David Fearn
USA, Study Abroad and Research
David has 40 years of experience in Higher Education, with Internationalisation being his focus over the last 10 years. Most recently, he was Dean for Global Engagement (Americas) at the University of Glasgow and previously held senior management roles: Head of College (Science & Engineering), Learning & Teaching Dean (Science & Engineering), Dean (Faculty of Information & Mathematical Sciences) and Head of Mathematics. His academic discipline is Applied Mathematics with research interests in Geophysics.
A key activity for him has been partnership development; enhancing research collaborations, student mobility and recruitment, and academic reputation, all of which are inter-connected. Programme innovation has seen major growth in student mobility, both fee-paying study abroad and exchange.
David has also led on worldwide strategic partnerships and initiatives to support these at Columbia University, University of Hong Kong, McGill University, University of Sydney and the Smithsonian. At McGill he has driven the Open Skies initiative whose ultimate goal is jointly awarded degrees. In Latin America, he has supported the development of priority partnerships, including workshops to advance their internationalisation.
Steve Hill
Online Provision
Steve spent the first 20 years of his career in International Finance before joining the UK Open University as their Commercial CEO in 2011. During his 6 years at the OU Steve was responsible for the Global Strategy, Marketing, Government Relations and B2B partnerships. Steve also chaired the FutureLearn Board.
Steve founded Higher Ed Partnerships in 2017, which has become the UK’s leading OPM. Most recently, Steve has advised Private Equity firms on large scale Edtech acquisitions.
Tim Steele
Internationalisation, Recruitment, TNE
Tim has over two decades of senior higher education experience most recently at a Pro Vice Chancellor International level and has recently finished his tenure as Chair of UUKi Asia Policy network. Tim has been responsible for the development and implementation of a number of internationalisation strategies that have delivered growth for both on and off campus recruitment for UCLan and University of Wolverhampton.
Tim has significant international experience and profile across China, South Asia, MENA, Sub Saharan Africa, and East Asia, and brings first hand senior experience with a proven and established reputation in markets for delivering sustainable partnerships of size that deliver a breadth of activity to meet the wider internationalisation strategy. His experience of partnerships covers a wide range of models including branch campuses, traditional franchise, validation, non-independent colleges, enhanced franchised models, distance learning and managed articulations.
Prof. James C Conroy, PhD, FAcSS
Research, University Development
James has successfully held a range of senior roles in very different kinds of Higher Education institutions including a monotechnic, small liberal arts university and a globally leading (Russell Group) research intensive university. Before entering higher education he spent some years as a banker with what is now JP MorganChase.
As a Staff Governor of a teachers college he was on the merger board which oversaw the creation of a new Faculty. He was a highly successful Dean of Faculty, where he transformed the Faculty from a local teachers college into a world ranked research-led Faculty, now ranked in the Global top 50 (QS 2018). He has also been Head of Graduate School and Head of Department, creating the first online course in the University, the first TNE in the University and one of the first blended doctorates in the UK. Additionally, he has served on a number of government committees and chaired a number of international academic societies. He is a Philosopher of Education by background as well as being a leading figure in Second Level institutional leadership. He remains an active scholar, publishing regularly in leading SSCI journals and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
For more than eight years James has been leading the University of Glasgow’s international activity and development, initially in the College of Social Sciences, where he developed the first strategic development plan and, for the last 5 years, as Vice Principal (Internationalisation). In addition to his contribution to the normal broad institutional leadership oversight and strategic development he carried overall strategic responsibility for the University’s international footprint and engagement. This included a watching brief of recruitment as well as consular and alumni engagement, TNE, global collaborations, European and International research funding, international student experience, language programmes, Confucius Institute, student mobility, internships and Glasgow International College (access partnership with Kaplan). In addition to establishing world leading partnerships including Hong Kong, Sydney, McGill, Radboud and others, he established and is now Academic Director of the European Centre for Advanced Studies in Luneburg (Lower Saxony). During his tenure as Vice Principal he completely restructured the organisation of international activity which saw the University’s reputation rise to be consistently a Global top 30 (THES) for international profile.
Nationally he has played a leading role in the evolution of the UK’s international activity having been appointed inaugural co-Chair of UUKi’s PVC International Forum, a Member of UUK’s Mobility Board and the Russell Group European Advisory Forum, for which he has participated in and led international delegations. In addition to having held visiting positions at Oxford, FU Rio Grande do Sul, Fordham, Australian Catholic University and the University of Georgia, in 2014 he was invited to join the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, President’s 1783 Network.
