Consultancy

Melissa is the director of international student recruitment and marketing at Koç University in Turkey and brings her 18 years of experience in the public, private and non-for profit sectors to help higher education institutions and government organizations advance their internationalization goals by being better at: understanding and communicating their strenghts in new markets with limited resources, and developing scholarship and sponsored student programs.

She has worked at Koç University for 8 years where she has led Erasmus+ strategic partnership projects on the use of internationalization data for decision making, digital transformation projects that included the use of CRM and online application and marketing monitoring systems, joint research partnership programs, and marketing and recruitment plans for joint Master degrees. She is a founder of the Internationalization of Turkish Research Universities group and contributes as a practitioner researcher to projects related to the role of international students at the national level. Originally from Venezuela, she graduated as an Urban Planner from Universidad Simon Bolivar, and was later a Chevening Scholar at the London School of Economics in the UK (MSc in Development and Environment Studies). Before working in international education, Melissa held sustainability, regeneration and community engagement and Development consulting roles in Spain and the UK.

Gin Bhandal is Director of upgrade: career coaching. He has 15 years’ experience working in the executive search industry with a range of commercial and public sector clients. He is a graduate from Aston Business School and over the last 10 years as worked with over 50 universities, colleges and schools to deliver consultancy assignments across the Education sector. Gin works as a Career Coach for Warwick Business School, one of the world’s leading Business Schools.
As Director of upgrade: career coaching Gin engages with clients to unlock their true talent potential. This involves coaching sessions covering all aspects of career and personal development, career transition guidance, application/interview coaching and leadership development utilising psychometric tools.

Ralph has over ten years of experience in data and market insight roles with eight of those years in the Higher Education sector for a Russell Group university and a leading established global marketing and agent aggregator. Ralph has led the production of intelligence reports, the production of market and research insights and delivered market intelligence reports in support of strategic decision making. He has also led on customer satisfaction surveys and research that has supported business development opportunities and reviewed client acquisition and retention strategies. Ralph has worked with several UK HEIs as well as international clients providing a broad understanding of how data can inform strategy and planning. He has a detailed understanding of the global data sets available and what insights can be gleaned from a full analysis.

Dr Maria Gallo is a qualitative researcher and alumni scholar with 20 years’ experience in higher education leadership roles in Ireland and Canada. As the Founder of KITE Limited, she specialises in research and strategic projects including alumni strategic planning, international education with philanthropy and global alumni networks. Her recent clients include governments, universities, and organisations across 17 countries. Maria is also the appointed Expert Alumni Advisor to CERN and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin. She is the author of The Alumni Way published in 2021 by Policy Press.

Mike has 30 years’ experience working in UK Higher Education and has led many professional service teams across diverse portfolios in large complex institutions. Most recently, as Director of External Relations at Manchester Metropolitan University, Mike was responsible for a team of 300 colleagues, and an operating budget of £17M. As a member of the University’s Professional Services Leadership Team, Mike was involved in many aspects of the institution’s strategic and operational activities. He also led the delivery of the University’s twice-yearly Professional Services Leadership Conferences, providing key development and learning opportunities for 180 senior colleagues.

Mike is a former governor and trustee at the Pinnacle Learning Trust in Oldham, and recently completed training as a reading buddy for the charity ReadeasyUK.

Professor Abigail Gregory MBE is Director of Academic Strategy at Pagoda Projects, a socially engaged company specialising in global internships and sustainable global experiences. She is also an HE Consultant (Internationalisation and DEI), Executive Coach and Mentor.

Professor Gregory has more than thirty years' experience as an academic and is a Professor of Comparative Sociology, specialising in gender equality and work-life balance. She has a strong senior leadership track record, most recently in the roles of Faculty Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, Faculty Head of International, Associate Dean International and Associate Head Marketing and Recruitment for multi-disciplinary academic units at Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

A linguist by background, Professor Gregory has particular experience of and passion for internationalisation. Skilled at working with diverse stakeholders across cultures and disciplines, she has developed and led internationalisation strategy at home and overseas, creating enterprising and impactful student-focussed and income generating activities globally, and notably in East and Southeast Asia and North America. She has been a Department of International Trade Export Champion and was awarded an MBE for services to export in November 2019.

