Study Visit Speakers
David Argyle
Vice Principal and Head of College of Medicine & Veterinary, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Professor David J. Argyle BVMS PhD DECVIM-CA (Oncology) FRSE FRCP (Edin) FRSA FRCVS is a graduate of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery from the University of Glasgow. He gained his PhD in Immunology and Oncology from the same Faculty. He has served as a clinical academic for the Universities of Glasgow, Wisconsin-Madison and Edinburgh.
He is an RCVS and European recognised specialist in veterinary oncology and his major interests are cancer biology and comparative oncology. In 2011 he was appointed William Dick chair of Veterinary Clinical Studies and Dean of Veterinary Medicine at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. In 2022 he was appointed to be Vice Principal and Head of College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh) and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.
Susan Bodie
Head of Business Development, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Susan joined the University as a Business Development Executive in 2013, supporting the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. She moved to Edinburgh Innovations in 2019 and became Business Development Manager before being appointed as Head of Business Development for CMVM in summer 2021.
With an honours degree in Pharmacology and PhD in physiology and cell signalling, Susan’s background is in drug development. As a new graduate, Susan started her career as Study Director at Charles River Laboratories (then Inveresk) where she worked with all major pharma, biotech and chemical companies to support drug development, specifically the studies required to prove the safety of new chemical entities in both preclinical and clinical studies.
In her role as Head of Business Development, Susan has developed numerous collaborative partnerships with industry in support of translation and commercialisation of the research arising from the University of Edinburgh’s College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.
Niall Bradley
Deputy Director Marketing (Communications & Marketing), The University of Edinburgh, UK
Niall is Deputy Director Marketing at the University of Edinburgh. He leads a range of teams responsible for the University’s brand, insight, retail, social media and prospective student marketing. With a background in student recruitment and admissions across a range of Scottish universities, Niall has a particular interest in attracting students from as diverse a range of backgrounds as possible to the University. Throughout his career in higher education, he has been interested in how we can use technology to enhance the applicant process and experience.
Outside of the University Niall is involved with organisations focussed on improving the lives of young people. He has been an adult volunteer with the Scout movement for over 10 years and until recently served on the board of Connect Scotland a charity which champions effective parental and family engagement, inclusion, and representation in education.
Jenny Britton
Director of Executive Development, Edinburgh Business School, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Jenny is Director of Executive Development and is responsible for leading the scale-up of an expanded executive education function on behalf of the Business School and Schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), including the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI). She has led executive education delivery at the University of Edinburgh Business School since 2014 and has embedded executive education as a key route to engagement and impact for the School, as well as a way of diversifying income and piloting new modes of delivery. Jenny is an experienced executive coach and Member of the Association for Coaching UK (AC) and coaches regularly on UG, PG, MBA and EMBA programmes. A self-confessed ideas person, Jenny is also working towards her PhD on the role of ideas in effecting large scale social change.
Executive Education at the University provides a place for theory and practice to connect, through open enrolment programmes and bespoke programmes that are tailored to the needs of specific clients or sectors. The team provides end-to-end support including business development and portfolio development through to supporting the delivery of teaching, learner experience and measurement of impact. Executive Education is co-located in the Business School with the MBA team, which supports full-time, executive, and online MBA learners and alumni. Together, we champion post-experience learning and work closely with colleagues across the College and wider university to expand our provision of lifelong learning, alumni support, and community building activities. Key areas of focus include data-driven innovation, leadership, business futures and sustainability supporting the University’s wider mission around making the world a better place.
Jenny is an alumnus of St Andrews (Modern History and International Relations), Nottingham (International Law) and Edinburgh (Masters by Research). Her first job was on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) before developing her career in higher education, membership bodies in the UK and three years running her own business.
Nadine Burquel
Director General, HUMANE, BE
Nadine is the Director General of HUMANE. She works closely with the Chair and the governing bodies on HUMANE’s strategic developments. She manages the HUMANE Office to offer the membership an attractive portfolio of professional development and networking activities. She has been involved with HUMANE since its foundation in the mid-nineties, until December 2022 as Executive Director of the three residential schools (the Barcelona Winter School, the Berlin Summer School and the Asia School).
Nadine has extensive director level experience, having worked with multiple international non-profit organisations, university networks and international boards. She has wide knowledge of leadership, governance and management in higher education institutions, and the global trends in the higher education sector. As EFMD Director of Business School Services she was responsible for a wide portfolio of large global events and communities of practices, interacting with business schools and universities in the wider Europe, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, the Gulf, as well as North and South America. More recently in Maastricht University she was strategic adviser to the leadership of the School of Business and Economics, advising on international accreditation, the internationalisation strategy, and delivering societal impact.
