Professor Ebdon has been the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education since 1 September 2012 until April 2018. He was previously Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire. That followed an illustrious career in analytical chemistry, including more than 250 publications and several awards. Professor Ebdon obtained his PhD at Imperial College, London, then lectured at Makerere University in Uganda and Sheffield Hallam University, before becoming Reader in Analytical Chemistry at what is now the University of Plymouth. He was promoted to a personal chair in 1986, became Head of Environmental Sciences in 1989 and then, in the same year, Deputy Director. He was promoted to Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) in 1992. He remained in that position until 2003, when he was appointed Vice Chancellor at the University of Luton and became Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire on its creation in 2006. Professor Ebdon was awarded a CBE in 2009 for services to local and national higher education and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire in 2011. Since 2013 he has been listed as one of Britain’s 500 Most Influential People by Debrett’s and in 2018 recieved a knighthood for his services to higher education.

Emma is an internationally recognised expert in access, participation and student services programme strategy, development and delivery. Emma has worked in the higher education sector in the United Kingdom and Australia. She has significant expertise and a proven track record in advising and supporting institutions at the highest level in areas of development particularly relating to access and participation, including Office for Students regulation. Emma has a significant record of advocacy for improved practice in the field of widening access and participation and is experienced in leading and managing careers and employability portfolios, and developing student experience and success agendas across the student journey (outreach and recruitment, success and progression).

Emma is also an experienced practitioner and strategist in schools and community engagement and programme development. She provides advice and mentorship to school leadership teams, and has developed curriculum- and Gatsby Career Benchmarks-linked development programmes for school careers and education agendas.

Julian developed and managed the Widening Participation Research and Evaluation Unit at the University of Sheffield from its inception in 2012. Prior to this he spent 10 years as a University Admissions Manager. Julian has extensive experience of developing and implementing evaluation and research projects, with a particular focus on widening access and participation and student success initiatives. Following his first academic career researching contemporary American Literature, Julian’s expertise and research areas are evaluation, widening participation and social mobility. Julian is currently reading his Doctorate in Education, focusing on the epistemology of evaluation.

Julian is an experienced speaker and presenter and is often asked to present or act as a critical friend for HE providers and third sector organisations. He has carried out OfS-commissioned research into the evaluation of outreach activity for pre-16-year olds and is currently part of a project team building evaluation capacity for National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) partnerships.

Julian is the Associate Director of Specialist Evidence, Evaluation and Research (SEER), a collaborative higher education partnership focused on evidence, evaluation and research services for small, specialist and newly registering providers. Julian particularly values working with small and specialist HE providers to develop and deliver effective research and evaluation projects that guide more diverse and under-represented students into specialist higher education and support success and graduate outcomes.

Frances joined the Applied Inspiration team in May 2020, and now heads up the Applied Inspiration Research and Evaluation Unit. Focusing on medium-large-scale research and evaluation projects for our SEER members, Frances also manages our wider research delivery across the sector and with other public and third sector partners.

Frances completed her PhD in 2020 at the University of Bath, where she held an ESRC-studentship. Her PhD research was with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK. Frances has also conducted research and consultancy for the University of Bristol on widening participation and has published on the experiences of non-traditional learners in Higher Education. She previously taught at both University of Bristol and University of Bath including modules on sociological perspectives to community engagement, qualitative and quantitative methods, and migration policy. Previously, Frances worked as a qualified secondary school teacher in schools in London and Bristol, specializing in English, literacy and numeracy, and behaviour intervention.

Antony is a bioscientist and an educational developer who has spent much of his 20-year and counting long academic career designing university models of teaching and learning – like the award-nominated UWL Flex, and leading the development of curricula and staff, and the impact evaluation on student learning, engagement, and experience of institutional initiatives aimed at enhancing teaching quality and student success.

His areas of specialist interest and expertise range from the design and evaluation of blended and flexible learning curricula to measuring learning gain.

Antony is a national assessor for Advance HE of the end-point assessment of teaching- and research-specialist L7 academic professional apprenticeships, external reviewer of UKPSF-based teaching recognition schemes, and consultant on the design and development of institutional taught programmes and CPD frameworks in teaching and learning for staff.

Apart from leading and teaching on under- and postgraduate courses in biosciences (and receiving multiple nominations by his students for best lecturer awards), he has spent more than a decade now teaching HE pedagogy and practice, including education research methods and practitioner research, at the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool, QMUL, and UWL.

