In parallel with his role as assistant professor in sociology in the department of sociology at Durham, Dr Arday is a visiting research fellow in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at The Ohio State University, and a trustee of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality thinktank. He is also an elected steering committee member of the parliamentary group Comprehensive Future, and a school governor at Shaftesbury Park Primary School in London.

Jane Armstrong is a senior director at EMEA Industry Solutions Higher Education for Salesforce, responsible for the Europe, Middle East and Africa go-to-market strategy to deliver world-class technology solutions for educators and students. Jane believes that equality begins with education, and that access to quality education is the foundation for a diverse, empowered and skilled society. Before joining Salesforce.org, Jane led recruitment and admissions departments at Tulane University and the University of Southern California, and held global leadership positions in strategy, marketing and management in private sector technology organisations. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Junior League of London.

Simon Baker has been at Times Higher Education since May 2010 and was previously news editor. Before joining THE, he worked for eight years as a reporter and news editor at the Press Association. He studied at the University of Bristol for a BSc in Economics and Politics and also holds a postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism from City University.

Professor Barnes joined Staffordshire in April 2016, having previously been deputy vice-chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Derby after a long career at Teesside University. Committed to education and young people, she is a member of four multi-academy trusts in the region. Having recently been appointed co-chair of the Opportunity Area Partnership Board in Stoke-on-Trent, she believes it is important that education and employers are seen to be working jointly in endeavours to improve the life chances of young people.

Seeta Bhardwa has been the student content editor at Times Higher Education since February 2017. She manages a network of student bloggers from all over the world who write about their experiences of studying at university, while creating student-focused content based on the THE rankings portfolio and writing comment and advice pieces on student issues. She was previously the deputy editor of Independent Nurse magazine and has a BA in English from the University of Reading.

Professor Blackman took on his current role in October 2019. Previously, he had served as the OU’s pro vice-chancellor for research, scholarship and quality (2011-15) and as acting vice-chancellor in 2015. He then spent four years as vice-chancellor of Middlesex University. Other leadership experience includes several roles at his alma mater, Durham University, including director of the Wolfson Research Institute and dean of the university’s Queen’s Campus in Stockton-on-Tees. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and Royal Society of Arts and was an assessor for social policy and social work in the 2014 UK research excellence framework exercise.

Paul Boustead has more 17 years’ experience working for local government, local education authorities, the National Health Service and higher education institutions. He has led large-scale change programmes, including the merger of three UK higher education institutions into a single university. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Sarah Churchwell is professor of American literature and chair of public understanding of the humanities. Her literary journalism has appeared widely in newspapers including The New York Review of Books, New Statesman and Financial Times and she comments regularly on arts, culture and politics for television and radio, where appearances include Question Time, Newsnight and The Review Show. She has judged many literary prizes, including the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and she was a co-winner of the 2015 Eccles British Library Writer’s Award.

Paul Clark has led HESA since 2015. Prior to that, he worked for more than 20 years in the higher education sector in a range of senior roles and across a variety of organisations. He has led a number of sector-wide data and policy initiatives, including work on transforming the data landscape for UK higher education, developing an open data strategy for higher education, cyber security, improving data skills and capability, and using data to improve decision-making.

Andrew Connolly is a chartered public finance accountant and has spent 23 years in higher education at the universities of Birmingham, Essex and Exeter. He was appointed finance director at Essex in 2001 and chief financial officer at Exeter in 2012, where he is responsible for the finance, procurement, planning and business intelligence functions. At Exeter, he led the development and implementation of a new budget model and planning process, as well as sponsoring a major transformation programme, creating a new finance function supported by a suite of new finance and procurement systems.

Mary Curnock Cook, CEO of UCAS from 2010-17, is an independent education expert serving in a non-executive capacity on a number of boards. She is a council member at the Open University, a non-executive director at the Student Loans Company and chairs the Access Project, which helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds progress to top-tier universities.

Sara Custer is digital editor at THE . She has covered global higher education as a journalist for more than five years. Before joining THE in 2017, she was editor of international education website and magazine, The PIE News.

Since joining Times Higher Education in January 2015, Nick has worked closely with universities in the UK, Middle East, North Africa and Asia helping to develop their long-term recruitment advertising strategies. By implementing elements of these strategies across the THE platforms, Nick has enabled his partner institutions to attract and recruit high-quality talent from around the world.

