting place to be.

Andrew has worked as an educational developer in HE for over 30 years and is known as an academic innovator. The opportunity to enhance learning with digital media has been a constant driver for him. His current research focuses on spaces for learning, spatial fluency, and harnessing multi-modalities in a post-digital age and time of great flux.

Professor Rachel Dodd is the inaugural Adobe Professor of Digital Innovation at Aston University, leading the integration of Adobe tools across the curriculum to enhance student experience and employability. Joining from Teesside University, the UK’s first Adobe Creative Campus, she brings deep expertise in education, media, and digital strategy. An Advance HE Fellow and civic award recipient, she also led RiverShack CIC and was featured in the National Portrait Gallery’s “People Powered” exhibition. At Aston, she oversees the Adobe Creative Campus Strategy, delivering global firsts including Adobe Hangouts and Assessment Toolkit, driving innovation and supporting the university’s 2030 strategic goals.

Sammy is Assistant Director of Student Affairs (Postgraduate and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) at the University of Birmingham and is an Executive Member of AMOSSHE.

Sammy has been elected thrice by AMOSSHE members to the Executive Committee over the past three years. He leads institutional work on student equality and postgraduate affairs, with practical experience in managing campus cohesion, addressing tensions, and meeting legal and regulatory duties. Sammy has played a key role in shaping sector-wide practice and recently advised Advance HE on academic freedom, freedom of speech, and EDI. Drawing on his international background, he brings a global lens to tackling complex challenges in UK higher education. At this event, he will explore how universities can address harassment without undermining free speech.

Poppy Short has over 20 years’ experience advising universities on corporate matters, including partnerships, academic arrangements, governance and mergers and other forms of radical collaboration. Poppy has led the legal work on the two recent complex mergers in the higher education sector, navigating numerous regulatory, governance and contractual challenges along the way. Her strategic and commercial insight makes her a valued and highly respected advisor. Poppy (a ‘New Generation Partner’ in the most recent Legal 500 directory) has recently co-authored the UUK commissioned playbook on Radical Collaboration, with KPMG and is very active in the discussion on the future structures of universities. One client said: “Her attention to detail, expertise in higher education law and solution-focused advice were invaluable without which our merger would not have been possible.”

Professor Geoff Rodgers is a senior academic leader at Brunel University London. He progressed from Lecturer in Physics to Professor of Theoretical Physics, later holding senior roles including Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Currently, as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Employment, he leads strategic partnerships with industry, government, and the third sector to enhance academic impact and student employability. He has spearheaded major initiatives such as NSIRC, the Women in Engineering Programme, and the Making the Future Digital accelerator. Most recently, he co-leads the Park Royal Net Zero Project, a £2.5M EPSRC-funded initiative transforming food systems in West London toward sustainability and innovation.

Jo has been at the University of Hertfordshire since December 2024, prior to which she was the Academic Registrar at the University of Bedfordshire. Jo is part of University of Hertfordshire’s Senior Leadership Team, and she enjoys leading the Academic Registry Team which allows her to work with both staff and students across the three campuses. Jo is an experienced Higher Education senior manager in the public and private sectors. She develops strategy and vision for the creation and operation of high-performing cross-functional professional services teams at university level, to support the student journey from admission to graduation. Jo is focused on developing effective student engagement and achievement. She is experienced in all aspects of quality assurance and enhancement.

Jo has extensive external professional commitments, including the Academic Registrars’ Council (ARC), she is Vice-Chair of the ARC Executive Committee, and Chair of the SLC Operations Group, SLC Stakeholders’ Forum Standards Assessment and Classification Working Group, ARC Regional Group and is on the QAA Collaborative Project on the Future of Exam Boards Pro-ject Board. Jo lives in Cambridgeshire with her husband and has two grown up children.

Andrea has extensive global experience in the Education sector, with 15+ years working in universities in the UK and Australia, and 8+ years providing advisory services. She supports education institutions to transform, focusing on the student and staff experience, and delivers organisational change across strategy, operating model, service re-design, digital transformation and cost optimisation.

Andrea is passionate about the power of education to transform lives and is committed to supporting institutions to thrive in an ever-changing environment. The Education sector is facing significant challenge and new opportunity, and her work has focused on helping institutions to consider ways to drive growth ensuring impactful outcomes for students, staff, academics and the communities in which they operate, while ensuring long term financial sustainability.

Matt Hiely-Rayner is a strategic planning professional with over 24 years of HE experience. Having developed a particular expertise in education performance metrics, he is responsible for the methodology behind the University rankings of the Guardian University Guide and for their compilation.