Prof Christopher Hill has worked in TNE since 2008; spending 9 years in Malaysia and 5 in Dubai. Christopher is an OBHE Associate, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, an Adjunct Researcher for the Higher Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan and Senior External Examiner for the University of Westminster in Tashkent. His research interests include TNE and its impact on national systems; the role of online learning; and the development of international education and the student experience in the global arena. Dr Hill hosts the Think Education podcast.

Barbara is the Director of Global UniStudy. Barbara Howell's portfolio career spans some twenty-five years in the Further and Higher Education (HE) sector with significant leadership and management experience at a senior level in small specialist and large complex organisations. Over that period Barbara has gained a comprehensive understanding of UK higher education systems/frameworks, transnational higher education, internationalisation approaches and practice, funding mechanisms, enterprise and commercial propositions, quality assurance procedures and the implementation of strategies and solutions. Barbara is certified as IENG-MBCS CITP a Fellow of the HEA, had several external examiner roles and has been a QAA Institutional Auditor/Reviewer for the last 14 years (to include overseas review, pathway providers and embedded colleges).

Barbara is passionate about internationalisation and working with institutions locally and globally to enhance their offer. She has created many innovative strategies and approaches to encourage greater engagement in mobility opportunities and increase international student recruitment. She also has also led on the initiation development and ongoing management of many highly successful transnational higher education and joint-venture partnerships.

A highly experienced, goal-oriented Higher Education leader, she has worked in institutions across the spectrum of UK HE, building and delivering on strategic priorities. As Deputy Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement and Employability at the University of Westminster, her most recent HE Senior Management role, she was responsible for leading the University's highly impactful internationalisation and employability strategies. As co-chair of the University’s EDI Committee, she also spearheaded the creation and implementation of Westminster’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, with Prof Dibyesh Anand. Before joining the University of Westminster, she was Pro-Vice Chancellor External at the University of Kent, where she led the University’s internationalisation strategy. Her remit also included the non-academic student experience and the employability agenda. The student experience was likewise a focus of her work at Birmingham University, where she was Pro-Vice Chancellor for Quality and Students.

External bodies with which she has been involved include the UUK Outward Mobility Strategy Board and the SGroup European Universities' Network Executive Committee. She is currently Professor emerita at the University of Westminster and an honorary Fellow of Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT). She is also a vice chair of the governing body of Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES), in London. She remains actively involved with the SGroup Network, especially with regard to work on social mission in HE.

Named as a “Woman of Influence 2023” in Baroness Sandy Verma’s annual list, Christina has executive leadership experience in both research and teaching intensive universities having been Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Warwick, Provost at Sheffield Hallam University and Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Kent. She is also an internationally leading feminist educator and researcher with over 15 books to her name with a £1.6m achievement in external research grant capture.

Throughout her career Christina has mentored and coached many women, and men, at all levels of university life. She holds ILM Level 7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring, is an accredited StrengthsProfile coach and a member of the Institute of Learning and Management.

Christina is a Visiting Professor at Coventry University and an Honorary Professor at the University of Kent. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy which she set up; a lifetime fellow of the Gender and Education Association in recognition of her role as inaugural co-chair; and external advisor for EDI for the Association of British Chinese Professors. Christina has also been a Governor at Leeds Beckett University; a Trustee for Villiers Park Educational Trust and a Trustee for the Royal Society of the Arts Academies.

Dr. Tom Kennie is Director of Ranmore which he co-founded over 20 years ago. Tom specialises in leadership development and innovation with a particular focus on higher education both in the UK and globally. He has worked with over 150 universities globally on a range of leadership, management and governance projects. More specifically he works with individuals (as a coach), groups (to develop teams) and organisations (to enhance performance and foster innovation).

His earlier career involved 12 years as an academic at the University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica and at the University of Surrey. He then spent 9 years in the professional service sector – latterly as an HR Director. Among other projects he was responsible for co-founding and directing for 13 years the (now) Advance HE ‘Top Management Programme (TMP)’. Building on this experience he recently, in 2021, co-authored, with Professor Robin Middlehurst ‘Leadership Transitions in Universities: Arriving, Surviving & Thriving at the Top’ (Routledge).

Tom is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education in the University of Melbourne and is also an IC Global Fellow.

