Simon Goldsmith is Head of Sustainability at the University of Greenwich. He works with colleagues across and outside the institution to help embed environmental sustainability into all aspects of university life, and to support the strategic goal of the University of Greenwich being a recognised leader in this field by 2030.

Simon explores various strategic initiatives that the University is progressing, discusses the different opportunities at the 3 different campuses, and reflects upon the importance of partnerships. He also shares how each of us can make a difference to creating a more sustainable society, and why working in sustainability can be such a positive career choice.

This episode is kindly sponsored by SEAtS One. SEAtS One is a unified platform that helps universities make data-driven decisions to improve student success, retention, and compliance. From monitoring attendance to streamlining workflows and reducing operational costs, SEAtS offer a single, easy-to-use solution for managing student engagement, wellbeing, and institutional efficiency.

My guest in this episode is Steph Glen. Steph has been a Higher Education professional since 2007, initially working her way through a series of progressively senior roles in Timetabling including nearly 10 years at the University of Nottingham, and since December 2024 holding the newly created strategic role of Head of Teaching Space Operations at UCL, the UK’s largest university.

In this episode, I find out from Steph about the significant impact she has made within her career so far to improve the student experience, and the strategic focus she places on building collaborative relationships with colleagues to help break down some of the challenges that exist in HEIs about use of space. 

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This episode is kindly sponsored by SEAtS One. SEAtS One is a unified platform that helps universities make data-driven decisions to improve student success, retention, and compliance. From monitoring attendance to streamlining workflows and reducing operational costs, SEAtS offer a single, easy-to-use solution for managing student engagement, wellbeing, and institutional efficiency.

Jenny Jenkin and Tessa Harrsion have each had 25 year+ careers in Higher Education, and both held registrar positions at various institutions.

During the past few years, they have each forged new career directions outside universities but still working with HE. The episode explores the motivation for change and how they have experienced their transitions.

They also reflect upon the similarities and differences they now find in comparison with institutional life, as well as thoughts about the current and future direction of Higher Education.

This podcast is kindly sponsored by Ellucian Student powered by Banner.

Ellucian Student is the modern AI powered SaaS solution purpose-built for Higer Education, empowering your institution to seamlessly connect people, processes and applications.

By choosing Ellucian you choose a winning combination of global and regional expertise.

My guest in this episode is Anna Quinn, Head of Student Services at the University of Northampton. In addition to leading her large team, Anna contributes to the strategic development of the University such as its bid for the University Mental Health Charter and work on student suicide prevention. She also talks in this episode about the work she has led since 2017 on addressing sexual misconduct, and the grounding this has offered the University in addressing new Office for Students requirements. Anna also shares her reflections on leadership development and the future direction of Student Services. 

This episode is kindly sponsored by The Consent Collective, an expert-led training organisation trusted by universities across the UK to deliver impactful education on consent and the prevention of sexual harassment. Founded by psychologist Dr Nina Burrowes, their content goes beyond the basics, helping universities engage students and staff with learning that is impactful, relevant, and genuinely thought-provoking. Find out more at consentcollective.com

My guest in this episode is Gemma Kenyon, Director of Careers and Employability at City St George’s University of London. Gemma shares more about her role and how she has successfully directed and embedded a student employability and career focus into institutional life. We talk about how she and her team have gone about collaborating successfully with academic colleagues to achieve this goal, how work is prioritised to best support student success and what the future focus of careers and employability might hold. We also discuss Gemma’s career to date – including navigating being a young leader – and the skills she has developed along the way.

This episode is kindly sponsored by Unitemps – a University-owned, campus-based recruitment service which allows universities to streamline their internal departmental recruitment whilst addressing key HE challenges. By partnering with Unitemps, Universities can offer students and graduates a range of job opportunities both on campus and with local businesses. The Unitemps service allows students to secure meaningful part-time work alongside their studies, provides financial support during the cost of living crisis, enhances their overall student experience and improves graduate employability. 

This episode is kindly sponsored by Gatenby Sanderson, the UK’s leadership expert. We partner with universities to find and place exceptional HE leaders and develop their teams – improving leadership performance, inclusivity and accelerating change.

This Leadership Reflections mini-series is kindly sponsored by Minerva. Minerva is an executive search firm that supports universities in making senior executive appointments across academic and professional service roles and also in recruiting to university council and interim positions. Minerva helps individuals enrich their careers and take on roles that fulfil their potential.

Professor Pip Beard is Professor of Viral Pathology and Head of the School of Life Sciences at Keele University. Pip took her up post as Head of School following the initial part of her career in practice and subsequently in research institutes, and she continues to hold a national and international government advisory role in her professional field.

In this episode, Pip reflects upon taking up a Head of School role and how she has found the first two years in post.  She considers the value of leadership development programmes she undertook prior to her university appointment, and reflects upon how she has found the transition of parking much of her research activity while she leads her school. We also discuss how she has navigated being a female leader in various male dominated environments.

This Leadership Reflections mini-series is kindly sponsored by Minerva. Minerva is an executive search firm that supports universities in making senior executive appointments across academic and professional service roles and also in recruiting to university council and interim positions. Minerva helps individuals enrich their careers and take on roles that fulfil their potential.

My guest in this episode is Jim Irving, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students and Governance) at Southampton Solent University, who has developed his higher education career over the past 25 years across a series of progressively senior professional services posts. 

Jim reflects on his leadership path so far and delves into a range of topics including what motivated him to pursue a career in Higher Education leadership, successfully navigating relationships across an institution and how he’s responded to times that have been professionally tough. He also discusses the art of leading through influence, and the importance of supporting emerging leaders of the future.

This Leadership Reflections mini-series is kindly sponsored by Minerva. Minerva is an executive search firm that supports universities in making senior executive appointments across academic and professional service roles and also in recruiting to university council and interim positions. Minerva helps individuals enrich their careers and take on roles that fulfil their potential.

My guest in this episode of the Leadership Reflections mini-series is Professor Randall S Whittaker, Principal and CEO of Rose Bruford College, one of the UK's leading specialist performing arts Higher Education Institutions. 

As a renowned figure for his work on representation and diversity, Randall reflects upon his leadership journey including what he has learnt along the way, how creativity forms a core part of his leadership approach and why engaging with the wider sector is so important for career development and establishing a voice. He also considers the instrumental role of specialist institutions as part of a diverse HE sector, and the significant impact that creative graduates have on the well-being of our society and economy. 

This Leadership Reflections mini-series is kindly sponsored by Minerva. Minerva is an executive search firm that supports universities in making senior executive appointments across academic and professional service roles and also in recruiting to university council and interim positions. Minerva helps individuals enrich their careers and take on roles that fulfil their potential.