FUTURE LEADERS
Future leaders in science, technology, research and innovation need not only knowledge of the sector they are in – be it higher education, industry, the civil service or elsewhere – but also an understanding of the other parts of the UK’s research and innovation system. The Foundation Future Leaders Programme seeks to support the leaders of tomorrow in building the links and knowledge that they will need.
The programme brings together a cohort of around 30 mid-career professionals over the course of a year, with approximately 10 representatives each from the research community, industry, and the civil service and wider public sector. Over a 12-month period, the group meet and discuss with senior figures from government, parliament, universities, large industry, SMEs, research charities and others. Just as importantly, Future Leaders present their own expertise, develop skills and make future contacts. The programme includes external visits and the development of an annual conference for a wider group of mid-career future leaders in science, technology, research and innovation.
The first year of the programme ran 2019-2020, and culminated in an online conference in November 2020 with keynote speakers including the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Sir Patrick Vallance, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell. Details of the 2019/20 cohort can be found here.
The 2021 cohort were selected via an open competition at the end of 2020, which drew a large number of high-quality applicants.
The Foundation Future Leaders for 2021 are:
| Dr Zainab Ahdash | UCB pharmaceuticals |
| Samera Aslam | Ministry of Justice |
| Nick Bennett | Defence Equipment & Support |
| Dr Nat Brittain | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office |
| Dr Alex Brogan | King’s College London |
| Dr Delphine Byford | Ministry of Defence |
| Manuela Cecconi | McLaren Automotive |
| Dr Alice Cheung | Queen's University Belfast |
| Dr Linda Cremonesi | Queen Mary University of London |
| Balazs Csuvar | DG Cities |
| Dr Mariastefania De Vido | UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council |
| Dr Pelin Demirel | Imperial College London |
| Giulia Farro | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
| Dr Neil Gaspar | AWE plc |
| Dr Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay | University of Glasgow |
| Dr Izzy Jayasinghe | University of Sheffield |
| Dr Sandy Knowles | University of Birmingham |
| Rory Miles | Centre for Enzyme Innovation (University of Portsmouth) |
| Dr Andrew Morris | National Oceanography Centre |
| Dr Ajit Nayak | University of Southampton |
| Vicky Newman | Matrix |
| Dr Tomasina Oh | University of Plymouth |
| Dr Daniel Osei-Bordom | University of Birmingham/ University Hospital Birmingham |
| Dr Sophoclis Patsias | Rolls-Royce |
| Dr Alex Poulton | Lyell Centre, Herriot Watt University |
| Eugenio Renedo | National Physical Laboratory |
| John-Patrick Richardson | National Nuclear Laboratory |
| Dr Sarah L Roberts | University of Bristol |
| Dr Sally Rouse | Marine Scotland Science, Scottish Government |
| Louise Sanger | Lloyd’s Register Foundation |
| Dr Carlanne Stone | Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) |
| Dr Cristiana Vagnoni | Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology |
| Dan Veal | National Physical Laboratory |
| Dr Jennifer Wallace | The Manufacturing Technology Centre |
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Foundation Future Leaders in discussion with Lord Willetts, Chair of FST, during a visit to Parliament, October 2019. |
Visiting the Diamond Synchrotron, Harwell Science Campus, December 2019. |
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At RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments), Culham Science Centre, December 2019. |
Meeting of the Foundation Future Leaders at the Royal Society in London, February 2020. |
The 2021 Foundation Future Leaders Programme is partly sponsored by AIRTO (the Association for Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations). The Foundation for Science and Technology gratefully acknowledges their support.