Steve Seaworth
USA, Study Abroad
Steve Seaworth has spent his entire professional career in the field of International Education. Prior to joining Wake Forest, he was Vice President for University Relations at the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA), Butler University. He has regularly presented at conferences of the Forum on Education Abroad, NAFSA, and AACRAO. At NAFSA he has served as a Trainer Corps member, past chair of the NAFSA Education Abroad Awards Working Group, past chair of Region XII and in 2005 was presented the Lily von Klemperer Award recognising his commitment to mentoring young professionals in the field.
At AACRAO he has served as past chair of both the Study Abroad Committee as well as the International Recruitment and Marketing Committee and is the current Program Coordinator for Group 2 – International. In 2017 Steve was presented the AACRAO Award for Excellence in International Education. He holds B.A. degrees in Mathematics, Economics, and Computer Science from the University of Redlands and an M.A. in Economics from the University of California at Riverside.
Prof. Saule Maciukaite-Zviniene Phd
EU Partnerships, Research, Commercialisation
Saule has more than 20 years experience in education, research and innovation in high level positions in both the academic and the political sector. For a number of years she was a senior advisor and advisor on education to ex-President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite.
Saule published dozens of scientic articles and books in innovation, education and dynamic governance. She has been an expert for education and innovation for European Commission and EU neighborhood countries. At present she is a proffesor of innovation at Vilnius University and the Chair of the Lithuanian National Education Council.
Charlene Allen
Recruitment and Events
Internationalisation, education marketing and student recruitment has been the focus of Charlene’s work over the last two decades. Before entering Higher Education she spent time in hospitality with the Hilton Hotel Group. Since working in the HE sector, she has taken a leadership role for various student recruitment and internationalisation projects across the 1994 Group, University Alliance and the Russell Group, including setting up overseas offices; organisational restructures; procurement, implementation and development of CRM systems; reviews of international and UK student recruitment events and strategies; and international conferences, symposia and workshops.
She has directed and held strategic responsibility for international development, international partnerships, international marketing, and international and UK student recruitment. She has led multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams across the globe to deliver projects that have successfully contributed to the Universities strategic aims domestically and internationally.
She has taken a sector leading role as Chair of British Universities International Liaison Association (BUILA), setting the strategic direction for the association, influencing and working with key HE stakeholders on UK national projects and lobbying to change national policies. She led an executive group which represented UK universities across the sector.
Keith Straughan
Commercialisation and Innovation
Following a successful executive career in both education and business, Keith is now focused on a portfolio of business and consulting roles leveraging technical and business innovation with entrepreneurial approaches.
A highly experienced senior leader, Keith’s academic background spans both world-leading universities, non-traditional university models and further education. He has an extensive teaching record at undergraduate and postgraduate levels including physics, electronic engineering, diagnostic imaging, biomedical systems and theology. His research interests have encompassed diagnostic imaging, digital healthcare, smart cities and education technology and he has led national and international projects. His research outputs include 128 publications and 6 patents. Keith currently holds Professorships in Design Engineering (London), Digital Healthcare (Vienna) and International Education (Kuala Lumpur).
Keith has spun-out five companies from his university work, founded three additional companies and served as a non-executive director of eight companies. His consulting roles have included: leading a large programme for the UK Department of Health to test the efficacy of clinical MRI systems; developing with local government a smart cities strategy and initiating a major development programme in Milton Keynes (UK); and, as National Innovation Policy Advisor, writing the first National Innovation Policy for the Government of Myanmar.
Keith is a sought-after executive coach and has supported senior leaders in education, government, Fortune 500, SMEs and start-ups. He has run his own consultancy company for over 30 years and regularly serves as an NED and business advisor
Alan France - OBE
Central Asia, TNE
Alan has a vast experience in transnational education. His first foray into international education was in 1984 when he established a network of Business Schools in the N.E. UK, Southern Germany, South East France and North Italy. Alan held a position of the Dean of the Lancashire Business School for 11+ years where he was responsible for a range of International Education Capacity building projects in Poland, Ukraine, Ethiopia, South Africa, China and oversaw the Internationalisation of the Business School.
In 2002, he joined the University of Westminster as the 1st Deputy Rector[Academic] to lead the development of the brand new TNE project, Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT). Alan was based in Tashkent and was one of the founding members of the new University WIUT. He was responsible for shaping the strategy of the new university and crafting its development over 18 years to become the leading International University in Uzbekistan. Alan engineered a growth from 120 students in 2002 to 4,000 by 2019. He was responsible for the Strategic development and for all Academic Affairs, Academic Staff, Academic Support, Academic Administration, Learning Resources,as well as the overall Management and Governance infrastructure.