Emma Deraze is a data scientist at Times Higher Education where she works on the teaching rankings, including the THE /WSJ US College Rankings and the Japan University Rankings. She is involved in the analysis and processing of the data used in those rankings as well as development of the various methodologies.

Dr Devlin’s research in human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence investigates how people interact with and react to technologies, both past and future. Her book Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots (2018) examines the ethical and social implications of technology and intimacy. She is a campaigner for gender equality and a member of Ada-AI, an international non-profit organisation working to ensure that AI is developed and adopted in ways that are inclusive and equitable.

Sebastian Distefano is responsible for developing Adobe’s global strategy for higher education in the Creative Cloud Enterprise Business Unit within Adobe. Sebastian brought his 15 years of industry experience and knowledge to help some of the top schools in North America develop and implement successful strategies on using Adobe’s Creative Cloud in curricula across all disciplines in higher education. Throughout his 20-year tenure with Adobe, he has built a reputation for developing relationships within higher education with the focused goal of empowering students, faculty and institutions to improve student outcomes.

In October 2018, Professor Dobbs joined London Metropolitan University from the University of Roehampton where she served for six years as deputy vice-chancellor and provost. At Roehampton, she led on learning and teaching, student experience, research, partnership development, and home and overseas student recruitment. Prior to that, she was dean of arts and social sciences at Northumbria University. Her practice and research focuses on deprived communities across the UK and in Europe, often in partnership with external agencies, tackling social exclusion across all aspects of deprivation.

Dr Emmertsen is an executive education consultant working with the Norwegian digital assessment solution provider, Inspera. She specialises in digital assessment and has helped to pioneer the transformation of assessment methods within higher education in northern Europe. Using her experience as an academic researcher and lecturer in the UK as well as Denmark, she works across all institutional levels – from management and academics to administrative and IT services – to digitise assessment processes securely and efficiently.

Kevin Fong is a free-range academic. He regularly escapes from higher education but always returns in the end. He is a doctor of medicine, specialising in anaesthesia and critical care and flies with Kent, Surrey, Sussex Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.

John Gill has been editor of THE since March, 2012. He has previously held roles as news editor, deputy news editor and reporter with the magazine. John has been closely involved in the development of THE’s World University Rankings portfolio over the last eight years, and was called to give evidence to the recent parliamentary inquiry into teaching metrics.

Jack covers careers in higher education, in particular matters relating to early career academics and PhD students, for Times Higher Education. He also writes about industrial relations, professional and support staff and European higher education. He was named the Data Journalist of the Year at the 2016 CIPR Education Journalism Awards. He has a BA in English from the University of Bristol, and previously worked on newspapers including the Cambridge News and the Peterborough Evening Telegraph.

Martin Hamilton leads the future and emerging technologies team for Jisc, operator of the Janet network. His role is to generate and channel new ideas and build partnerships to bring them to fruition. He is particularly interested in the societal implications of ubiquitous robotics and artificial intelligence, and humanity’s emergence as a true interplanetary species. Before joining Jisc in 2014, he was centre manager at HPC Midlands, a joint initiative to deliver cloud-based supercomputing on demand for research and industry.

Before moving to Edinburgh, Professor Harmon was vice-provost of academic performance at the University of Sydney where he monitored and interpreted research and teaching data to improve academic performance. He also served as head of the School of Economics at Sydney (2012-18) including a period as pro-dean (teaching and learning) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (2014-16). Prior to joining Sydney, he was professor and director of the UCD Geary Institute at University College Dublin. He has held visiting appointments at Princeton University, University of Chicago, UCL and the University of Warwick.

Chris has been news editor since February 2017. Previously he was a reporter who covered areas including teaching and learning, access, and internationalisation. Chris started his career as local government correspondent at the Cambridge News and holds a BA in history and an MA in medieval studies from the University of York.

Prior to joining HEPI in 2014, Nick Hillman worked for David Willetts MP (now Lord Willetts), then minister for universities and science, from 2007 to 2013, as chief of staff and then special adviser in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. In the 2010 general election, he was runner-up in the Cambridge constituency.

In his role at Advance HE, Tim Hinchcliffe supports members through thought leadership, publications, webinars and academic content for Advance HE services, as well as working on educational enhancement both within the UK and internationally. Previously, he was head of curriculum development at Keele University during a period of sustained top-five placings for overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey. Working in partnership with the Institute of Leadership and Management, he pioneered cross-disciplinary accreditation frameworks, and was previously a board member and committee chair for the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education.

