Team

Prof. Stephen Hicks teaches at Rockford University and directs the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. An accomplished academic and philosopher, he has authored six books and a documentary addressing free speech in academia and the philosophy of education.

Chris is the founder of the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), the first new independent higher education institution in the UK since the 1960s. As a visionary entrepreneur with a history of successful exits, he brings invaluable expertise to The School of Innovation, particularly in fundraising, accreditation, team building, and student recruitment.

James serves as the vice president of Kahoot! at Work and is a venture partner at Emerge Education. With 25 years of experience in leading digital products at major organisations such as the BBC and ITV, he played a key role in growing Kahoot! from pre-revenue to post-IPO, with a strong emphasis on people and company culture.

Dr. Englard serves as the registrar at LIS, where he successfully led the team in securing degree awarding powers, enabling the institution to award its own degrees. He has founded and managed two charities, holds a PhD from Cambridge, and teaches elective modules at LIS.

Naga brings over 38 years of experience in institution building, teaching, and academic leadership. His expertise spans strategic planning, operational management, curriculum development, and regulatory compliance within UK higher education.

Katherine is a senior education & policy researcher at the Edge Foundation, leading the Innovative Higher Education Network. She conducts research on educational innovations, focusing on new universities established since HERA 2017.

James is a venture partner at Emerge Education and the CEO of Arbor Education, which provides an intuitive management information system for schools. With over £40 million raised for ventures in the education sector, his expertise is highly valuable to The School of Innovation.

Alvaro is the founder of Minds Studio, providing strategic advice to new universities worldwide. As co-founder of Paz.AI, a tech talent incubator for refugees, and head of growth at Skills Matter, he leverages his expertise in data, marketing, and design to drive business expansion and lead effective teams.

Nick is the CEO of Shackleton Consulting, previously holding roles at Siemens, BBC, BP, and Deloitte. As the former chief learning officer at Deloitte UK, he authored How People Learn and is dedicated to improving employee performance through innovative learning strategies.

Javier is a partner at ThePower Education, an online course provider based in Madrid. He specialises in lifelong learning and employability, working with universities to align educational offerings with the evolving labour market through programmes in AI, digital marketing, and coding.

Jaime is the co-founder of inaglobe, which is transforming higher education by offering fellowships that teach social innovation to aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs. His insights have significantly shaped The School of Innovation's strategy for delivering impactful, real-world projects for students.

Dr. Emma is a Mental Health Innovations fellow at Imperial College London, holding a DPhil in Computational Neuroscience from Oxford. She serves as chair of trustees at It Gets Brighter, a charity dedicated to supporting young people facing mental health challenges.

Sarah holds degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard. With over a decade at The School of Life, where she specialised in research and learning design, she is ideally positioned to enhance The School of Innovation's life curriculum and integrated learning design approach.

Dr. Whitley is a professor of psychiatry at McGill University and a researcher at the Douglas Research Centre. With a passion for mental health, he has authored over 150 academic papers and actively contributes to policy development across various countries, including the UK.

Harry is the co-founder of Caribbean Elective, an organisation that designs and delivers programmes for schools, colleges, and universities focused on supporting causes in the Caribbean. His dedication to education and social impact aligns perfectly with The School of Innovation's mission.

Dr. Michael serves as the research development manager at Imperial College London, previously holding the position of research strategy coordinator at The University of Manchester. His deep expertise in research and staffing strategy has been instrumental in shaping key decisions at The School of Innovation.

James is a two-time founder, active investor, and the AI and Web3 lead at Google. His extensive expertise in emerging technologies and startup investment significantly enhances fundraising and AI implementation efforts at The School of Innovation.

Samuel, who holds a doctorate in early American history from Columbia University, has lectured at various colleges and hosts the podcast "Historiansplaining." His research on the history of universities is especially relevant to the establishment of new institutions like The School of Innovation.

Yasmin holds an MSc in Educational Psychology from the University of Coimbra and is currently completing a Master’s at LIS. Her role at Systems Innovation further enhances her university and professional experience, making her expertise highly relevant to The School of Innovation.

Myles made history as the youngest participant on BBC Dragons' Den at just 18, securing investment for his company, Haze Cards. Since then, he has successfully raised additional funding rounds and is well-equipped to advise on The School of Innovation's fundraising strategy.

Nigel is the former global permanent manager at Apple, where he was responsible for overseeing an expenditure of $400 million. He currently serves as an accredited assessor for the UK Government Commercial Function (GCF) initiative, led by the Cabinet Office.