ANNOUNCEMENT - We are delighted to announce the applications are available for the 2025 Foundation Future Leaders Programme. Closing date 18th November. All the details and forms can be found here

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.

2024 sees the fifth cohort of Foundation Future Leaders take part in the programme. Details of Foundation Future Leaders from earlier years can be found as follows:

  • The 2019/20 cohort are here.
  • The 2021 cohort are here.
  • The 2022 cohort are here.
  • The 2023 cohort are here.

The Foundation Future Leaders for 2024 are:

NAME

POSITION

ORGANISATION

Dr Kharmen Billimoria

Lead Researcher

National Measurement Laboratory, LGC

Dr Billy Bryan

Evaluation and Research Leader

RAND Europe

Dr Rosie Cane

Cluster Development Manager

Space Wales

Dr Hamish Cavaye

Johnson Matthey / ISIS Research Fellow

ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, STFC

Dr Césaré Cejas

Co-Founder and VP R&D

MicroFluidX (MFX) Ltd

Dr Liz Cooper

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow

Heriot-Watt University

Ms Danielle Croucher

Policy Lead for Skills and Talent

National Centre for Universities and Business

Dr Lorna Daniels

Senior Policy Advisor

Government Office for Science

Dr Antonia Ford

Research, Relationships, & Commissioning Lead

Ministry of Justice

Mr James Frankland

Lightning Propulsion System Engineering Authority

Ministry of Defence DE&S

Miss Natalia Grzomba

Policy & External Relations Manager

British Science Association

Miss Michelle Hackett

Head of International Fisheries Science

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mr Alex Hale

Advanced Technology Project Lead

National Composites Centre

Mr Lloyd Harriman

Manager, Infrastructure Advisory Group

KPMG UK

Mrs Jennifer Hindson

Senior Scientific Advice Officer

Scottish Government

Dr Rich Howells

Senior Marine Ornithologist

Scottish Government's Marine Directorate

Miss Beccy Hutchinson

Policy & Public Affairs Officer

Catapult Network

Miss Sam Islam

Systems Engineering Consultant

Energy Systems Catapult

Mr Sri Harish Kalidass

Cyber Defence Research Specialist

BT Plc

Dr George Koutsourakis

Senior Scientist

National Physical Laboratory

Mr Nicholas La Bianca

Project Engineer, Hydrogen Combustion

Rolls-Royce plc

Mrs Flavia Levi

Deep Tech Venture Capital Investor

Octopus Ventures

Miss Bethan Matthews

Senior Applied Scientist

AWE

Dr Geoffrey Neale

Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and Lecturer

Cranfield University

Dr Fabrizio Ortu

Associate Professor

School of Chemistry, University of Leicester

Ms Kathryn Page

Associate Director - PR and Communications

Advanced Research Clusters

Dr Christopher Pilgrim

Knowledge Transfer Manager – Materials

Innovate UK KTN

Dr Eike Schneiders

Transitional Assistant Professor

University of Nottingham

Mrs Myriam Telford

Strategic International Analysis Lead

UK Research and Innovation

Dr Mershack Tetteh

Lecturer in Construction Management and Engineering

Aston University

Dr Lauren Josie Thomas

Senior Lecturer in Marketing

University of South Wales

Dr Lauren Thomas-Seale

Senior Lecturer

University of Birmingham

Miss Magda Wolna

Researcher

University of Oxford

Ms Hua Zhong

Associate Professor, London South Bank University and 

Honorary Fellow, University College London

Dr Martina Zimmermann Reader in Health Humanities and Health Sciences King’s College London
Foundation Future Leaders visiting CERN Nov 2023 Foundation Future Leaders in discussion with Lord Willetts, Chair of the Foundation for Science and Technology, during a visit to Parliament, October 2019.
Foundation Future Leaders visiting CERN on November 27th, 2023. Foundation Future Leaders touring Rolls Royce on March 31st, 2022.

Foundation Future Leaders during a visit to Parliament, June 2023.

Visiting the Harwell Science Campus, 2023.

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.

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 2024 Foundation Future Leaders Programme is partly sponsored by AIRTO (the Association for Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations) and Advanced Research Clusters. The Foundation for Science and Technology gratefully acknowledges their support.