Dr Howson is an international expert in higher education research with a focus on student engagement; student outcomes and learning gain; and quality, performance and accountability. She recently evaluated the Office for Students’ £4 million Learning Gain Pilot Projects. Her current research focuses on the curriculum and culture change; using big data and learning analytics to support the student experience; and high-quality and high-impact pedagogical research.

In the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at York, Dr Hurst’s research focuses on green chemistry education together with using social media and game-based learning strategies to transform the student learning experience. He is chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry Higher Education Group. He was shortlisted by THE in the Most Innovative Teacher of the Year category in 2018, was highly commended in the Educate North Awards 2019 Teaching Excellence category, and has been recognised by Jisc as one of the top 10 social media superstars in higher education.

Dr Jivraj’s work in Kent Law School draws on critical race and religion theory and post/decolonial perspectives to explore contemporary socio-legal problematics in the fields of law and religion, equalities, anti-discrimination and human rights law, gender and sexuality and Islamic family law. She is also the co-ordinator and principal investigator of an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project titled Decolonising Sexualities. She has been awarded a University of Kent Teaching Enhancement Small Support Award to collaborate with students and other stakeholders on decolonising the curriculum (2018-19).

Alistair Lawrence has been Times Higher Education’s special projects editor since May 2018. Prior to joining THE he worked for Times Educational Supplement and Cambridge University Press.

Alongside his role as senior research fellow, Nathan Lea is an honorary data science facilitator at UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, working on projects in clinical care and research. He has been involved in the research and development of health information systems and their impact on care and research for nearly 20 years. He is also the General Data Protection Regulation Taskforce lead for the European Institute for Innovation through Health Data, and works as a UCL and independent information governance and e-health consultant.

At Loughborough, Emma Leech oversees communications, marketing, recruitment, web and digital, widening participation, fundraising and development. She started her career in fashion and consumer PR in 1988, working in tourism and destination marketing before settling in higher education in 1997. A founding chartered PR practitioner, chartered marketer and chartered manager, she has won a string of awards over more than two decades spanning PR, marketing, innovation, fundraising, digital and web. She is president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations for 2019.

Prior to his current role, Gary Loke was deputy chief executive at the Equality Challenge Unit where he led numerous projects, including joint guidance with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Universities UK on the intersection of equality legislation and the Prevent duty. His career has focused on equality policy and practice, and he previously worked in the third sector on age-related issues in health and social care and for a semi-rural race equality organisation. He is a member of the Gender Equality Commission of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Anna is a reporter covering teaching, learning and student issues, as well as higher education in Africa and the Middle East. Previously she was a reporter for Research Fortnight and news editor of the Brixton Bugle. She has a BA in contemporary history and an MA in modern European history from the University of Sussex.

Andrew McRae is professor of Renaissance studies in the department of English and dean of postgraduate research and Exeter Doctoral College. He is a principal fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a strategic reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Originally from Australia, he taught and held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Sydney before moving to the University of Leeds. He joined Exeter in 2000 and was promoted to a personal chair in 2004. Management roles have included associate dean of education in Exeter’s College of Humanities.

John Morgan reports on politics and government policy, higher education funding, university governance and private provision in the sector as well as higher education in Asia. He completed a PhD in English literature at the University of Leeds before spending three years as a reporter at the Cambridge News, where he was health correspondent. John was winner of the outstanding higher education journalism category at the 2018 CIPR Education Journalism Awards.

Before joining the University of Northampton, Dr Moss was a Leverhulme early career fellow in the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford. A specialist in late medieval English history and literature, she has researched and written on family, gender, sexuality, and literary culture. She focuses on making the past accessible to all and in making the academy a more inclusive place, and regularly writes for mainstream publications on themes including education, academic culture and late medieval history. Her first book, Fatherhood and its Representations in Middle English Texts, was published in 2013.

Professor Muscatelli, an expert in economics, has been in his current appointment since 2009 and fulfilled the same role at Heriot-Watt University from 2007-09. He chairs the Scottish Government’s Standing Council on Europe, is a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers and a board member of the Scottish Funding Council. He chairs the Russell Group of British research universities and is a director of the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

Mehul Parekh is studying for a master's in international business law at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Professor Petford is a former Royal Society university research fellow and fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. Previously, he was pro vice-chancellor at Bournemouth University and, before that, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Kingston University. A geologist by training, with a DSc from the University of Liverpool, he has worked in industry and on academic and commercial research projects throughout the world. He has held visiting research appointments at the universities of Michigan and Vermont and Nasa, and is currently visiting professor at Macquarie University, Australia. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School.

