Co-Chair of the National Association of Staff Networks and Research Associate at The University of Manchester

Academic EDI Lead for Disability, member of the Shaw Trust Power 100 for 2023. Author of Work Placements, Internships & Applied Social Research. Prof of Statistical Literacy. FaCSS, NTF. 1-in-20 Women in Data. Late Bloomer. @GM4Women

Executive Director of Faculty Ops (Biology, Medicine and Health)

Senior leader in one of the UK's largest university museums, an institution committed to building understanding between cultures and a more sustainable world.

I am an experienced leader in the higher education sector, with a proven track record in both strategic and operational roles. Currently, I am the Director of Student and Academic Services (Academic Registrar equivalent) at The University of Manchester. Appointed to the Academic Registrars’ Council Executive for 2025-28, and lead our Annual Conference. As an Education Researcher and Talogy-accredited Emotional Intelligence (EIP3) coach. I am particularly interested in how emotionally intelligent leadership and systems thinking approaches can be applied in VUCA-R (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous and Resilient) higher education environments and organisations, to foster equity and inclusivity, enhance learner experiences, and address the challenges and opportunities presented by globalisation and technological transformation.

Co-Chair of the National Association of Staff Networks and Research Associate at The University of Manchester

I am a Senior Lecturer in International Education at the Manchester Institute of Education and my work draws on a range of social science theories to study, for example, the formation of student experience and the (re)conceptualisation of space/place in an increasingly digital environment. I am particularly interested in the experiences of international students and how internationalisation shapes pedagogy and curricula.

General Practitioner and Simulation Lead in Community-Based Medical Education

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Materials

Julian Skyrme is the Executive Director of Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement at The University of Manchester. Manchester is unique in UK higher education for having social responsibility as a core goal and is one of the world's leading institutions for impact towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Julian has three degrees from The University of Manchester: a BA in Political Philosophy, Economics and Social Sciences (first-class honours); an MA degree in Social Research (distinction); and a Doctor of Education (EdD) in educational policy and philosophy. After qualifying as a teacher, Julian spent his early career as Head of Social Sciences and Assistant Vice-Principal in a large inner-city Sixth Form College. He later became The University of Manchester's first Head of Widening Participation in 2004 and its first full-time Director of Social Responsibility in 2012. Julian is the first person in his family to benefit from university and is passionate about its social purpose and accessibility. He contributes to local, national and international policies, initiatives and networks to enhance the social engagement of higher education. He contributes to: Manchester City Council's Strategic Education Partnership Board and Homelessness Partnership Board; the Board of Manchester's Loreto Sixth Form College; the Board of Trustees at MACC – Manchester's voluntary, community and social enterprise support organisation; and Business in the Community's (BITC) North-West Leadership Board. He's also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, keen guitarist, everyday cyclist, Manchester United and Wales fan, and father to two children.

Lecturer in Language and Communicative Development and Co-Chair of the University of Manchester Neurodivergent Staff Network

Mel is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Human Sciences, teaching on the BA (Hons) Sport Studies and Development course and the new BA (Hons) Sport Business Management course. Her teaching focuses on sport development and research modules, and she believes that learning should take place outside of, as well as within the classroom. As such she enjoys challenging students to complete tasks within the wider sporting community. Mel completed her PhD at Loughborough University, exploring the psycho-social health and well-being of Britain's Wheelchair Basketball athletes in relation to the London 2012 Paralympics. Her further research was focused on Paralympic athletes, and includes a current piece of research examining inspirational leadership within British Judo and British Wheelchair Basketball ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Games.

Dr. Rachel Lindley, General Practitioner and Co-Lead for Service Learning in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.

A commercial CPO with over 30 years experience across a range of sectors. Digital change and transformation leader. I’ve worked globally across 30 countries. Currently leading the People function at the University of Manchester of 180 supporting 15,000 colleagues.

Content and Communications Officer in Alliance Manchester Business School

Future Leaders Graduate at The University of Manchester

Hannah is the Director of Faculty Operations in Humanities. She provides leadership for, and management of, all administrative and specialist support services within the Faculty and contributes strategic and tactical advice to the Vice-President and Dean and to the Faculty's Senior Management Team and other Faculty bodies. She chairs the Faculty Professional Services Senior Leadership Team and is a member of the Faculty Leadership Team. Previously, Hannah was Director of College Operations for the College of Humanities at the University of Exeter having previously undertaken roles at Exeter in External Relations, Graduate Education, and Academic Services. Hannah has also worked at the University of Oxford.

An Occupational Psychologist, with 20 years experience across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with a passion for creating environments where people can work at their best. My career has included roles at Department of Work and Pensions, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service / GMCA and Robertson Cooper (workplace wellbeing consultancy) - all with the thread of enabling individuals, teams and organisations to thrive at work. I'm currently Head of Colleague Wellbeing at the University of Manchester. I'm a Registered Psychologist with the Health Care and Professions Council and have achieved Chartered status with the British Psychological Society.