Originally joining the UK sector as a data analyst, Matt has retained a keen interest in student patterns of engagement and with unexplained disparities in outcomes. He co-chairs the planning group of the Higher Education Institutional Research network for UK and Ireland, organising events on topics that excite attention and interest among this community.

In his role as Director of Strategic Planning and Performance at the University of Sussex, Matt is currently operationalising the university’s new strategy.

Claire Hamshire is Professor of Higher Education and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor, Education and Student Experience, at the University of Salford. She is also an Advance HE National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow. Throughout her career Claire has been instrumental in ensuring that universities develop quality processes with students’ perspectives at the centre, with the goal of ensuring student success.

Martin is the CEO of AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services), the membership organisation and professional body for university careers and employability professionals across the UK and Ireland. Prior to AGCAS Martin was founder and Managing Director of Gradcore, and has 20+ years’ experience working across graduate recruitment and Higher Education. Martin served as a Director of the Institute for Student Employers, and is a Fellow of the National Institute of Career Education and Counselling, and the RSA.

Dr Clare Walsh is the Director of Education at the Institute of Analytics, a professional membership body for data professionals. She has worked in education, advising governments at a national level particularly in the field of learning assessment and has published over 20 books on education. She moved into learner analytics and the broader field of data and works to upskill novices and data professionals alike in data literacy and advanced data skills.

Dr Omar Khan joined TASO in June 2020.

Omar has led TASO’s transition into an independent charity, developing its team and strategy to widen participation in higher education and eliminate equality gaps between students. His research and professional background has focused on equality and social mobility, particularly in education and the labour market, and he regularly speaks on these topics in the UK and globally.

Omar holds several board advisory positions, including chair of the board of trustees of Trust for London, trustee of the Political Studies Association. Omar has previously been a board or advisory group member at the University of East London, the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Financial Inclusion Commission, the Department for Work and Pensions, the 2021 REF and 2014 REF assessments, and a 2012 Clore Social Leadership Fellow.

Omar joined TASO from race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, where he had been Director since 2014, growing the organisation and increasing its profile. He completed a doctorate in political science from the University of Oxford in 2008.

Joan Concannon was appointed as the University of York’s first Chief Reputation and Stakeholder Relations Officer on 1st August 2025, reporting directly to the Vice-Chancellor. Her portfolio includes reputation and brand management, stakeholder engagement identifying opportunities to develop scalable triple helix partnerships to drive public, private, and philanthropic income diversification and growth, a portfolio of communications including media and research communications, staff and student communications. She also leads the York Festival of Ideas which she co-founded in 2011 and is now one of the largest free festivals of its kind in the UK. She has specific University Executive Board level leadership across a range of regional economic development partnerships including Mayoral Combined authorities, city of York Council, Darlington Economic Campus, and major land asset development commercial partners such as York Central. She is also the lead for the University on all higher education sectoral issues.

Prior to this appointment she was the University’s Director of External Relations and a member of its executive board since October 2009. Additionally, she is a founding director and board member of Make It York, the city’s Management Destination Organisation. She is also an elected member of the Council of the Royal Institute for Philosophy and a Non-Fellow member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s External Affairs Committee. Before joining the University of York in 2009, Joan was the Director of External Relations at the University of Dundee for seven years and co-led the V&A at Dundee project during its initial two years, which secured significant Scottish government financial support and widespread public engagement.

Fiona is a Director at Metro Dynamics, where she leads the Sectors, Clusters and Innovation team. A specialist in sectoral development, innovation ecosystems and place-based economics, Fiona has over 20 years’ experience in economic development consultancy. She leads complex, high-impact research and strategy projects across the UK, with a particular focus on working with ‘triple helix’ academic, industry and government partners to align industrial and innovation strengths with local and regional opportunity.

Fiona’s work integrates economic, sectoral and innovation data to shape cluster strategies, map emerging ecosystems and strengthen collaboration between universities, research organisations and business. She is a member of DSIT’s Regional Innovation Expert Group and part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s MoreChem Labs initiative and supported UK on the development of the Local Innovation Partnership Fund, advising on how places can harness innovation-led growth through partnership and evidence-based strategy.

Maggie is responsible for setting strategic direction for data and analysis at UCAS. She recently rejoined UCAS having previously been Head of Research there between 2012 and 2016.

She brings back to UCAS more than 30 years of experience as a data expert and statistician across a wide range of sectors as a statistical consultant. Over the last 13 years she has gained a deep knowledge of higher education data from multiple perspectives as a senior leader at UCAS, Hefce / Office for Students and as an independent consultant.