She has significant experience with EU (higher) education policy and programmes since the early days of the Erasmus programme. She has a strong track record of EU projects, leading large EU-funded European university networks and providing technical assistance to the European Commission. She is high level EU policy expert, working at system level in Brussels and beyond, carrying out capacity building and evaluations of EU interventions, having worked with EU Delegations in many countries.
Leigh Chalmers
Vice-Principal and University Secretary, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Leigh Chalmers has been Vice Principal and University Secretary at the University of Edinburgh since September 2022.
Leigh, a University of Edinburgh graduate, joined the University in 2014 as the University’s first Director of Legal Services, having enjoyed a successful career as a private practice lawyer. She specialised in intellectual property law and was recognised as an education sector expert by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners legal directories. She took on leadership of the University Internal Audit function in 2019 and became Deputy Secretary, Governance and Legal in 2020.
As University Secretary, her remit includes the University’s governance and planning processes, student administration, international activity, student recruitment and admissions, communications, development and alumni activity and information compliance services.
Will Chicken
Director of Professional Services, Edinburgh Business School, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Will joined the University of Edinburgh Business School in 2016, initially as Head of Operations before moving into the role of Director of Professional Services. In his current position, Will is part of the School Executive and takes a leading role in the strategy, organisation and management of the School.
Prior to joining the School, Will worked as Head of Operations for Sky where he gained significant experience in leading large scale customer operations. Before moving into operations, Will worked in a number of different HR roles both at Sky and previously EDF Energy.
Will is an alumni of the 2023 HUMANE Winter School and ever since has been inspired by the work of HUMANE. This Study Visit was a perfect opportunity to showcase the work of professional services colleagues at Edinburgh to the wider European community. It has also enabled Will and colleagues to set up an Edinburgh HUMANE Alumni Network, members of which the Study Visit participants will get to meet during their time in Edinburgh.
Lucy Evans
Deputy Secretary, Students, The University of Edinburgh, UK
As Deputy Secretary, Students, Lucy plays a vital role in leading and influencing change across the University to enhance the student experience; leading a range of student-focused services within the University’s Secretary’s Group; and acting as a Deputy to the University Secretary.
Lucy is an experienced higher education professional with over twenty years in the sector, including King’s College, London and the University of Reading.
Most recently she spent ten years at the University of Surrey, as Faculty Registrar, and then undertaking two Director of Faculty Operations roles and was Chief Student Officer with executive responsibility for student experience.
Lucy holds a BA (Hons) English Literature from the University of Sussex and a MA (Res) Children’s Literature from the University of Reading.
Dave Gorman
Director of Social Responsibility & Sustainability, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Dave is the senior university lead for climate change, sustainability and a range of social responsibility issues including responsible investment, community engagement, social impact and social innovation. Dave joined the University in 2013 as its first Director for Social Responsibility and Sustainability
He provides senior leadership and advice to the University on a wide range of topics including climate change and renewables, sustainability, responsible investment, community engagement, fair employment, sustainable and responsible supply chains and social investment.
Prior to joining the University, Dave undertook a wide range of community and volunteering work after graduation, before pursuing a career in local government. For many years he worked for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, latterly as its Head of Strategy.
Gemma Gourlay
Head of Social Impact, Department Social Responsibility & Sustainability, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Gemma is Head of Social Impact at University of Edinburgh, joining the university in March of 2022 bringing 13 year’s experience in Social Impact delivery in private sector. Gemma has a passion for providing purposeful and impactful results for either internal or external stakeholders delivering tailored results through understanding needs.
Responsible for overall coherence, coordination, management and measurement and reporting of the Universities local social and community impact across all of it’s functions. Bringing together work on our community plan, measurement of social impact and social investment activity, supporting community benefit activities and coordinating on Community Wealth Building on behalf of the University.
Gemma is a fellow of Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, a board member for ICRS Scotland Committee and serves as a board member for Citizens Advice Edinburgh.
Ruth King
Thomas Bayes’ Chair of Statistics; Director of the Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Ruth is the Thomas Bayes’ Chair of Statistics at the University of Edinburgh and in 2023 was appointed the Director of the Bayes Centre, the University’s Innovation Hub in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
Ruth graduated from the University of Bristol with a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics in 1998 and PhD in Statistics in 2001. Following academic positions at the Universities of Cambridge and St Andrews, she joined the University of Edinburgh in 2015. Her research is in applied statistics, with particular application to ecology and epidemiology. She was awarded the Barnett Prize for her contributions to statistical ecology by the Royal Statistical Society in 2022.
Ruth is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Learned Society of Wales and Institute for Mathematical Statistics.
Catherine Martin
Vice-Principal Corporate Services, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Catherine has overall management of Corporate Services Group, comprising a wide range of professional, operational, commercial, and commercialisation services provided by almost 3,400 staff. She also has oversight of the University’s subsidiary companies.
