University Executive Board
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University Executive Board
Professor Amanda Broderick (Vice-Chancellor and President)
An eminent social scientist, Professor Amanda Broderick joined University of East London as Vice-Chancellor and President in September 2018.
Professor Broderick was previously Chief Executive Officer at Newcastle University London and has held Chairs in International Business and Marketing at multiple institutions in the UK, and Visiting Chairs internationally. She has a strong leadership track record and rare insight into a cross-section of strategic groupings of Universities.
Before moving to Newcastle University, she was Pro-Vice Chancellor (International Priorities) and founding Executive Dean of the College of Business & Law, University of Salford; Principal of St. Cuthbert's Society (a Durham University College) and Deputy Dean of Durham Business School. She also led the development of the disruptive 'challenger institution' - University Academy 92, founded by the Class of '92 and Lancaster University and launched in September 2017.
Her leadership track record highlights her expertise in strategy development and execution; strong financial management and business planning; global education innovation; business partnership development; and, turn-around change management. She holds an entre- and intrapreneurial skill set and in-depth knowledge of alternative educational models and new business ventures in both charitable and for-profit environments.
An award-winning researcher, her expertise lies in the fields of international business, marketing psychology and strategic communications with particular application to the digital and social business agendas. Her research has appeared in many leading business journals and she has authored two seminal texts in her field.
Professor Broderick provides strategic and academic leadership for the University, with overall responsibility for 1,300 members of staff and 17,000 students, spread across campuses in London Docklands and Stratford.
Dean Curtis (Deputy Vice-Chancellor)
Dean Curtis joined University of East London as Chief Finance Officer in February 2018. His responsibilities include ensuring financial viability of the University as well as the management of the finance, estates, information technology and sports functions.
Dean is a qualified chartered public finance accountant. He commenced his career in local government on a Youth Training Scheme before becoming a trainee accountant and qualifying in the National Health Service.
During his time at the NHS he was the Director of Finance of three London NHS Trusts and worked for the NHS Executive appraising substantial investment cases for new hospital developments, most notably at Saint Bartholomew's and Royal London Hospitals.
In 2000, he joined Queen Mary, University of London, as Director of Finance and Planning before becoming the Chief Administrative Officer in 2007.
In 2012, he was appointed Chief Strategy Officer, concentrating on implementing transnational education projects in China and Malta and on a distance-learning platform. He also led on ensuring local planning policy on the redevelopment of Whitechapel supported the implementation of a life science strategy.
Professor Hassan Abdalla (Provost)
Professor Hassan Abdalla joined University of East London in 2011 as Dean of the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering. He has more than 20 years of experience in both academia and industry.
From 2009 to 2011, Hassan was Dean of College of Design at the University of Sharjah. Prior to that, he was Head of the Leicester School of Architecture and Spatial Design at De Montfort University Leicester.
He is an international authority in the fields of sustainability, smart/future cities, engineering design, Artificial Intelligence in design and factories of the future. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce; Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers; and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He was appointed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as an academic assessor for TEF2 and more recently as a TEF panel member for TEF3.
He is the author and co-author of over 100 papers published in high-impact journals and conferences worldwide. He has secured several millions of pounds for research projects from the European Union, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and industry. Most recently, he was the EU coordinator for the FP7 'Pan-European Data Centre Academy' project jointly with 12 companies and universities from across Europe. He is currently leading cutting-edge research jointly with Ford Motor Company and IBM. Hassan also serves on the Advisory Professorial Board of several universities overseas. For further information, please see Hassan's staff profile.
Professor Matt Bellgard (Pro-Vice Chancellor Impact & Innovation)
Professor Bellgard drives research, impact and innovation at the University of East London.
He joined the University in March 2023, bringing with him extensive experience in higher education and leadership roles in research internationally. He was Queensland University of Technology’s inaugural eResearch Director (2018-2023), where he successfully created and implemented a university-wide research-led digital strategy.