Dr Brooke Storer-Church joined GuildHE as Chief Executive Officer in June 2024.  Prior to that, she was Director of Strategic Academic Engagement at Birmingham City University (2022-2024), with responsibility for co-developing the university’s academic strategies, developing and overseeing BCU’s new APP, engaging strategically with external stakeholders and contributing to the improvement of university policies and processes to ensure positive outcomes for all students. Before joining BCU, she spent 10 years working in a variety of roles at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and then the Office for Students where, as Head of Skills, she developed Skills policy for the new regulator, spearheaded cross-directorate leadership initiatives, and launched competitive funding programmes across of a range of policy areas including graduate outcomes, technical education, degree apprenticeships, digital skills, healthcare education, and knowledge exchange.

Janice Kay is Director at Higher Futures, and was formerly Deputy Chair of the Teaching Excellence Framework. She is a Strategic Advisor to Kortext, HE Advisor to Browne Jacobson and Chair of the Board of Trustees of University Maths Schools (U-Maths). She was, until July 2023, Provost at the University of Exeter.

Sarah Chaytor is Director of Strategy & Policy for UCL Research, Innovation & Global Engagement and oversees the UCL Public Policy programme to strengthen connections between research and public policymaking, which she established in 2012.

Sarah is also Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), where she also serves as Director of Programmes for UPEN’s current £6m funding award. She provides strategic leadership for UPEN’s programme of work, co-leads its national brokerage function and works closely with stakeholders to support effective academic-policy engagement across the sector.

Sarah was appointed a Visiting Professor of Practice at Newcastle University in June 2025.

Martha Horler is the founder of The Data Goddess, helping higher education providers unlock the power of their data through strategy, literacy, and analysis. She works with institutions to make data fit for purpose, delivering practical tools, training, and insights that support confident decision-making.

Lily Rumsey has worked in UK higher education since 2006, shaping inclusive teaching
strategies and championing internationalisation and women’s leadership. Most
recently, she was Director of Global Engagement at Loughborough University, where she led the institution’s global growth strategy, built impactful international research
partnerships, and expanded opportunities for students and staff to become globally
engaged citizens. Her work centres on strengthening the links between global
engagement and regional impact, ensuring universities contribute meaningfully both
locally and internationally. A committed storyteller and advocate for women’s voices,
Lily’s recent research at the University of Nottingham explored the lived experiences of
Saudi Arabian women.

Rachel Maxwell has been working in higher education for most of her career. As Principal Advisor (Academic, Research and Consultancy) at STREAM by Kortext. Rachel works with multiple clients who are implementing the StREAM engagement analytics platform to support student retention. Rachel leads a company initiative to better understand the complexities of nurse education, particularly during placement activity. In addition, Rachel is also bringing together colleagues from across the Solutionpath client base in a community of practice for nursing, pioneering work to share best practice around student nurse support, using StREAM. Her work at Solutionpath builds heavily on her leadership of and responsibility for supporting student success at the University of Northampton within learning and teaching drawing on her solid understanding of the importance of a positive experience across the student lifecycle.

Rachel’s work with the nursing and medical professions specifically can be traced back to her work with Physicians for Human Rights (UK) in the mid-late 1990s, where she created and taught a module in Medicine and Human Rights that was shared online (many years before anyone knew about MOOCs or using the internet to share teaching materials). The module was taught in other medical schools around the world. She also created and taught a second module exploring the Legal Aspects of Medical Practice. Both modules were informed by the subject of her PhD: The Prevention of Physician Participation in Torture, a topic which is always the subject of healthy debate (and sometimes a little wariness) among her students.

Dr Clare Loughlin-Chow is CEO of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), a UK-based international membership organisation dedicated to the understanding of higher education through support for research and knowledge exchange. She studied at the University of Toronto before completing an MPhil and DPhil at Oxford University. Clare was previously Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs at Richmond American University London, working to achieve its UK Taught Degree Awarding Powers, and Academic Registrar at Gresham College, managing its extensive public lecture programme. Earlier roles include Director of Worcester College Oxford’s visiting students programme, and Research Editor for literature on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

With extensive experience in strategic communications, policy influencing, and public engagement, Liz brings a forward-thinking vision to the role of London Higher’s CEO at a crucial time for London’s higher education sector. Liz joined London Higher from the British Academy, where she served as the Director of Communications and Marketing.

Prior to her tenure at the British Academy, Liz was the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Goldsmiths, University of London. In this role, Liz played a significant part in the organisation’s growth in impact, income and engagement.