She holds an MA in English Literature & French and a PhD in French Literature & Language. After teaching French at the University of St Andrews, she trained as a chartered accountant, working in audit and corporate finance for global accountancy firms, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and Mazars LLP.
Catherine re-joined the Higher Education sector in 2010, moving to the University of Glasgow as College Secretary for the College of Arts, from which position she moved to the University of Edinburgh in 2015, as College Registrar for the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. She has held her current position as Vice-Principal since 2020.
Catherine is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Having held a variety of other non-executive director and trustee roles, including in the third sector and in research council settings, she is currently on the board of Edinburgh Innovations Ltd and is a member of the Scotland Advisory Group for Parkinson’s UK.
Duncan Martin
Director of Entrepreneurship, Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh, UK
My career has focused on translating academic and scientific outputs to real-world meaningful impacts. Following my PhD, I moved to the commercial world with 5 years at a global CRO, doing “science for money”, plus supporting BD work. I moved back into academia via the role of Scientific Business Manager role at the UoE in 2008. This gave me 14 years of university operational management experience, progressing to Head of Operations/Business Manager for University medical imaging facilities, plus an MBA from the UoE Business School. During this time, I created and grew the Edinburgh Imaging entity.
Prior to my current UoE Director of Entrepreneurship role, I spent a year back in the commercial world at EnteroBiotix. EnteroBiotix is a fast-paced commercial enterprise based on an innovative microbiome product; currently scaling up with an aim to IPO in the next few years. This was a brilliant, exciting and challenging role; being at the heart of a rapidly growing entrepreneurial commercial organisation that is creating/delivering strategy at a spectacular pace. This equipped me with first-hand insight into the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship and the critical role it plays delivering socioeconomic impact.
In January 2023 I moved back to the University of Edinburgh by taking up a role of Director of Entrepreneurship, based in the Bayes Centre. Bayes is a hub of data science and AI and is part of the Data Drive Innovation (DDI) initiative. DDI hubs are spread across University of Edinburgh spaces, creating entry points into the university entrepreneurial ecosystem and connecting the university to external city/national/international ecosystems. Alongside oversight of university entrepreneurial programs, activities and events, I focus on understanding the roles the university can and should play within these wider ecosystems and, work alongside many others, work towards adapting our organisation to fulfil these. I am a graduate of Aberdeen, St Andrews and Edinburgh Universities. Alongside the MBA, my academic qualifications are PhD (Neuroscience), BSc (Pharmacology) and PG Diploma (Vocational IT).
Neil McGillivray
Chief Operating Officer, Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh, UK
As Chief Operating Officer of the Bayes Centre, Neil is responsible for the development, resourcing and delivery of strategy. Providing leadership in the design and implementation of a unique portfolio of programmes, Neil is convenor of the Bayes Management Board and a member of Bayes Strategy Oversight and Stakeholder Boards. A member of the University’s Data-Driven Innovation Programme Strategy Board, Neil also co-convenes the Data-Driven Innovation Programme Operational Leads Sub-Group.
Originally joining the University in 1994 as a Youth Apprentice, Neil has a breadth of cross-disciplinary expertise in resource management, strategic planning, transformational change, academic liaison and curriculum development. He has previously served in senior University of Edinburgh Director of Professional Services positions, as a seconded Service Excellence Programme Lead in Student Administration & Support and was Edinburgh’s Alan Turing Institute University Liaison Manager from 2020 to 2023.
Neil attended the 2021 HUMANE Residential School in Berlin and now also a member of the HUMANE Residential Schools Alumni and Annual Conference Steering Groups.
Stewart Miller
Chief Executive Officer, National Robotarium, Heriot-Watt University, UK
Stewart Miller is an experienced business leader with a background in the aerospace sector. He took up the position of Chief Executive Officer at the National Robotarium in 2021 having previously been Chief Technology Officer of the UK Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, in addition to previously working in senior roles at major firms including Leonardo and BAESystems.
Stewart aims to grow the reputation of the National Robotarium to help create greater inward investment and talent attraction to both Scotland and the UK, fulfil national potential for the development of robotics manufacturing, and deliver a thriving robotics industry that elevates the country’s standing in Robotics and AI on the global stage.
He is a member of the Scottish Government Industry Leadership Group for Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, an advisory board member of the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub, and a non-executive director of the Satellite Application Catapult.
Alison Muckersie
Programme Lead, Data Skills Gateway (Data-Driven Innovation Programme), The University of Edinburgh, UK
Alison has spent much of her career in public policy roles, working in both local and central government before moving into Higher Education. Areas of interest have included social care, education and economic development. Recent achievements have included shaping the development of a cities policy framework for Scotland, producing an economic strategy for the city and shaping the bid for the £1.2 billion city region deal.
