Category: 2022 Delegate

Professor Michael Fitzpatrick is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engineering, Environment and Computing) for the Coventry University Group, where he oversees the provision at the main Faculty campus in Coventry; the CU Group sites in Coventry, Scarborough, and East London, and the London Campus; and the trans-national education provision with our global partners. He is the lead for the establishment of collaborative links and joint activities with Universities in North America. He also holds the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Chair of Structural Integrity and Systems Performance. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Scientist, and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

His research centres around the application of advanced experimental methods to materials engineering applications, particularly in the nuclear power and aerospace industries. He has been a user of the international neutron and synchrotron X-ray facilities for over 20 years. He has published over 250 research papers. He was the recipient of the Lidstone Medal of The Welding Institute in 2009; and the Tom Bell Surface Engineering Medal of the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining in 2020.

Michael is a Non-Executive Director of Diamond Light Source Ltd, the UK’s synchrotron X-ray facility; and a Non-Executive Director of Feraru Dynamics Ltd, a University spin-out company developing wearable technologies for preventative safety in the manufacturing and construction industries.

Kai-Uwe Sattler leads the Database and Information Systems group at the Department of Computer Science and Automation of the TU Ilmenau, Germany. He received his Diploma (M.Sc.) in Computer Science from the University of Magdeburg, Germany. In 1998, he received his Ph.D. in Computer Science (magna cum laude) from the same university.

From 1998 to September 2003 he was a member of the Database research group (head: Prof. Gunter Saake) at the University of Magdeburg. From October 2001 until March 2002, he worked as a visiting assistant professor at the UC Davis, U.S.A. During summer term 2002 he held a replacement professorship at the TU Dresden and during winter term 2002/3 at the University of Halle.
In June 2003, he received his Habilitation (venia legendi) in Computer Science from the University of Magdeburg. He joined the Department of Computer Science and Automation of the TU Ilmenau in October 2003 as Professor.

Kai-Uwe Sattler served as Dean of the Department from 2011 to 2017. From June 2017 to 2020 he serves as Vice President for Research. In December 2020 he was elected as President of the TU Ilmenau. Currently, he is also the coordinator of the priority program “Scalable Data Management for Future Hardware (SPP 2037)” funded by the DFG.

Dr.Warinthorn Songkasiri currently holds a position of Vice President for Research Strategy of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, Thailand. She is a principal researcher and a lab head at the Excellent Center of Waste Utilization and Management (ECoWaste), National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC). She received the Royal Thai Government to pursue her B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1997, M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in 1998, and Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University in 2003 from the US. She has been working in the environmental and renewable energy areas. Her research interests include agro- and food-process optimization. She was a co-founder of the program called Starch Engineering and Process Optimization (SEPO) program, which incorporate the university-public-private partnership program. Further, she works on anaerobic digestion for biogas production as renewable energy especially in the cassava starch industry. She was participating in several EU projects on knowledge and technology transfer.

Professor Mansoor Alaali has served as the President of Ahlia University since 2015. He holds a BSc from the University of Teesside (UK), an MSc in Computer Science, and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge-Based Systems from Aston University in Birmingham (UK).

His research interests span applied computer science, data mining, algorithms, artificial intelligence, university governance and ethics. Among his recent publications are two books: “Artificial Minds and Digital Souls: AI and the Future of Humanity” and “Success Through the Soul: Building Confidence”.

Professor Mansoor is an editor and reviewer for several international peer-reviewed journals and a regular keynote speaker at global conferences. He holds memberships in multiple professional bodies and has delivered numerous workshops and seminars in both technical and non-technical areas, including strategic planning and information technology.

Previously, he has developed innovative technical solutions and provided consultancy services to various international and local organisations.

Professor Mansoor advocates for a renewed perspective on higher education in the Arab world, believing that reform is essential to empower future generations and uplift societies.

Under his leadership, Ahlia University has achieved significant milestones in local and international accreditation, advancing both research and educational excellence.

His recent intellectual pursuits focus on human philosophy and expanding the frontiers of knowledge.

