The PraxisAuril Conference Committee is made up of volunteers from across the PraxisAuril membership, and is responsible for the design and delivery of the conference programme. The Committee Chair for 2022 is Shona Campbell, Associate Director, Knowledge Exchange, University of Brighton; Deputy Chair is Amanda Selvaratnam, Associate Director of Research and Enterprise and Head of Enterprise Services at the University of York.
Shona is Associate Director of Knowledge Exchange at the University of Brighton, sharing responsibility for leading the Department of Research, Enterprise & Social Partnerships. She manages the Enterprise team who support the full range of Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation activities, including activities supporting regional economic development. She also has cross-departmental responsibility for external marketing and the Knowledge Exchange Framework. She joined the university as KTP Manager in 2009 following a career in Agricultural research and knowledge transfer. She has a PhD in Plant Genetics from the University of Leeds and a BSc in Botany from the University of Glasgow.
Following a scientific career in research and industry, Amanda moved into business intelligence with Glaxo SmithKline prior to joining the University of York in 1999. Amanda is currently Director of Enterprise Services at the University responsible for the engagement of the University with business with a special focus on the development and delivery of professional development and executive education courses, technology transfer and commercialisation, apprenticeships and regional economic development.
Amanda is also the Founder and Director of the Training Gateway an organisations that supports UK training and education organisations win training and education contracts and develop partnerships overseas.
Amanda has worked extensively in the ASEAN region and the Gulf and sits on the UK ASEAN Business Council representing Higher Education and SMEs.
Frank is managing director of FIS360 Ltd. which has a successful track record of supporting the commercialisation of early stage technologies for academic institutions, SME’s and large corporates. Frank also leads, on behalf of FIS360, the delivery of Game Changers nuclear innovation programme for Sellafield.
Previously, Frank worked in the Middle East for Dhahran Techno Valley Company (DTVC) to support the establishment of a technology commercialisation business unit and building a multi-disciplinary team to facilitate the commercialisation of technologies which generate revenues and maximise social and economic benefit for Saudi Arabia. Prior to this Frank spent over 10 years working at The University of Manchester Intellectual Property (UMIP), with responsibility for managing a portfolio of spin-out companies and licensing opportunities. Frank has also held a number of board positions for spin-out companies, been a committee member on a variety of steering and energy foresight groups and devised and delivered a number of regional innovation funding initiatives (Innovus and a Co-Managed Energy Innovation Fund). Frank’s career started in the steel industry before moving to California to work as an engineer in the space and aerospace industries. Frank graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a BEng (Hons) in Materials Science and a PhD in Biomaterials Science from the University of Nottingham.
Timothy Brundle is Director of Innovation at the University of Ulster. He is responsible for the University’s commercial output and is the CEO of Innovation Ulster Ltd, Ulster’s award-winning knowledge venturing and investment company. Timothy has fifteen years experience in both the successful commercialisation of technology and in business and economic development. His background in the private and academic sectors is complemented by success in the start up, growth and sale of technology companies, in the management of public to private sector transition and in strategic change management. He is an angel investor and an experienced Director of both young companies and mature public Institutions. Timothy is a Board member of the economic development agency for Northern Ireland, Invest NI, and a Panel Member of MATRIX, Northern Ireland's science-industry advisory council.
Stuart joined the Technology Transfer team at St Andrews in October 2019 and focuses on the commercialisation and exploitation of University’s Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio. Prior to this he was the primary point of contact for all Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation activities within the School of Chemistry at Edinburgh for 7 years, focusing on creating multi-disciplinary opportunities for enduring long term collaborative and strategic partnerships with industry. His career also includes a spell in a Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Pharma and the Foreign Office. Stuart studied Chemistry at St Andrews and holds an MBA from Durham
I lead the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team to work across BU through a series of corporate level initiatives designed to ensure our research activities are informed by society for the benefit of society. This role builds on my previous experience at BU as Public Engagement and Impact Manager/Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Manager.
My passion for research and knowledge exchange stems from my time as a researcher dating back over the last decade or so. After completing a BSc in Geography from Royal Holloway, University of London, at the same institution I was awarded an ESRC CASE Studentship to explore the impacts of public space policy – co-funded by Grosvenor Estates and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). This triggered my dual passions of understanding the impacts of national government policy at a localised level and how society engages within the public sphere. I was then appointed as a Research Associate at Cardiff University, first as part of the Regeneration Institute and latterly the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research (WISERD). Here I had a diverse and varied role, working on multiple research and knowledge exchange projects – often at the same time!