David Price, professor of mineral physics, joined UCL in 1983 as a Royal Society university research fellow and fulfilled several senior academic roles before his current appointment in 2007. He was one of the first researchers to establish the now major interdisciplinary field of computational mineral physics. His many accolades include the 2006 Louis Néel Medal of the European Geosciences Union. He is a member of Academia Europaea, chair of the vice-rectors of research committee of the League of European Research Universities, and chair of Panel B for REF2021.

Before taking on his current role in 2012, Bill Rammell was deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Plymouth with responsibility for the student experience and internationalisation. He was elected chair of MillionPlus in July 2019. He was the MP for Harlow from 1997 to 2010, during which time he served as minister of state for further and higher education in the Labour government, minister of state for the Foreign Office and minister of state for the Armed Forces. He champions the university’s role in transforming lives, promoting employability and world-leading research.

Sarah Randall-Paley joined Lancaster in 2009 and leads the university’s professional services together with the chief administrative officer and secretary. As director of finance, she has responsibility for all finance and procurement activities. She also supports the vice-chancellor in his wider responsibilities as designated accountable officer under the Office for Students regulatory framework. Prior to joining Lancaster, she studied English at the University of Nottingham and then worked in London to qualify as a chartered accountant with KPMG, working in audit and forensic accounting.

Ian Robinson works with public sector and education institutions covering both higher education and independent schools. His focus in the public sector and education team is on developing relationships with institutions across the sector, assisting with student and employee well-being, IT infrastructure, liquidity and deposits, and financing requirements, from sustainable green finance and bank loans through to accessing the debt capital markets. He also works with teams across HSBC’s global footprint to help develop global connections for institutions, academics and students to help maximise opportunities.

In her current role, Rebecca Trengove delivers strategic leadership for all the university’s marketing, including institutional and student recruitment marketing, brand management, corporate and digital communications, and web development, with the aim of enhancing reputation and attracting staff and students from around the world. She has senior experience in marketing and communications, public affairs and international business development in both private equity-owned and public technology-based companies as well as in the public sector (local and central government departments and agencies).

Alongside her role in the Faculty of Education, Anna Vignoles is a fellow of the British Academy and a trustee of the Nuffield Foundation. She has extensive experience of using large-scale administrative data to study factors relating to pupil achievement and students’ outcomes from education. She has published widely on widening participation into higher education and on the socio-economic gap in pupil achievement. She has advised numerous government departments, and provided advice to Dame Shirley Pearce’s review of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework.

Jessica Wade is a postdoctoral physicist at Imperial College London. She works on new materials for light emitting diodes and is involved in projects to improve diversity in science. She won the Institute of Physics (IOP) Early Career Physics Communicator Award (2015), the IOP Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize (2016), the Imperial College Julia Higgins Medal and Award (2017) and the IOP Daphne Jackson Medal and Prize (2018), as well as being named by Nature as one of the 10 people who mattered in 2018.

The Rt Hon Lord David Willetts served as Conservative MP for Havant from 1992 to 2015, and as Minister of State for Universities and Science from May 2010 to July 2014. He was appointed a life peer in 2015. Lord Willetts is a visiting Professor at King’s College London, Governor of the Ditchley Foundation, Chair of the British Science Association and a member of the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He was appointed executive chair of the thinktank in June 2015, and his most recent book, A University Education, was published in November 2017.

Professor the Baroness Wolf of Dulwich CBE sits in the UK House of Lords as a cross-bench peer. At King’s, she directs the MSc in executive management within the Business School and was founding chair of governors of King’s College London Mathematics School, where she remains a governor. In 2011, she completed the Wolf Review of Vocational Education for the government, which implemented her recommendations in full. She was a member of the expert panel for the government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding (the Augar Review) which reported in May 2019.

Andy Youell is a writer, speaker and strategic data adviser. Formerly the director of data policy and governance at the Higher Education Statistics Agency, he has been at the leading edge of data issues across higher education for more than 25 years. His work has covered all aspects of the data and systems lifecycle and in recent years he has focused on improving the higher education sector’s relationship with data.