Janine Dixon SFHEA is a Senior Lecturer (Teaching and Scholarship) in the Department of Materials, within the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE). Janine is dedicated to promoting active and inclusive scholarship practices both at the University and beyond. Her work focuses on widening participation for neurodivergent students in Higher Education, aiming to understand better the specific challenges they face while celebrating their strengths. Janine’s passion lies in creating environments that support diverse learning experiences, fostering equitable access and success for all students.

Director of Estates Support at The University of Manchester

I have experience of a physical disability, sensory impairment, and a long-term medical condition – all of which contribute towards my health and wellbeing. Yet the ‘disability’ which causes me the most consternation, the thing above all others by which I am ‘othered’, is something I don’t consider to be a disability – far from it! Neurodivergence has been described as ‘a beautiful curse’ something that resonates strongly with my own experience. As it’s a hard to comprehend why what, in your mind, makes you unique is the same thing that impedes your relationships with others. Leading to an increased sense of isolation and marginalisation form the rest of the world. I never imagined that something I had no control over (how my brain is wired), would be such a dominant feature of how I’m perceived and valued by society at large. Or equally how challenging misassumptions about neurodivergence would define my own life to the extent that it has. This, in turn, has imbued a passion for fairness and justice borne of witnessing the manifold injustices metered out to others whose voice has so often been denied them. Consequently, I would like to contribute, in whatever way possible, towards creating an environment for university staff whereby they feel confident to disclose their disability without fear of suiciding their careers. Moreover, I feel that we need to foster a culture of inclusivity – more so than ever – within our own institution. One where we can see beyond a person’s ‘disability’ and see both their potential (that is often overlooked) and the value of their experience, as a disabled person, in challenging the many misconceptions and prejudices that foreshadow disability awareness. As well as creating a workplace environment in which everybody feels valued.

Operations Administrative Assistant, The University of Manchester

EDI Partner at The University of Manchester

Co-Chair (PGR) of the Disabled Staff Network at The University of Manchester

Laura is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester. She works broadly in the areas of gender, feminism, security and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. Much of her focus has been on the United Nations Security Council's Women, Peace and Security agenda, activities around it and its implementation within the United Nations and former Yugoslavia, in particular Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Registrar and Chief Operating Officer

Chief Information Officer, The University of Manchester

Deputy Vice-President of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Claire is the Head of the School of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. She has researched and published on race, ethnicity, youth and migration in the UK for over thirty years. She is a member of the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE). Claire was Editor of Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power between 2011 and 2018. She is on the editorial board of Ethnic and Racial Studies and Whiteness and Education. Claire is a Trustee of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Active Communities Network. She is a former Vice-Chair of the Stuart Hall Foundation and the Runnymede Trust.

Vice President for Research

Former President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester

President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester and Professor of Political Philosophy.

Fiona Devine is Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. She was previously Head of Sociology (2004-7), Head of the School of Social Sciences (2009-13) and Head of Alliance Manchester Business School (2013-23) at the University which she first joined in 1994. Prior to Manchester she worked at the University of Liverpool, the Policy Studies Institute, and the former Department of Employment in London. She studied Sociology and Government as an undergraduate at the University of Essex where she also completed an MA and PhD.

Academic EDI Lead for Disability, member of the Shaw Trust Power 100 for 2023. Author of Work Placements, Internships & Applied Social Research. Prof of Statistical Literacy. FaCSS, NTF. 1-in-20 Women in Data. Late Bloomer. @GM4Women

Michelle Carter is a Professor of Information Systems in the Alliance Manchester Business School’s Division of Management Sciences and Marketing at the University of Manchester. Michelle earned her PhD in Management (Information Systems) from Clemson University, SC. Her research focuses on information technologies’ involvement in identity and social change, factors that shape IT usage behaviors, and information systems management. Michelle's work has appeared in MIS Quarterly, the European Journal of Information Systems, the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, the Journal of Information Technology, as well as other journals, books, and conference proceedings. Michelle is co-Editor-in-Chief of AIS Transactions on Replication Research. She serves as DEI Director and a senior editor for MIS Quarterly. Michelle is a Distinguished Member – Cum Laude of the AIS. She is a past president of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) Special Interest Group on Social Inclusion and previously chaired the AIS committee on diversity and inclusion. From 2021-2024, she served on the AIS Council as Vice President for Special Interest Groups and Colleges.

Vice President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement

I am an artist and creative facilitator born and raised in the north west of England. My personal practice explores my relationship with my body and environment as a person who lives with chronic pain. Through this, I hope to foster conversations about how disability touches on the simple aspects of everyday life. Outside work I have a strong interest in history and the natural world, in addition to being an advocate for neurodiversity and communication though creative facilitation. I am actively enriching my vocabulary around accessibility on an intersectional level, and am well suited to roles requiring a dependable, organised, personable individual.

Experienced and skilled professional who has worked within large organisations providing counsel and strategic support in external communications, employee communications, stakeholder relations and all aspects of marketing.