The current focus of her work is skills development, in particular ensuring that as many people as possible prepare for a future, technology-driven, world of work. She leads a multi-partner team, working out of the University of Edinburgh, looking at innovative approaches to enhancing data literacy skills across the region’s population.
She has extensive experience of partnership working across the public, private and voluntary sectors and has a deep understanding of the economic and social issues facing cities and their regions.
Alison is also currently a Board Member of Citizens Advice Edinburgh and the Data Lab’s Education Advisory Board and sits on Glasgow’s Commission for Economic Growth.
James Saville
Director of Human Resources, The University of Edinburgh, UK
James has worked in HR for 35 years, more than 20 of those at Director Level. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
He has a track record of driving strategic and pragmatic business-focused improvements. He is a decisive leader and qualified advanced coach with a reputation for developing successors and peers.
James started in food manufacturing working for several multinationals, culminating in the role of HR Director for a major international organisation. He successfully transitioned to the finance sector leading large multi-business HR teams before specialising in Talent, OD and change leadership, and leading the HR Transformation of a FTSE 10 company.
Having run his own business for three years working with leading financial services and oil and gas clients, James joined DFID as Director of People, Operations and Systems.
He won the 2014 Civil Service Champion of Disability Award for his work on ending mental health stigma arising out of his own experiences of depression and anxiety. He and his team also won the 2015 Scottish HR Network Team of the Year for its work on the Ebola crisis.
James has been a mentor with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce providing pro bono support to SME and start-up businesses. He has served on the Board of Crew 2000 – an Edinburgh based drugs charity, the Scottish Book Trust and the Scottish Senior HR Leadership Group. He has been Chair of UHR Scotland, and sat on UHR Executive. He has just completed a term as a member of the UCEA Scotland Committee. He is a member of the People Committee of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services, and is a Trustee of Capital Theatres.
James joined the University of Edinburgh in January 2018 as Director of HR
Ashley Shannon
Director of Operations (Corporate Services Group), The University of Edinburgh, UK
Ashley graduated from the University of Edinburgh then qualified as a Chartered Accountant in professional practice in 2002.
Ashley then moved into industry and spent c.15 years working in Financial Services, of which the latter 10 years she held a number of senior management/leadership roles. Ashley specialised in large scale mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructuring and management/delivery of strategic projects.
In early 2018, Ashley moved to a new leadership role with the University of Edinburgh spanning operational leadership and strategic initiatives.
Rona Smith
Deputy Secretary, Governance and Strategic Planning, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Rona is Deputy Secretary at the University of Edinburgh and leads the Governance and Strategic Planning team, which has responsibility for corporate governance, strategy development and implementation, performance measurement, business intelligence, data reporting and analysis, student number planning and fee forecasting, benchmarking, and external policy scanning and advice.
Having begun her career with the NHS, Rona then worked at the University of Edinburgh as a Strategic Planner and Senior Strategic Planner. In 2013 she joined the University of Strathclyde as Deputy Director of Strategy & Policy before becoming Director in 2016. Rona re-joined the University of Edinburgh as Director of Strategic Planning & Insight in August 2021, and became Deputy Secretary for Governance and Strategic Planning in 2022. Rona represents the University externally on a number of cross-sector groups.
Lorna Thomson
Director of Edinburgh Research Office, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Dr Lorna Thomson is Director of Edinburgh Research Office at the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Research Office provides specialist knowledge and targeted support to the University of Edinburgh’s research community across the research lifecycle and a breadth of subjects. Lorna sponsors the University’s major change programme for research services which is looking at how to deliver a more coordinated approach to support as Edinburgh grows its research portfolio.
Lorna joined the University of Edinburgh in 2017 from Kings College London where she was, latterly, Director of Research Strategy. Prior to Kings, she worked with the Royal Society of Chemistry. Lorna completed her degree and PhD in Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde and spent time in industry before moving into research management.
Andrea Young
Head of Investment, Old College Capital (Edinburgh Innovations), UK
Andrea is Head of Investment for Old College Capital (OCC), the in house Venture Investment Fund of the University of Edinburgh. OCC manages all of Edinburgh’s early stage investment activities and shareholdings. OCC’s mission is to work with our founders, investors, and the ecosystem to accelerate the journey of startups and spinouts looking to making a positive impact on people and our planet.
Andrea is part of the founding OCC team and has 35+ years of investment and venture capital experience. Prior to joining OCC, Andrea held director positions at Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank and Scottish Enterprise.
Andrea provides additional strategic insight as an Edinburgh Innovations Board Director and member of the University’s OCC Governance Committee.