Simon Emmett is CEO UK of IDP Education and a highly experienced international education services and technology leader. He joined the sector and the Hotcourses Group 20 years ago, first building university and college strategic partnerships and then leading commercial teams in the UK and North America.  In 2011, Simon progressed to lead a business unit focusing on UK domestic student marketing and recruitment, scaling the audience, brand awareness and commercial outcomes for Whatuni.com and acquiring The Complete University Guide. He then led the growth of the international division including the Hotcourses International websites, before becoming Hotcourses Group, CEO in 2015.

In 2017, Simon led the Hotcourses Group to join IDP Education and build the world’s leading platform and connected community to support and guide students in achieving their learning goals. Simon is part of the IDP Global Leadership Team and leads the IDP partners business unit in a global role responsible for government, sector engagement, client data insights, marketing and recruitment services.

Graeme Wise is director of strategic programmes and engagement at the University of London, and previously served in senior policy roles at University Alliance and the National Union of Students.

James is Head of Higher Education and Student Experience at Jisc. He provides strategic insight and input into the work of Jisc. He has worked in the education sector since 1993 and has extensive experience in the use of technology to enhance and enrich learning. He has been a teacher, a project director, TEL manager, libraries manager, an IT director and a senior manager. James works on various projects at Jisc, past projects have included digital capability, smart and intelligent campus, and apprenticeships. He is currently working on sector collaboration and shared services, the student journey, and supporting Jisc’s educational focus internationally.

Andy is Professor of Government Practice at the University of Manchester where he teaches politics and is a theme director at the ESRC funded Productivity Institute. He also works regularly as an adviser to the OECD, the EU and the IMF, as well as for the Select Committees on Economic Affairs and Digital Skills in the House of Lords. He was a special adviser to education and science ministers in the last Labour government and also worked as an advisor at the Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Sam is a senior public affairs and policy professional with over a decade’s experience in higher education, research, and innovation. As Director of Regional and National Policy at the University of Warwick, he leads government relations and stakeholder engagement. He has held senior roles at Universities UK and Imperial College London. In his spare time he is undertaking a doctorate at Warwick Business School looking at how senior leaders in higher education make sense of strategic risks and how they go on to mitigate them.

Mark is higher education lead (EMEA) at Adobe.

Victoria is Director of the University of London Careers Service, where she leads strategic innovation across a diverse, multi-institutional student community. She established and expanded a global-facing careers service supporting over 40,000 distance learners, alongside leading the careers services for five specialist on-campus institutions. With over a decade of experience in higher education careers education, Victoria has shaped sector-leading initiatives such as the award-winning Global Employability Skills Micro-Module and the Careers Stage Framework. A contributor to national careers research and conferences, Victoria is passionate about building future-focused careers services that thrive in complex, evolving environments.

Liz Austen is Professor of Higher Education Evaluation, Associate Dean Learning, Teaching & Student Success at Sheffield Hallam University and Principal Fellow AdvanceHE. She also works as an independent Evaluation Consultant on HE sector contracts, and is a regular keynote speaker on all things evaluation in HE. Her focus is on evidence informed leadership and practice across the student lifecycle. Liz also founded and co-leads a cross sector network called the Evaluation Collective.

Professor Janet Lord is deputy pro vice chancellor for the Faculty of Health and Education, deputy pro vice chancellor for education and Professor of digitally enhanced education at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is the University’s academic lead for the Adobe Creative Campus project.

After starting her career in finance and consultancy, Janet worked as a teacher for many years. In 2016 she completed her doctorate in education at the University of Manchester. Janet has considerable experience in leadership and governance, in schools, in HEIs and in other sectors.

Janet’s writing concerns educational disadvantage, teacher agency, communities of practice, and digital pedagogies.

Neil is a professor in Criminology, director of the Institute for Policy, and co-director of the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester. He has published extensively within the fields of hate crime, harassment and victimisation, and has been commissioned by numerous funding bodies including Amnesty International, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Leverhulme Trust to lead groundbreaking research studies which have shaped policy and scholarship.

Neil is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and series editor of Palgrave Hate Studies. He has received prestigious awards for his work from a variety of sources, including the Royal Television Society, Learning on Screen, the British Society of Criminology, the President and Vice Chancellor’s Award from the University of Leicester and a Hero of Leicestershire Award.

Professor Antony Moss is LSBU’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience and a member of LSBU’s University Management Board.

Formerly Associate Pro Vice Chancellor Education & Student Experience at London South Bank University, Antony is Professor of Addictive Behaviour Science in the Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research and also Deputy Director for PHIRST South Bank, an NIHR-funded national research centre which supports Local Authorities across the UK to conduct evaluations of public health interventions.

