Speakers:
Melissa Fleming
Under-Secretary General for Global Communications, United Nations
Melissa Fleming was appointed UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications in September 2019.
She leads the UN’s Department of Global Communications, which informs global audiences about the state of the world and engages them to build support for the work and goals of the United Nations.
In this role, Ms. Fleming oversees the Department’s strategic and crisis communications operations, including its multilingual news and digital media services, public outreach programmes, and global campaigns.
Under her leadership, the UN Department of Global Communications developed the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity, a blueprint for healthy information ecosystems.
Previously, Ms. Fleming served 10 years at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as Spokesperson for the High Commissioner and Head of Global Communications. Prior to that, she was the Spokesperson and Head of Media and Outreach at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). She earlier headed Press and Public Information at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and before that, served as Public Affairs Specialist at Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty. She also worked as a journalist.
Ms. Fleming is a TED speaker, the author of the book, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea, and the host of the award-winning UN podcast, Awake at Night. She has published widely on strategic communications and is a frequent public speaker at universities and conferences.
She holds a Master of Science in Journalism from the College of Communication, Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in German Studies from Oberlin College.
Professor Adam Habib
Vice-Chancellor, SOAS University of London
Professor Adam Habib is the Vice-Chancellor of SOAS University of London, former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of the Witwatersrand, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at the University of Johannesburg and former Professor of Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A professor of Political Science, he has over 30 years of academic, research and administration expertise in institutions distinctively defined by engagements in the contest of ideas, their translation into actionable initiatives and the building of institutions. Professor Habib co-founded the African Research Universities Alliance, is an American Academy of Arts and Sciences member and fellow of the African Academy of Science and Academy of Science of South Africa.
Professor Charlie Jeffery
Vice-Chancellor and President, University of York
Professor Charlie Jeffery became Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of York in September 2019. He joined us from the University of Edinburgh where he had been Senior Vice-Principal since 2014. He was a Member of Council of the Economic and Social Research Council from 2006-12 and Chair of the Political Studies Association of the UK from 2009-12. He has a deep-rooted interest in how university research and education can serve the general benefit of society, or public good. In Edinburgh and now in York he has worked to bring together the University with local authorities, businesses, other universities and colleges to promote inclusive economic development, and to open up access to university study and economic opportunity to people from disadvantaged backgrounds - both in the UK and internationally.
Professor Nick Jennings
Vice-Chancellor and President, Loughborough University
Professor Jennings is Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University. He is also the Vice-President for Fellowship Engagement at the Royal Academy of Engineering. He was previously the Vice-Provost for Research and Enterprise at Imperial College London, the UK Government’s first Chief Scientific Advisor for National Security, and Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton.
Professor Wendy Larner
Vice-Chancellor, Cardiff University
Professor Wendy Larner became President and Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University on 1 September 2023. Previously she was Provost at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, and Dean of Social Sciences and Law at the University of Bristol. A New Zealander by birth, Wendy is an internationally recognised human geographer. She is a Fellow of Te Apārangi Royal Society, Academy of Social Sciences, Royal Geographical Society, New Zealand Geographical Society, and Learned Society of Wales. Wendy has served as President of Te Apārangi Royal Society and Chair of the Fulbright New Zealand Board. She is currently a member of the UCEA Board, Social Partnership Council for Wales and the Cardiff Capital Regional Growth Board.
Professor Helen Laville
Vice-Chancellor, Oxford Brookes University
Professor Laville took up the role of Vice Chancellor at Oxford Brookes University in August 2025. She was previosly the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Kingston University in London. Prior to joining Kingston University in 2021, Helen was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) at Manchester Metropolitan University for five years. She was educated at the University of Birmingham and returned there to begin her academic career after completing her PhD at the University of Nottingham. Helen is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE, a Governor on the Board of the South Thames College Group and a Trustee of Hospice UK.
Professor Christoph Lindner
President and Vice-Chancellor, Royal College of Art
Professor Christoph Lindner is President and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, the internationally renowned postgraduate art and design university, where he holds the title of Professor of Visual Culture. He previously served as Dean of the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. He is a leading international scholar of cities and visual culture and has published 15 books in the fields of art, architecture, media and urban geography.
Jess Lister
Director (Education), Public First
Jess is a Director within the Education Practice and leads Public First’s higher education work both in the UK and internationally. She has written extensively about higher education policy for Wonkhe, Times Higher, and Research Professional. Before joining Public First she held multiple roles at the University of Cambridge, helping the university respond to regional, national, and international policy developments and advising senior leaders on political strategy.
Jess has an undergraduate degree from Cambridge and an MSc (Distinction) in Education at Birkbeck, focusing on higher education & public policy.