Alan left WIUT in January 2020 to become the Chair of a New TNE International University – TEAM, the first privately sponsored university in Uzbekistan, founded by a group of leading Entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan. He is also been asked to help reform the Republican School of Business, the national business school of Uzbekistan, as well as a consultant to two New State supported Universities. He is also Chair of a new Independent School, the Westminster International School of Tashkent.
Alan was awarded an O.B.E. by the Queen in 2011 for services to UK Higher Education in an International Context.
Alan teaches Business Strategy and his research interests are in the area of TransNational Education with a focus on Governance, Regulation and Reputation of TNE institutions vis a vis, Home institutions.
Having been a Business consultant to major corporations, Alan was also involved in the development and implementation of Technological change.
John Widdowson
Technical Higher Education, Vocational Education, Apprenticeships
John is an experienced educationalist, with a career in further and higher education spanning forty years. In his most recent post as Principal and Chief Executive of New College Durham, John led the design and build of a new college campus, achieved “Outstanding” status with Ofsted and ensured that the college became one of the first to secure Foundation Degree awarding powers.
Alongside his role at the college, John has served as a Board member and President of the Association of Colleges and as a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
John has spoken at national and international conferences and authored a range of papers on educational issues. He has a particular interest in widening participation in higher education and in the development of higher technical skills. He continues to work on these issues both nationally and internationally.
Before leaving New College Durham in 2020, John led a consortium of colleges, employers and a university in the creation of a new Institute of Technology in the North East of England.
Raymi van der Spek
Branch Campus Establishment, Operations & Commercialisation
Raymi’s initial career was focused on finance and the advertising industry and gave him the privilege of working in a number of diverse cultural environments including Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Baltics. This professional services sector experience in financial and operational management provided Raymi with a strong base to move into the increasing commercial tertiary education sector.
Based out of Dubai for the last 18 years Raymi has built an unprecented experience in the education sector in the MENASA region. He was instrumental in the establishment and growth of some of the most successful international branch campus opertions, including the University of Wollongong Dubai, Heriot-Watt Universtiy Dubai and De Montfort University Dubai. Raymi’s operations experience has covered all aspects of branch campus management including Strategy & Business Development, Finance, Sales, Marketing and Student Recrutiment, IT Services, HR, Procurement and Property Services. This is combined with experience and a strong understanding of the unique aspects of academia, including the recruitment and retention of quality academic staff in the region.
Raymi also spent tiime with the largest publicly funded university in the UAE, and his consulting roles have included leading the establishment of new branch campuses in Qatar, India, Sri Lanka and Malta.
Beverley Orr-Ewing
Turing, Study Abroad
Beverley was Director of international mobility at a large Russell Group university, responsible for the leadership and development of international mobility and short-term programmes. She fostered a progressive and ambitious mobility strategy concentrating on the growth of both programmes and students.
Her experience of programme development includes pre-UG and UG global summer schools aimed at supporting international diversity, income generation and recruitment targets. She has a particular insight into how these programmes can be institutionally embedded to support wider strategic objectives.
She brings significant experience in the Turing programme with a successful track record of maximising application outcomes using funding to support summer and short outbound programmes and increasing the participation rates of those students traditionally underrepresented in mobility.
Neil Ravenscroft
Agriculture
Neil has nearly 40 years’ experience in higher education, the latter half of which has focused on internationalisation, predominantly in the global food and farming sectors. Until recently he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and previously Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International), at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), where he led a major international programme that included setting up the Joint Institute for Advanced Agri-Technology at Qingdao Agricultural University, China.
Neil’s main international focus has been – and continues to be - partnership development that catalyses a range of activities and opportunities. As a practising Chartered Surveyor and, until recently, Director of a large community-owned biodynamic farming company in southern England, Neil is able to work across sectors in order to develop multi-partner collaborations that bring together academic institutions with commercial, government and voluntary interests and actors.
Neil has published over 100 academic papers, largely on the relationships between people and natural resources, with a particular emphasis on the shared values that connect individuals, communities and the environment. Neil continues to have an active research programme in China, at Qingdao Agricultural University and at Fudan University in Shanghai. Neil is also Senior Advisor on Research to the Rector of the new International Agriculture University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which he helped establish during his time at the RAU.