Professor Bellgard also leads the industry on design and development of digital health solutions. His interest in universal care, diversity and inclusion, drove him to become inaugural Chair of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Rare Disease (RD) Network (2017– 2022) that oversaw the development of the APEC RD Action Plan, endorsed by all 21 APEC governments, to support around 200 million individuals living with a rare disease in the Asia Pacific region.
His has also led the data roadmap strategy for the development of Queensland’s largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service, to ensure healthcare systems are fit for purpose and to improve the quality of healthcare provision.
From 2005-2018 Professor Bellgard was the Inaugural Director of the Western Australian State Government Centre of Excellence (CoE), the Centre for Comparative Genomics (CCG). Under his leadership, the CCG attracted $51 million (AUD) in funding and delivered to the needs of industry and government in the areas of health, drug development, agriculture, bio- and food- security, food nutrition, mining, radio astronomy, remote sensing and the environment. From 2003-2018, he was a professor and Foundation Chair of Bioinformatics at Murdoch University.
Professor Bellgard began his career as a computer scientist, earning first class honours and a PhD from the University of Western Australia in machine learning and artificial intelligence, applied to classical music. His research areas cover a wide scope, including genomics, bioinformatics, health informatics, AI, machine learning, biosecurity, eResearch, remote sensing, and radio astronomy. Read Matt's staff profile.
Professor Bugewa Apampa (Pro-Vice Chancellor Education & Experience)
Professor Bugewa Apampa joined University of East London in July 2021 as Dean of the Office for Institutional Equity, with a remit to advance an inclusive, equitable, respectful and anti-racist environment for all. She has provided strategic oversight for institutional equity, with her responsibilities encompassing leading a programme of training, engagement and practice improvement activities to foster equity and promote success. As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education & Experience, her focus will pivot towards embedding a student-ready philosophy that supports the development of a nurturing, empathetic and collaborative learning environment to empower students to positively engage and succeed in their studies.
Bugewa is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and a registered pharmacist with a BPharm (First Class) in Pharmacy from the University of Benin, Nigeria. Following completion of a PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Manchester, she embarked on a 12-year career in pharmacy practice culminating in her appointment by Welwyn Hatfield Primary Care Trust as Project Director responsible for the implementation of the pharmacy contract.
In 2005, she joined the Medway School of Pharmacy, Universities of Kent & Greenwich, stepping up to the Deputy Head of School and Director of Learning & Teaching roles within 2 years. In 2013, she was appointed Director of Pharmacy at the University of Sussex, with a responsibility to establish a new Master of Pharmacy course; a year later she took on the additional role of Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Life Sciences. In both institutions, with a vision that the transformative power of education can be unleashed through a systematic and evidence-based design of teaching, learning and assessments, she led the design and development of outcomes-focused, integrated core curricula for Pharmacy based on Pareto’s principle of ‘focusing on the vital few, and ignoring the trivial many’. Joining Birmingham City University in 2019, in the Access and Participation space, she accrued wide-ranging experiences of working with staff and students across faculties, on interventions designed to ensure that disadvantaged students, many of whom are from Global Majority backgrounds, realise the benefits of Higher Education.
She is one of 41 Black (African/Caribbean, 2023) British female professors in the UK and was featured in Phenomenal Women- portraits of Black female professors in the UK in 2020. Her work has been recognised with awards such as the University of Kent Faculty of Science Teaching Prize (2012) and the University of Sussex Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for outstanding and innovative undergraduate teaching (2017). In March 2021, the University Alliance named Bugewa as one of the Inspirational Women of the Alliance.
Dr Paul Marshall (Pro-Vice-Chancellor Careers & Enterprise)
Dr. Paul Marshall took up the role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Careers and Enterprise) in May 2019. Paul champions, develops and leads the delivery of the University's Vision 2028 'Future Professional' strategic objective. The vision will address industry and community skills gaps and deliver an increase in the diversity and inclusion of those 'employment prepared', and the co-production (with industry) of a 'showcase' skills gap solution.