Through funders including the ESRC and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), I explored my passion for governance and policy through research into social housing, urban regeneration and safeguarding young people. After three years at Cardiff, I then spent the next three at University of Southampton as a Research Fellow within the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC), funded by the ESRC, Office for Civil Society and Barrow Cadbury Trust. Here, I project managed a work stream of three interrelated projects which focused around the environment and the third sector.
Other interests include supporting local charities, having fun on the beach (and sometimes in the sea), walking (preferably up mountains), hanging out with my friends/family (one baby boy, one husband, one Jack Russell and two cats), experimenting with new recipes, going to gigs and trying to understand rugby.
Chris studied Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge, and took his PhD in Sociology at Lancaster University. His PhD examined the development of community radio and television services in the face of social and regulatory change. Chris stepped into the newly created role of Social Sciences Research Impact Manager in March 2017, having previously worked in impact support roles at the Universities of Manchester and Salford. He can be found on Twitter as @c_d_hewson.
Chris provides expert assistance to York’s social sciences departments regarding all aspects of research impact, including but not limited to funding and the REF. He also manages the Economic and Social Research Council Impact Accelerator Account (the York ESRC IAA). He is always keen to hear from organisations and groups interested in collaborating with the University’s social science researchers.
Caroline is Head of International Relations and Outreach at Cambridge Enterprise, where she helps other universities and governments to learn from Cambridge Enterprise’s experience and expertise to develop and enhance their own commercialisation activities.
Caroline oversees the International Open Programme as well as working with a number of talented and experienced Associates to deliver bespoke programmes and projects internationally.
Caroline's previous role was as CEO for Allia Future Business Centres Ltd where she established an initial innovation and incubation centre for social ventures and ‘tech for good’ companies and built out a network of four centres operating across Cambridge, London and Peterborough. Caroline has spent over 20 years working with entrepreneurship and innovation in and around Cambridge and is well networked in the Cambridge ecosystem. She brings this, as well as previous experience working in a research, development and commercialisation department of a UK University, to ensure that international partners benefit from the richest experience of engagement.
Caroline is a fellow of the RSA and joined Cambridge Enterprise in March 2020.
Yvonne Kinnaird is the KE Policy & Outreach Manager at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
Yvonne joined Research & KE Services at Strathclyde 12 years ago initially in a business development role, followed by time working on a project to encourage KE collaborations with SMEs. Yvonne now works across a range of KE projects which includes: leading the Engage with Strathclyde programme, which won THE (Times Higher Education) Leadership and Management Award for KE Initiative of the Year in 2014; and working with the CESAER (a network of Universities of Science & Technology in Europe) Task Force Innovation, and was recently involved in the production of the CESAER white paper titled: Role of Universities of Science and Technology In Innovation Ecosystems: Towards Mission 3.1 (https://www.cesaer.org/news/towards-mission-3-1/)
Alicen is an experienced leader and has worked in a range of roles in the Higher Education sector for almost 20 years. In her current role as Director of Research and Innovation at Royal Holloway, Alicen develops and delivers strategies for the generation of high quality research, knowledge exchange and commercialisation, and she leads the Research & Innovation Directorate. Alicen is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Research Management and Administration, the ARMA Stakeholder Engagement Committee. She is passionate about professional development and evidence informed practice, and has published in the wider research management field. Alicen studied International Relations and Social Anthropology at St. Andrews University, and was awarded an MBA from the University of Southampton and an MSc Social Research Methods from the Open University.
Rhian North is a Technology Transfer Officer within the Commercial Development Team at Cardiff University’s Research and Innovation Services. Rhian joined the team in 2014 as a Technology Transfer Project Officer and continues to works across the University’s Biomedical and Life Science College. As part of her role, Rhian is involved in the protection of University generated IP in addition to the translation and commercialisation of research output via licensing and/or the formation of spinout companies. Prior to her role at Cardiff Rhian worked for an SME
Britta has a background in early-stage investment, IT systems, and innovation strategy. In 2013, she joined Oxentia’s consulting team, where she supports university, government, and private sector clients to build capacity and enable innovation for the benefit of economies and societies. At Oxentia, her role includes: 1) Commercialisation services and support for university KEC offices; 2) Training and mentoring innovators and TTOs on topics related to technology commercialisation, entrepreneurship, impact and innovation; 3) Working in partnership with organisations to design, implement, and evaluate KEC programmes and processes, through activities such as benchmarking studies, best practice reviews, innovation ecosystem reviews, impact assessments, business planning, and higher education strategy. Before joining Oxentia, Britta worked as a commercialization consultant at Ireland’s National Digital Research Centre (NDRC), an award-winning early stage investor and accelerator. Britta has a BA from Denison University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire, USA. She is Prince2 certified.