Antony’s role as the Development Manager at SEER focuses on coordinating and leading cross-partner research projects into access and participation-enhancing approaches, as well as the methods for evaluating such approaches.

Emily is an experienced evaluator and has worked for a variety of universities in both England and Wales. Emily has supported universities in the development and implementation of their Access and Participation Plans/Widening Participation Strategies and has designed evaluation protocols to support initiatives including those in outreach, transition and student success spaces. She has sat on both NERUPI's Steering Board and TASO's Evaluation Advisory Group and continues to champion the importance of evaluation across the sector.

Emily is in the process of finishing her MSc in Social and Educational Research from the University of Strathclyde, with her research focusing on how widening participation policy is adopted into institutional practice.

Dr Child has extensive experience of evaluating and researching educational interventions designed to support the access, success and progression of students from Widening Participation backgrounds. Most recently (2019-2023), she led the Widening Participation Evaluation Team at Oxford Brookes University, ensuring university evaluation practices aligned with regulatory body requirements and contributed to the latest TEF submission. In this role she managed approximately 20 mixed methods evaluations each year which focused on understanding the effectiveness of university interventions in supporting Widening Participation students to access and thrive at university. She also managed research projects, specialising in the university experiences of care experienced, estranged and BAME students. She has a strong interest in using more creative approaches to working with participants to co-design evaluation insights and practices (e.g. using LEGO, drawings and collage).

Dr Child holds an ESRC funded PhD in Educational Research which concentrated on student belonging in education. She also holds an ESRC funded M’Phil in Research Methods in which she specialised in approaches to working with students to co-design their learning experience. Lastly, she has an M’Ed which focused on how education can support students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, including complex mental health conditions.

Following completion of her degree in Digital Film Production where she developed her communication, organisation and production based experience, Ellie joined Applied Inspiration in August 2022 as the Lead Videographer and Executive Support. She provides the Managing Director and wider Applied Inspiration and SEER team with key administrative and executive support to assist the smooth running of the business.

Andrew is an experienced higher education researcher and evaluator having worked at the University of Cambridge in various admissions and outreach roles for over 10 years. He spent the last 5 years as a Research Analyst supporting Cambridge outreach teams with their evaluation strategies and as HEAT lead for the University and its Colleges. He has experience in producing evidence to underpin Access and Participation strategies and harnessing data analysis to inform admissions and outreach policy.

His research interests include regional inequalities in access to Higher Education and how best to evaluate outreach activities aiming to support attainment in schools.

Imran joined the team with six years of experience in the higher education sector and during this time was involved in a number of statutory returns made to HESA and the Office for Students, including student, staff, provider profile, Higher Education Students Early Statistics (HESES), and the Graduate Outcome survey.

Imran was involved in the analysis and preparation of access and participation data, as well as investigating the key metrics behind performance indicators for the sector, particularly those linked to widening participation.

He has extensive experience with various databases on different platforms and his specialities include project management, planning, Microsoft Access, Excel, PowerBI, Power query, Tableau and Filemaker Pro.

Jackie has extensive experience in management and leadership across educational sectors, with a focus on developing strategy to support progression to higher education and higher level skills. Particular expertise in the management and implementation of Information, Advice and Guidance to support progression. Qualified teacher, lecturer and careers adviser. Specialties: Educational programme and project planning, management and implementation; staff development and training; partnership and liaison; further and higher education; information, advice and guidance services.

Emeritus Professor Gaskell was formerly the Vice Chancellor of the Royal Agricultural University where he led the transformation of the institution from a College to University status. He has overseen the repositioning of the University into a leading innovative institution for agricultural education, including a bold strategy to develop a number of campus based innovation facilities focusing on agritech.

Ruth is a researcher and former widening participation practitioner and manager. Her PhD research focused on the policy work of third sector widening participation organisations and she has research expertise in evaluation of outreach, student-led widening participation and student engagement in assessment and feedback. As a widening participation practitioner, she has worked in a variety of higher education institutions, charities and collaborative project teams. Her practitioner experience ranges from designing student ambassador schemes to writing institutional strategies, though the majority of her work has focused on partnerships and evaluation.

As Head of SEER, Ruth will be leading on the development of the service, consulting with members and supporting their data and evaluation needs..

