Lifelong Learning Entitlement  Digital Conference

Andy began his career as a school English teacher before moving into further education by joining Manchester College. He has over 20 years’ experience of senior management, including 12 years as Principal of colleges in Hertfordshire, London and Bristol. He is currently Executive Director for the Lifelong Education Institute, Chair of Governors of Barking and Dagenham College, a Board member of Manchester Metropolitan University and a Trustee of educational charity Ambitious about Autism. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Higher Education Policy Institute. Andy has a degree in English from Cambridge University, and a PGCE and Diploma in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester.

Jonathan Michie OBE, FAcSS is Professor of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, at the University of Oxford, where he is also President of Kellogg College.  Before returning to Oxford in 2008, he was Director of the Business School at the University of Birmingham, and before that, he held the Sainsbury Chair of Management at Birkbeck College, University of London, where he was Head of the School of Management & Organisational Psychology.  Previously, he was at the Judge Business School, Cambridge, where he was also a Fellow & Director of Studies in Economics at Robinson College, and a Research Associate of the ESRC Centre for Business Research.  He moved to academia from Brussels, where he was an Expert to the European Commission.

Michie is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, on whose Council he served for six years; Managing Editor of the International Review of Applied Economics; and was awarded an OBE for services to Education.  He is Chair of the Commission on Sustainability Data and became Chair of the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) in May 2020.

Helen Johns is the Policy and Stakeholder Manager at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), working within the Policy team. In her role, Helen provides strategic support to the Deputy CEO and Director of Policy, contributing to the development of policy positions, drafting consultation responses, and engaging with key stakeholders across the sector.

Helen leads AELP’s work on the LLE and is part of DfE’s LLE Providers working group, advocating for our members, particularly Independent Training Providers and representing their interests within the development of the LLE agenda.

Before joining AELP, Helen held roles within several Higher Education Institutions, where she was actively involved in the development and delivery of Degree Apprenticeship programmes. Her experience dates back to the 2017 reforms to the apprenticeship levy and the introduction of apprenticeship standards, giving her deep insight into the evolving landscape of work-based learning.

Dr Vasileiou is a leading academic and sector voice on cyber education, skills, and workforce development. She authored the APPG-backed white paper The Cyber Workforce of the Future and directs the East Midlands Cyber Security Cluster while also serving as Director and Co-Chair for UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3). A Principal Fellow of Advance HE, she has secured significant funding to advance digital and modular learning and works nationally on aligning lifelong learning with industry needs.

I am Pro Vice-Chancellor Skills and Training, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities at De Montfort University (DMU). This is the most recent role in a 17-year career at DMU, which began as Teacher Fellow in Dance in DMU’s Centre for Excellence in Performance Arts. My career in education has always focused on the creative and cultural industries, and is underpinned with values of access, empowerment and creating opportunities. I began my formal teaching career within Further Education, after freelancing as a community dance practitioner focussed on the value and necessity of creative and cultural education for economic, social and individual health and wellbeing. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an alumna of Aurora and the Senior Women’s Leadership Development Programme (Advance HE). I am currently refreshing the institutional strategy for Higher Technical Education at DMU, and developing our approach to the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

James Gardiner Associate Professor in Marketing and Management, Director of Employability, Enterprise and Placement at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia.

James Gardiner is an Associate Professor within the Marketing Research Group and teaches marketing and management on UG, PG and ExecEd programmes. He is also Director of Employability, Enterprise and Placement overseeing all professional development across the business school and engaging with external employers and partners. James is also a co-founder of the ExecEd and EdTech, firm Studious Digital Education Ltd, creators of the award-winning Ryze app.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Chartered Management Institute and Higher Education Academy (HEA) and an external examiner for at the University of Arts London.

Educated in Holland at an international school, James previously worked in financial in the City of London as a Lloyd’s of London broker with Willis Towers Watson Plc and then as an Insurance Underwriter working for US firm, Chubb Inc. working within the international energy and casualty markets. James then joining an Anglo/Dutch software company as Marketing Manager (EMEA) before joining an international technology-focused management consultancy of which he was first Marketing Director and then Managing Director for 15 years. He has started 4 businesses and worked as a management consultant supporting other businesses to scale.

James is passionate about supporting the development of management and leadership skills within firms and students and giving all professionals the skills to manage their own success.

Andy began his career as a school English teacher before moving into further education by joining Manchester College. He has over 20 years’ experience of senior management, including 12 years as Principal of colleges in Hertfordshire, London and Bristol. He is currently Executive Director for the Lifelong Education Institute, Chair of Governors of Barking and Dagenham College, a Board member of Manchester Metropolitan University and a Trustee of educational charity Ambitious about Autism. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Higher Education Policy Institute. Andy has a degree in English from Cambridge University, and a PGCE and Diploma in Management Sciences from the University of Manchester.