Professor Judith Lamie PhD is a highly experienced educationalist having worked in the higher education sector for over 30 years. Judith is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor International at Swansea University. As PVCI Judith is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the University’s International Strategy. She is also responsible for all student recruitment, alumni relations and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Prior to this Judith held various strategic and internationally-focused senior roles within a number of institutions. Her former roles include Deputy Vice-Chancellor International at Middlesex University, Pro Vice-Chancellor External Affairs at the University of Derby, Director of International Strategy and Relations at the University of Birmingham, International Director at the University of Leeds, and Chair of the Board of Directors at NAVITAS UK. At these institutions she provided institutional leadership in internationalisation, marketing and student recruitment, partnership development, transnational education and online learning.

Judith is a Fellow of the HEA and has published widely within the fields of international education, change management, applied linguistics and transnational education.

Michael Lavery is an international strategic brand and marcomms consultant with extensive experience in the private and public sectors working across Europe and the US, and as a former adviser to the House of Lords.

After starting his career in agency and private sector MarComms, he worked in higher education leadership for 12 years before establishing Brand & Reputation (http://www.brandandreputation.org.uk/) – an award-winning national and international consultancy - in 2017.

As Executive Director at Durham and Teesside universities in the UK he was part of highly regarded University leadership teams and led multi award-winning external relations directorates covering brand and strategic marketing, communications, recruitment and admissions, development, and alumni relations. In these university leadership roles, Michael also chaired national and global networks with UUK, The Russell Group, University Alliance, and the PRCA.

He is a Laureate and former Global Trustee of CASE and a founding member of its European regional council – also serving as interim Global Vice President in 2021-22. He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the RSA and his work has been recognised with a number of prestigious awards and thought leadership contributions worldwide.

Dr Anthony Manning is Dean for Global and Lifelong Learning at the University of Kent, UK. Through his role at Kent, Anthony is responsible for the development, implementation and review of International and Lifelong Learning activity which includes international programmes, international pathways to higher education, online learning and higher and degree apprenticeships. Anthony is a Principal Fellow of AdvanceHE and a National Teaching Fellow. He has published widely in fields linked to international education, assessment and internationalisation at Home and has worked as an external examiner for more than 10 Universities in the Uk and overseas. Anthony has lived as and worked in five countries and has led educational development activities in more than 50 nations around the world. Anthony is also the founder of various networks and fora including Innovations in Internationalisation at Home. As well as being an IC Global Fellow Anthony is a trustee for the British Accreditation Council (BAC) and is also the current Chair of BAC’s Accreditation Committee.

Sue Martin’s dual role is Director of Alumni Relations at Erasmus University Rotterdam and at the Rotterdam School of Management. She is responsible for managing teams who are developing and delivering the alumni engagement capability for 160,000 graduates nationally and internationally. In previous roles, Sue led UK universities global alumni networks and was responsible for campaign & supporter engagement.

Sue has spent many years working for the UK government in a variety of roles within both the Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office serving in the UK and overseas in Nigeria, Cyprus, Ghana and Bratislava as a diplomat.

Sirin is a highly experienced International Leader and specialist in higher education. She has more than 20 years of international marketing and leadership experience in diplomatic and higher education organisations. Sirin’s career includes the British Council in Istanbul, marketing British education; Regional Director at the University of Southampton and Director of the International Office at the University of Reading. At Reading, Sirin had joint responsibility for all of the University’s Marketing, Communication and Engagement. Since 2016, Sirin has been providing a specialist independent consultancy, individual and leadership coaching to higher education institutions.

Sirin is also a professionally trained career coach and since 2017, she has been providing coaching to international education leaders. The consultancy projects that Sirin has delivered typically include projects which require research and recommendations to meet ambitious targets. Sirin specialises in global engagement strategy, student recruitment, international education marketing, effective delivery and management of international partnerships, training and the building of internal capabilities, and always with a focus on internal buy-in for successful creation and delivery of strategies and plans.

Stephanie is an international recruitment and admissions professional with 23 years of higher education experience gained working in university international office management and leadership roles, and more recently as a higher education consultant.

She worked for 16 years at the University of Stirling, and as Head of International Affairs had responsibility for global partnerships and TNE, developing and implementing the University’s internationalisation strategy, managing study abroad/exchanges and short course provision (including English language, International Summer School and tailored programmes) and has considerable international and domestic recruitment experience across Asia and the US most notably. During this time she led on the set up of the INTO-Stirling University partnership managing the business planning and workstreams.