Vibhor is a doctoral researcher, social entrepreneur and activist from India. His PhD research at the University of Bath explores the role of a universal basic income as a policy solution to experiences of unfreedom and indignity to those involved in 'indecent' work. He is also the Co-founder of Spinning Wheel Leadership Foundation, an NGO that works on imparting life skills and socio-emotional education to students from remote tribal belts of Rajasthan, India. Vibhor has taught on various scholastic and co-scholastic programmes across schools in India and in universities across India and the UK. He is deeply passionate about innovations geared towards making education both inclusive and 21st century ready. His other research and advocacy work covers topics like education, democracy, public policy and grassroots community mobilisation.

Sally is an experienced project manager with a history managing widening participation and outreach projects and events from within the higher education and voluntary sectors. Sally has led large-scale campaigns both locally and nationally, and managed collaborative projects with a wide range of stakeholders from higher education institutions to community organisations. With Applied Inspiration since 2016, Sally has worked with a number of universities to run Widening Participation programmes, support internal capacity building, guide project and resource development and implement effective evaluation.

At 16, Matt is our youngest staff member. Currently completing his GCSEs at Colyton Grammar School, Matt will be joining Exeter College in autumn ’23 to start his BTEC in Outdoor Pursuits and Sport.

Matt’s academic strengths include maths and statistics, music, and sciences. He is also an experienced parkour coach and has been training in parkour since the age of 10. He is skilled at peer engagement, communication, and live performance. As a coach, he works hard to encourage young people to step beyond their comfort zones, push their limits, and build confidence.

Hannah is currently an undergraduate psychology student at Cardiff University and is planning to undertake a professional placement in Autism research in the coming academic year. She has previously worked as part of the 2021 Census team and volunteered with support workers in her local community. Her main interest is in research, and she has been involved in several studies as well as an individual project addressing the gender bias in autism diagnosis. Hannah has a passion for research as a means of not only contributing to existing knowledge but also evaluating and improving existing services and systems.

Ms Sekakela is a PHD student, studying economics, and as well as research fellow in a Think Tank where conducts evidence-based socio-economic research as well as provides advice on policy formulation and evaluation. Her interests and expertise include policy formulation and evaluation, evidence-based socio-economic research, policy advocacy, surveys, and economic modelling.

I have joined Applied Inspiration following 4 years’ experience working in Higher Education. Most recently, I have worked in Widening Participation, delivering evidence-based student success initiatives from induction onwards, in response to Access and Participation Plan targets and strategic aims to maximise success amongst students from a wide range of underrepresented backgrounds – particularly students at risk of non-continuation and lower than expected degree attainment. I have experience of robustly evaluating and reporting on the impact of successful initiatives, ensuring that work is effectively targeted and meeting desired impacts. Prior to this role, I worked in Education Liaison, delivering a dynamic recruitment strategy based on sound evidence, business intelligence, and best practice. My focus was to develop, coordinate and deliver high-quality student recruitment strategies and programmes of activity for schools and colleges promoting the university brand and raising aspirations. Evaluation and monitoring the effectiveness of projects and tracking the progress of participants was a key responsibility within this role.

Outside of Higher Education, my experience also covers the healthcare sector where I volunteer as lay chairperson for my local Maternity Voices Partnership. In this role, I chair meetings for the local MVP group, encouraging meaningful discussions, feeding back to service leads and commissioners, organising events forums, leading patient surveys, and collaborating with healthcare colleagues to understand the link between service delivery and service user experience.

Michael Bukur is a doctoral researcher in sport, exercise, and health sciences at Loughborough University. His research focuses on how community health and well-being programmes can better engage individuals and groups of lower socioeconomic status. He specialises in programme evaluation and co-design, supported by an array of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches and skills. Prior to entering the academic space, he worked for New York Road Runners (NYRR) in New York City and Virgin Sport in London holding professional positions focused on the design and engagement strategies of grassroots community physical activity programmes.

In the context of higher education, Michael holds posts at Loughborough University on the LGBT+ Staff Network and the Open Research Collective (ORC). His institutional work broadly focuses on advocating for more inclusive research networks and practices to improve personal experiences and to promote more accessible scientific processes and outputs. Michael is passionate about diverse and dynamic approaches to praxis and constantly iterates between theory and practice. His overall approach involves not only the integration of an interdisciplinary academic lens but also incorporates a wide assortment of industry and socio-cultural activities and interests which range from teaching English to non-native speakers to founding and directing the Queer East Midlands Film Festival. Although Michael maintains roles and interests across a wide variety of fields and spheres, his framework always remains consistent in its humanistic nature which puts people and communities at its centre.