Professor Andy Long
Vice Chancellor, Northumbria University
Prior to becoming Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, Newcastle, Professor Andy Long FREng was a member of staff at the University of Nottingham since 1990. He most recently served as Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor leading on strategy development and resource allocation across the University and line managing the five Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellors. Previously he was Dean and then Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering from 2011 to 2018. Andy was also Chair of the Executive Management Group for Midlands Innovation, a partnership between Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Keele, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and Warwick Universities. He was awarded a personal Chair in Mechanics of Materials in 2004.
Andy has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Nottingham, which was awarded for work on process modelling for the manufacture of composite materials. Prior to this, he obtained a BSc in Applied Mathematics from Warwick University and an MSc in Computer Integrated Engineering from Loughborough University. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. He served as Course Director in Mechanical Engineering (2004-08) and Head of the Polymer Composites Group (2004-08).
Andy was chair of the SAMPE UK and Ireland Chapter and co-organiser of several international conferences and a member of the Composites Leadership Forum, responsible for delivery and development of the UK Composites Strategy, reporting to the UK Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
He was also a Director of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. In 2006 he was awarded the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Rosenhain Medal in recognition of distinguished achievement in materials science, and in 2014 was inducted as a SAMPE Fellow for significant contributions in materials and process engineering technology. In 2019 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of St Andrews
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, a position she took up in 2016. During Dame Sally’s tenure, the University attained a historic “double first”, ranking top of the two leading University league tables in the UK: the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 and the Guardian University Guide 2024.
Professor Mapstone is President of Universities UK for the period 2023-25. At a national and international level, Professor Mapstone has also served as the Convener of Universities Scotland, Vice-Chair of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, and as Chair of the International Advisory Board for the University of Helsinki. She is also currently the Chair of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) board and a trustee of the Europaeum.
Before St Andrews, Dame Sally’s career was spent at the University of Oxford, where she was latterly Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education in the University, and Professor of Older Scots Literature in its Faculty of English, as well as a Fellow of St Hilda’s College.
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli
President, Royal Society of Edinburgh
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli is President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was previously Principal and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Glasgow from October 2009. An economist, his research interests are monetary economics, central bank independence, fiscal policy, international finance and macroeconomics. Sir Anton is President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, from 1 April 2025. He is a member of the University Grants Committee, Hong Kong and also Chair of its Research Group. From 2017-2020 he was Chair of the Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities. He has been a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers, a special adviser to the UK House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on monetary policy and has advised the European Commission and the World Bank. He holds honorary degrees from McGill University and Nanka University.
Professor Julie Sanders
Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Royal Holloway, University of London
Julie Sanders is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Royal Holloway University of London and was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost and before that Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Humanities and Social Sciences at Newcastle University. She is a Professor of English Literature and Drama, co-edits a series for Oxford University Press on Early Modern Literary Geographies, and currently serves as a trustee for Shakespeare's Globe in London. She has previously served on the Australian Research Council and has carried out reviews of humanities research and teaching in the U.K., Sweden and Ireland.
Kirsty Walker
Vice-President (External), University College London
Kirsty Walker is UCL’s Vice-President, External Engagement. She took up the role in August 2022 following a successful and wide-ranging career in political communications and journalism, including spending nearly 13 years as a political correspondent based in Westminster. During her reporting career, she covered many world-changing events and travelled with successive British Prime Ministers reporting from places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the White House and the Kremlin. Kirsty is an experienced broadcaster and has appeared as a political commentator on BBC, ITV, Sky and LBC. After leaving journalism, she worked for Westminster-based communications agency iNHouse Communications before joining the civil service as Head of Strategy and Communications, and then Secretariat Director, for the Social Mobility Commission alongside former chair the Rt Hon Alan Milburn. She joined UCL in June 2018 to lead media relations and develop the university’s senior political engagement strategy, including setting up a new public affairs team in 2021.
Professor Evelyn Welch
President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Bristol
Evelyn Welch graduated from Harvard University, receiving her PhD from the Warburg Institute, University of London. She was previously Senior Vice-President for Service, People and Planning at King’s College London, and had been Vice-President (Arts and Sciences) and Provost (Arts and Sciences). She has taught at University of Essex, the Warburg Institute, and held leadership roles at University of Sussex (PVC Teaching and Learning) and Queen Mary, University of London (Dean, Arts and PVC Research and International). As Professor of Renaissance Studies, she has led major research programmes including ‘The Material Renaissance,’ and ‘Beyond Text: Performances, Sounds, Images’. She recently completed a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award for a project on ‘Renaissance Skin’ and has authored numerous books, including Fashioning the Early Modern: Creativity and Innovation in Europe, 1500-1800 (OUP 2017), and Shopping in the Renaissance (Yale 2005), winning the Wolfson Prize for History.