Professor Sir Ian Greer is Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, championing innovation to drive regional economic growth. He co-founded the Health Innovation Research Alliance for NI and the Northern Health Science Alliance, England, and leads the Belfast Region City Deal's innovation pillar. An advocate for social responsibility and widening participation, he is also a Non-Executive Director of Dubai Academic Health Corporation and a past Chair of Universities Ireland.
Adam Habib is an academic, activist, and public intellectual. He is Vice Chancellor of SOAS University of London and was previously Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa. He holds qualifications in Political Science from the University of Natal, Wits and City University of New York. Professor Habib is co-founder of the African Research Universities Alliance, an affiliation of research-intensive universities on the continent.
Dr Asyia Kazmi, OBE, is Global Education Policy Lead at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focused on teaching, edtech, AI and education in India, impacting 11 million children. A former maths teacher and coach, she led PwC’s $1bn Girls’ Education Challenge. She held senior roles in DFID, DfE and Ofsted, inspecting maths and teacher training. She holds an MSc (Imperial), a Doctorate in Education (UCL) and a PGCE. She received an OBE in 2022 for services to education, especially for girls.
Mark Muller KC is founder of Beyond Borders Scotland, a dialogue organisation dedicated to international cultural and policy exchange. Since 2015 he has acted as a Senior Mediation Advisor for the UN and other international bodies advising on peace and dialogue processes. Mark is also Professor of Practice at Edinburgh University and LSE, where he directs the International Norms Project and a senior advocate with Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in international law and conflict resolution.
Professor Rachael Langford is President & VC of Cardiff Metropolitan University, & formerly Deputy VC. Prior to this she was Pro-Vice Chancellor-Dean & lead for international recruitment at Oxford Brookes University, & Head of Modern Languages at Cardiff University. She is fluent in French and a Welsh speaker, a Fellow of the RSA, a member of the British Academy Strategic Committee for Languages in HE, & chair of Universities Wales' Expert Panel on International Education & Research in Wales.
Chris Millward is Professor of Practice in Education Policy at the University of Birmingham. He is a Marshall Scholarships Commissioner, Trustee of the Academy of Social Sciences, and board member of MEDR, the Welsh Commission for Tertiary Education and Research. Before joining the University of Birmingham in 2022, he was England’s Director for Fair Access and Participation, Director of Policy at HEFCE, and Head of Research Programmes at the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Rajani Naidoo is Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (People and Culture) and Professor of Higher Education and Social Change at the University of Exeter. She is Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University and the University of Bath and a UNESCO Chair in HE Management. She serves on the research committee of the European Foundation for Management Development. Her research explores competition in HE, social justice, and universities’ contribution to the global common good.
Professor Sheila Rowan is, since 2009, Director of the Institute for Gravitational Research at the University of Glasgow, having previously held research positions split between Stanford University and Glasgow. She is, (2021-23) President of the UK Institute of Physics and a former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Scottish Government (2016-21). She received a CBE in 2021 for ‘services to science’ and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Andy Westwood is Professor of Public Policy, Government and Business and a director at the Productivity Institute, University of Manchester. He is a governor at NIESR and the University of Wolverhampton and serves on the Bennett Institute’s advisory board at Cambridge University. He advises organisations including the IMF, OECD, EU, and the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. During the last Labour government, he worked as a special adviser for innovation, education and skills.