Stephanie has worked for the past 7 years as a higher education consultant with several universities, developing specific knowledge and expertise in new business development, market sizing and market research for new initiatives and programmes, global strategy and international partnership development, evidence-led reviews, identifying future opportunities and global trend analysis.

In her early career, Stephanie trained as a teacher and has worked in the school’s sector in the UK and overseas undertaking roles in Japan, New Zealand and the USA.

Dr Glen Noble is the founder and director of Noble Endeavours Ltd. He is a specialist in research strategy, partnerships, policy, funding, and governance with a particular focus in China. He also has significant experience as a facilitator of cross-cultural partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration. He was previously Deputy Director for UKRI China, representing, advising, and negotiating for the UK research sector, and Director of Research for the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. He previously completed a PhD studying the geographies of inequality and retains a deep interest in both qualitative methodologies, and issues of equality and diversity.

Beverley is an experienced independent consultant in international higher education, specializing in study abroad and global learning. With extensive experience as a former Director of the Centre for Study Abroad at a prominent Russell Group university, she brings a deep understanding of the sector's complexities and opportunities. Beverley is highly regarded for her strategic approach to developing innovative solutions that enhance student mobility and enrich global learning experiences. Her expertise lies in crafting tailored strategies that align institutional goals with the dynamic demands of international education.

A key aspect of her work involves building and strengthening global partnerships, ensuring that institutions collaborate effectively to maximise the benefits of international education. Beverley’s work is driven by a passion for expanding access to transformative study abroad opportunities, fostering global partnerships, and promoting academic excellence. She is known for her ability to navigate the evolving landscape of higher education with insight and creativity, ensuring that institutions and students alike thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.

Ayse is an international education professional (16 years), with previous experience in the higher education sector as lecturer. She has worked in many areas of international education (Erasmus, exchange and summer programs, international marketing and recruitment, lecturing and managing services for international students). Ayse is focusing on global education and partnerships in her current role at Istanbul Aydin University. She is also the coordinator for the conference program of EURIE Eurasia Higher Education Summit. As a true believer in the value of international education, Ayse is involved with various associations and engages in peer-mentoring in this field. She delivers training/ workshops for International Office staff in the areas of internationalisation strategy, internationalisation at home, trends in internationalisation and intercultural competences. Her experience and interests in higher education management also cover the areas of strategic planning, quality assurance, and project management.

Jessica Price works as a counselling psychologist, lecturer and higher education consultant in the field of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and has advised on culturally sensitive mental health support for international students at various universities in Germany. Additionally, she works with international counselling clients, providing a supportive, safe space. Moreover, she lectures on Gender and Multiculturalism, Intercultural Communication and Organisational Behaviour, among other topics. She holds two Master’s degrees from New York University and Jacobs University and a PhD in Psychology, also from Jacobs University. Jessica is currently a board member of the Guidance and Counselling Expert Community at the EAIE.

Stuart Rennie is Managing Director of SJRennie Consulting Ltd and Managing Director of AfaraEd. He is an International Education Consultant with over 20 years’ experience and specialises in Sub Saharan Africa. Stuart has worked as Director and Head of successful, target-driven International Offices at leading UK universities and also has business development experience in the private sector with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Kaplan.

Immersed in the fields of international education and international development for over three decades, Gill offers a richly unique combination of skills and expertise. Her strengths lie in research, evaluation, assessment and the thoughtful translation of findings into policy and strategy.

Gill’s work to date has been concentrated in Ireland, Africa, Europe, North America, ASEAN and China and includes a range of projects for governmental, NGO and multilateral agencies including UNICEF, World Bank, EU, IIE, MOPAN, the British Council, Irish Universities and several Irish government departments. Gill developed Ireland’s international education data reporting system and has represented Ireland on international education research panels and advisory committees.

In 2010 Gill established the Malawi Girls Education Fund, a successful registered charity supporting girls per year through secondary education in Malawi.

Guillem Rojas, MBA, is a mixed methods researcher (quant, qual, data analysis, evaluation, impact, usability...) with almost 15 years of experience designing and executing completing insight projects from the objectives definition stage up to the methodology, design, analysis, reporting and presentation of key findings. A majority of his insight experience has been working in international education contexts like being a global researcher for Pearson Education; doing strategic business reports on trends in global online education for several consultancies; or setting up from scratch the market insight function for a top UK university. He has also extensive experience doing research in the public, charity and consumer sectors.

Justin Shaw has more than three decades of experience in communications, reputation management, engagement and influence within the higher education sector. Beginning his career in journalism, he later transitioned to roles such as Communications, Media and PR Executive at the University of Hertfordshire. Subsequently, Justin established the Education Practice within Communications Management, a consultancy firm, where he has advised over 200 higher education institutions.

Justin's diverse portfolio includes significant projects such as leading the consultation team for the University of Cambridge's North West Cambridge campus, influencing changes in Shakespeare education with the Royal Shakespeare Company and assisting the London School of Economics in establishing communication Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). He has also contributed to improving business engagement at Nottingham Trent University, undertaking reputational tracking analysis for more than 30 HEIs globally and enhancing internal communications within various universities.

Justin has fellowships from the Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). He is a Certified Member of the Institute of Internal Communications (IIC), a Member of URMA (the global body for promoting academic research) and a Member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Counsellors to Higher Education Group. Justin's own research covers reputation management, academic media performance and innovative research promotion strategies. Currently, he is engaged in a study on the status and function of communication within universities.

Dörte Stevenson has over 25 years of experience in Higher Education. She is widely respected for her expertise in global institutional partnerships, staff and students’ international experiences, transnational education, institutional internationalisation strategies, and marketing and communications. Her clients include international and national organisations, universities, and private companies.

Dörte worked for 17 years at the University of Sheffield where she led on international partnership development, implemented the University’s Internationalisation Strategy, and managed student mobility schemes including the Erasmus+ programme, one of the most successful in the U.K. She also worked at the University of Bath and held several positions within public relations, marketing, and arts management.

Dörte studied at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and at Durham University.

Simon is an International Education Marketing specialist with 22 years experience of successfully working for universities and private education companies. He lived in Colombia for over 12 years, where he co-founded, managed and then sold an education agency (MAS Education). He then worked as Recruitment Director, Latin America for INTO University Partnerships for over 5 years. After seeing the need for dedicated local support Simon then launched EdCo LATAM Consulting with Jamie Ash to support international institutions achieve their recruitment aspirations across Latin America.
Simon is passionate about Latin America and very much enjoys supporting educational institutions to achieve their objectives across Latin America.

Inés Teresa-Palacio has 17+ years of experience across all the advancement functions (marketing, communications, student recruitment, alumni engagement, fundraising and internationalisation) in the UK, Spain and other European countries, South Asia and Latin America. She is the Founder and Director of the global consultancy firm Via Pinnedda (www.viapinnedda.com), specialised in international marketing and communications within the global education sector.

Inés worked at the University of Southampton for 12 years, first in international student recruitment and then as Head of Strategic Marketing -leading the university's strategic marketing for all the faculties, the Malaysia campus and the university's art venues. In 2019 she moved to Barcelona to take on the role as Chief Advancement Officer at the Open University of Catalonia, where she was a member of the Board of Directors. She led a team of 200 people distributed across Spain and Latin America, and was directly responsible for the university's financial sustainability and growth through student recruitment and other income activities.

During her career, Inés has developed, led and implemented multiple growth, positioning, engagement and go-to-market strategies targeting B2B and B2C audiences internationally. Her expertise combines insight and direct experience from traditional, research-intensive institutions alongside online, more vocational universities in different countries.

Inés is a former member of the CASE Europe Council and has been a speaker at many global education events. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, has a MA from the University of Southampton, a Postgraduate in Marketing from the CIM and British Council, a BA from the University of Santiago de Compostela, is a graduate of the IESE business school in Barcelona, Spain and a scholar from the Anderson School of Management in UCLA, US.

After many years of research and analysis as a Higher Education Advisor specialising in TNE at the British Council, Kevin established as an international HE consultant in March 2023. He has represented the British Council’s activities in the field of higher education partnerships and transnational education at major international conferences, served on several high profile advisory boards (UCAS International advisory group, UUKI TNE advisory Group, Going Global Steering Committee, UUKi on-line learning task group), and published several articles and book chapters. His recent research includes the Impact of Transnational Education on Host countries (2014), Transnational Education Data collection systems: Awareness, Analysis and Action (2015); TNE: A classification framework and data collection guidelines (2017); The Value of Transnational Education & The environment for TNE in 16 countries (commissioning editor 2022) and he contributed market analysis to the UUKi Scale and Scope of UK TNE report (2022).