Mark Peace is Professor of Innovation in Education at Manchester Metropolitan University and Assistant Director of Learning Enhancement and Educational Development, focused on Innovation and Initiatives. His portfolio includes the creation of the Guardian award winning Rise programme.

Rachel is a project manager at Lund University in Sweden, carrying out a review of the pedagogic aspects of digital education development and the University’s framework for appointments and promotions of academic staff.

Her book, Confident Assessment in Higher Education, is a practical, theory-informed resource for anyone in the higher education sector, offering guidance on contextual assessment design and the teaching that can support this, alongside a deep dive on marking, feedback and common assessment challenges. 

Before moving to Sweden, she worked in UK higher education for over 30 years as an educational developer, with a focus on assessment, open learning, and inclusive practice.

Alex has more than a decade of global and political affairs experience and an outstanding track-record of innovation, impact and creativity working for some of the UK’s best universities and government agencies.

Jess is an Associate Director within the Education Practice. At Public First, she works primarily with higher education clients and corporates on post-18 education policy. She was previously Public Affairs Coordinator at the University of Cambridge, where she helped the University respond to regional, national, and international policy developments and advised senior leaders on political strategy.

Jess has an undergraduate degree from Cambridge and an MSc (Distinction) in Education at Birkbeck, focusing on higher education & public policy

Joe is the Director of People and Culture at University of East London.

Dr Paul Greatrix is Director of Higher Education Consultancy for Shakespeare Martineau, a leading legal firm with a strong reputation and track record in education. He was, until December 2024, Registrar at the University of Nottingham, a post he was appointed to in January 2007 and prior to joining the University of Nottingham he held a number of roles at the University of Warwick, the University of East Anglia and Staffordshire University.

Up to the end of 2024 he was also Honorary Secretary of AHUA, the Association of Heads of University Administration in the UK and President of HUMANE, the Heads of University Management and Administration Network in Europe.

Paul used to blog regularly on Wonkhe but now has his own blog, Wonderful HE, and continues to try other things with podcasting.

Ben has been at UCAS for over a decade and has been described as a ‘leading figure of HE admissions policy’, with his knowledge in this area ‘second to none’. During his time at UCAS, Ben had led the response and engagement around every major political event that could impact on student progression, including Brexit, admissions reform, qualification reform, Scottish independence, general elections, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, which involved forming part of three separate ministerial taskforces.

Mark Leach is the founder and Editor in Chief of Wonkhe. Mark worked in policy, politics and public affairs in and around UK higher education and founded Wonkhe in 2011 while working as a jobbing policy wonk in the sector. The first part of his career took him to the National Union of Students, HEFCE, University Alliance, GuildHE as well as a stint in politics as a special adviser to the former Shadow Minister for Universities & Science. Mark began full-time work on Wonkhe in mid-2014 growing it from a simple blog to a thriving business with a range of information services for higher education. Mark was appointed MBE for services to higher education in the King’s Birthday Honours in June 2023.

Debbie McVitty is Editor of Wonkhe. Debbie is a former chief of staff at Universities UK, director of policy at the University of Bedfordshire, and head of policy at the National Union of Students, and is a founding member of Wonkhe’s editorial group.

James Coe is Associate Editor covering research and innovation at Wonkhe, and a partner at Counterculture.

Michael is News Editor at Wonkhe. Prior to joining Wonkhe, Michael worked in various academic and managerial roles at the University of Southampton, King’s College London and the University of Liverpool, with a focus on international education and online course design. He is a Senior HEA Fellow and a doctoral student at the University of Bath’s International Centre of Higher Education Management.

Jim is an Associate Editor at Wonkhe and takes a particular interest in student experience, university governance, and regulation – and leads our work with students’ unions.

His career background is in support for student leadership. He has held senior roles at the National Union of Students – where he led on SU development, campaigns and political strategy – and was the CEO at the SU at UEA, providing strategic management for the union’s charitable and commercial vehicles as well as policy support for the elected student officers.

Jim has served as a governor and trustee in both further and higher education and the voluntary sector, and is a regular speaker at sector events and conferences. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, an obsessive fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, and dreams of visiting Moldova.

David Kernohan is Deputy Editor of Wonkhe. Until June 2016, he worked at Jisc as a programme manager and senior codesign manager, after being seconded from HEFCE in 2006. He has also worked for the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales).  As Associate Editor, David has responsibility for the development and delivery of a variety of editorial content. His key areas of wonkishness include teaching quality enhancement policy, funding policy, sector agency politics and history, research policy, and the use of technology and data in Higher Education.

David has written for Wonkhe since foundation, and also maintains a personal blog.