A graduate of the University of Sussex (PhD, MA, BA (Hons)), he has 25 years' experience of working in the higher education sector, most recently serving for five years as a Board member of UPP, the UK's largest provider of campus student accommodation and specialist residential services.
He previously served as Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools and the Executive Director of the 1994 Group of Universities. Paul has held numerous advisory positions within the UK Government. In 2013, he engaged the support of the Prime Minister's Advisory on Enterprise, Lord Young of Graffham, to establish the Small Business Charter.
Paul is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and the Institute of Directors and a former judge of the Times Higher Awards. In 2018 he was appointed by Kirsty Williams, AM, Cabinet Member for Education, Welsh Government, to the inaugural Board of the National Academy for Educational Leadership, Wales. He is a member of the Universities UK International Transnational Education Advisory Board, and the Strategic Advisory Board of the Loughborough University, School of Business and Economics.
Jim Benson (University Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer)
Jim Benson joined University of East London as University Secretary in June 2020. His responsibilities include governance, legal services and the full range of compliance activities.
Jim has spent over 30 years in higher education which has included being a Students' Union President, a civil servant as an advisor on the approval of teacher training, Head of Registry and Head of Student Services at London South Bank University. He took a break from higher education to lead the review of higher specialist training at the three Royal Colleges of Physicians between 1998 and 2007.
In 2018, after 11 years as University Secretary at Brunel University, he took the opportunity to undertake relief work in Africa, and social inclusion work in the UK-the latter as a Trustee at the Rio Ferdinand Foundation. Prior to joining UEL Jim was engaged by the LSE to recruit and train a new governance team and also led governance work at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, the Worshipful Company of Apothecaries, Ravensbourne University, and Rose Bruford College.
Jim holds a BA in Social Science from Goldsmiths’ University of London and several legal and governance qualifications. He is a qualified arbitrator and mediator from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and CEDR respectively.
Vanessa Varvas (Chief Marketing Officer)
Vanessa Varvas joined the University of East London in October 2018 as Director of Marketing and Student Recruitment and progressed to Chief Marketing Officer in March 2019. She leads the External Relations Directorate which has responsibility for Communications & Engagement and Marketing and Student Recruitment, bringing these disciplines into one integrated customer-facing team.
Vanessa has had experience in transforming organisations, developing and implementing strategic plans in established and start-up environments and extensive international experience with a global outlook and managing a matrix of key stakeholders.
Before joining the University of East London, Vanessa was Director of External Relations at the Newcastle University London, launching the London campus. Before that she was Head of the International Office at the University of West London following several appointments in a range of higher education institutions and service industries, including in China.
She is a member of Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR Accredited Practitioner) and Institute of Directors (IoD). In addition, she has an MSc in Chinese Language, Business and International Relations from the University of Sheffield, a PG Diploma in Public Relations from CIPR and a BSc degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science from the University of Guelph, Canada.
Vanessa is a keen advocate for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the power of physical activity and sport. She is also the Executive Sponsor for the UEL LGBTQ+ staff network.
Sophie Bowen (Chief Student Officer)
Sophie Bowen joined the university in August 2023. As Chief Student Officer she champions, develops and leads our transformation programme covering all aspects of how we support our students and the applicant and student journey, and jointly leads on our Education and Experience sub-strategy. She is responsible for the professional services in the CSO Group encompassing Student Services; Library, Archive and Learning Services; Academic Registry; East London Sport; Dean of Students and our partnership with East London Students’ Union.
Sophie brings over twenty-five years experience working in Higher Education at a number of different universities including leadership roles at the University of Birmingham, St George’s, University of London, and most recently Middlesex University where she was Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Officer for Students & University Registrar.
In addition, Sophie has dedicated ten years on the Executive of AHUA, the representative body for university professional services leaders, initially as Convenor of the London Group and most recently as Honorary Treasurer and she was on the HESA Board working closely on the merger with JISC.
She is the first in her family to go to university, graduating from the University of Oxford with a BA and MPhil (Research) in Sociology and has an MBA from the Open University.