Samuel is a student at Exeter Mathermatics School currently studing Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, and Computer Sciening at A-Level. Computing is his passion and he has gained experience working on a multitude of projects including using machine learning to fingerprint GPS Jamming devices as well as designing and implementing a custom networking protocol for multiplayer games. Samuel and has previously worked in web development as well as finalling in both the Bebras and Oxford University Computing Challenge. Throughout these projects, Samuel has been inspired by the impact that taking data and turning it into actionable analysis has had on being able to make informed decisions.

Corneliu is a doctoral researcher at the Centre for Information Management at Loughborough University, co-funded by Network Rail and the university to investigate ‘decision reliability under data uncertainty’. He is also an Affiliated Expert in Transport and Infrastructure Policies at Europuls, responsible for disseminating expert knowledge and perspectives on European transport issues. Corneliu’s professional history consists of roles in academia and policy sectors including a Schuman Program at the European Parliament, focusing on Transport Policy concerns. His education background includes a MRes in Geospatial Data Science, a MSc in Transport Planning, and a BSc in Air Transport & Logistics Management.

Emily is currently working towards an MSc in Inequalities and has a strong passion for social justice. She has conducted research investigating how young people’s aspirations and awareness of structural barriers varies according to their socio-economic status and is interested in how people navigate structural barriers within education. She has experience working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, assisting them in learning more about the higher education options available to them. She has worked a range of literature reviews and data visualisation and analysis for SEER and is keen to further her research experience.

Ibrahim is an architect, scholar, and academic with more than ten years of expertise in the higher education field. Ibrahim's research interests lie at the nexus of architecture, sociology, cultural heritage studies, and anthropology. In 2022, he earned his Ph.D. in architecture from the University of Bath in the UK, where he also gained some experience working as a teaching and research assistant. Teaching at the Department of Architecture at Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering in Egypt is a part of Ibrahim's lengthy teaching background. He has also volunteered as a tutor for students with impairments, displaying his dedication to inclusiveness, accessibility, and community service.

Ibrahim is passionate about interdisciplinary research, and much of his work focuses on how social and cultural studies may be used to bridge disciplinary gaps. His involvement in charitable endeavors in Egypt, the UK, and other countries demonstrates his dedication to diversity and innovation. Ibrahim's training as an architect gives him a strong foundation in several visualization techniques, such as hand and digital sketching, 3D modeling, and socio-spatial mapping, which he uses in his research to make social and cultural data more accessible to other researchers, academics, and the public. His work to make research understandable and relevant to a larger audience is evident in his papers, talks, and teaching.

Sarah is a first year university student studying Physics at Sheffield Hallam University, where she is currently developing her maths and statistics skills within her course. She is currently participating in Formula Student with her university where she is conducting research in preparation to build a race car. Sarah has been training in Karate since 2012, where she has developed her teamwork and leadership skills, training younger students and participating in both national and international competitions.

Zoe has worked in the Higher Education sector for seven years. During this time, she has undertaken research and evaluation work in the Widening Participation Research and Evaluation Unit (WPREU) at the University of Sheffield; worked on commissioned research projects exploring higher education access, various aspects of the student experience, and outcomes for underrepresented students; designed and delivered outreach activities, and has lectured on degree programmes in the areas of Education Studies and Sociology. She has also undertaken voluntary work with community projects and non-profits, providing advice to the public on access to education.

Zoe has a strong passion for equality and social justice which has motivated her commitment to researching widening participation and inequalities in higher education for the past eleven years. She has a number of publications in this area and regularly presents her work at national and international conferences. As a result, she has a wealth of expertise on how complex structural constraints can affect student access, retention, and outcomes; her work has proposed solutions based on the provision of enablements to overcome or lessen the impact of such constraints in higher education contexts.

Ashley’s background is in linguistics and implementing inclusive teaching practices in a higher education classroom setting. She is passionate about equal opportunities in education and ensuring that every student succeeds. Her research interests include gender-inclusive language, inclusive teaching, and multicultural classroom practices.

Ashley will complete her PhD in Languages and Linguistics from the University of Brighton in September 2024.