A senior leader with a background in strategy development, collaborative working and knowledge management. At Coventry University Jo is the institutional lead on national and international policy engagement. She is responsible for coordinating our engagement with relevant bodies, national regulatory bodies and HE networks such as University Alliance and the World Technology Universities Network (WTUN). Through her work she has a wide network of HE, industry and policy contacts. Jo has led on a number of organisational change programmes within the university, the two most significant involved (i) establishing two new professional services departments to support our growing research aspirations, as well as our continued engagement with industry and (ii) the launch of a formal Location Independent Working programme. She is a CMI accredited coach and supports colleagues with their personal development through our university’s coaching and mentoring academy. Jo strongly believes that collaborative working is key to economic and societal growth and that the Higher Education sector has a key role as a catalyst for collaboration. Experience: HE policy in the UK; developing business cases for investment; chairing and facilitation of large and small groups; public speaking; networking and building influence; project management; public funding bid writing and development; flexible working practices; business-university collaboration; public funded research and enterprise programmes; business and enterprise support; managing complex budgets; information and knowledge management.

Professor Vishanth Weerakkody is Associate Dean of International and Enterprise at the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences and Chair of Bradford Business and Social Enterprise Board. He was formally Dean of Faculty and is a Professor of Digital Governance in the School of Management at the University of Bradford. Before moving to the University of Bradford, he held various senior management roles at Brunel Business School.

His current research and teaching are multidisciplinary and centred around public sector policy implementation, process transformation through digital technologies, social innovation and the implementation, diffusion, and adoption of disruptive technologies in society. Focusing on the evolving role of technology, Prof Weerakkody closely follows and critiques digital-enabled service transformation efforts in government that fail to deliver public value and meet citizens’ expectations. He was called to the House of Commons in 2018 as a scientific expert to provide evidence on UK’s digital transformation efforts in public administration. His passion for solving societal problems through research and innovation has allowed him to attract over £25 million of R&D funding over the last few years from the EU, ESRC, Qatar Foundation, British Council and UK Local Government.

As a research-active academic, Prof Weerakkody continues to publish in the Chartered Association of Business Schools 3* and 4* journals. Prior to joining academia, Prof Weerakkody worked in several multinational organisations including BAT Industries and IBM.

Peter Scharff is the former president of TU Ilmenau, Germany since 2004 and is currently a Professor of Chemistry. Before he was the Director of Physical Institute and Head of the Department of Chemistry. Peter received his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the Technical University Clausthal, Germany and his Habilitation (venia legendi) in Inorganic Chemistry from the same institution. Before joining the TU Ilmenau in 1998, he served as a Visiting Professor at Nicolas Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. His research interests consist of preparative carbon chemistry and electrochemistry. He has published nearly 300 papers in international journals. He is member of head of German Exchange Service (DAAD) and fellow of the Academy of Useful Sciences in Erfurt. Peter was awarded several Dres h.c., as well as several Prof. h.c. He was awarded honorary member of senate of TU Ilmenau in 2021.

Prof Scharff is the former Chair of the World Technology Network (2020-2023).

 

Issra Pramoolsook received his PhD from the University of Warwick and is currently an associate professor of applied linguistics and English language teaching at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), Thailand. He is also a senior fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy.

Apart from his academic works, he has been serving Professor Wichit Srisa-an, Chairman of SUT Council, since 2009 as his secretary assisting him with international affairs and cooperation of the university. This responsibility allows him opportunities to collaborate with a range of international higher education organisations, such as World Association for Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education (WACE), Association for Universities in Asia and the Pacific (AUAP), and International Association of Universities (IAU). He is also the international liaison officer of the Thai Association for Cooperative Education (TACE).

Professor Melo has been Rector of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte since May 2019. Before that, he held the positions of Vice Rector (2015-2019) and Dean of the School of Engineering and Architecture (2011-2015). Prof. Melo received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University (2002), M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine (1993), and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering (1990) and in Civil Engineering (1997) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. He was Visiting Scholar at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Stanford University from 2008 to 2019. Prof. Melo has worked in the field of Composite Materials for over 30 years. His main research interests and contributions are in design and mechanical characterization of polymer composites. In this area, he advised many graduate students, published three books and numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals and international conference proceedings. Prof. Melo is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites.