**Meet the guest speakers and facilitators**
Andrew leads the Secretariat team who administer the Chevening programme on behalf of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Andrew’s career spans periods in the UK and abroad. Prior to working on the Chevening programme, he was leading a portfolio of programmes focussed on international student mobility and scholarships. He has also served as Country Director in Chile and Director of Programmes in France for the British Council.
Andrew’s background is in history, non-profit management, and business administration. He is an alumnus of Edinburgh University and LSE.
Emma has over 20 years of experience working in science and science policy in government. Emma has worked as co-lead for the Designations, Sanctions Taskforce at the FCDO and was Deputy Head of the FCO's US, Canada and Caribbean Department. She also served as Acting Head of the Global Economic Issues Department, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser, and Head of the FCO/BEIS-funded Science and Innovation Network.
Emma also managed the FCO’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Team, which involved delivering a major international Illegal Wildlife Trade conference. Emma has completed postdoctoral research fellowships and a DPhil in Biology.
Professor Phil Taylor is a globally recognised researcher and industrial expert in energy systems with over 30 years of experience.
He became vice-chancellor of the University of Bath in 2024, after serving as pro-vice-chancellor for Research and Enterprise at the University of Bristol. His background includes co-founding the Durham Energy Institute in 2004 and industry experience including roles at GEC Alstom, EPS (UK), Teradyne, and Senergy Econnect.
He has co-authored six books and holds a patent for a novel control system in the switchgear industry.
Professor Stephen Brammer is dean of the School of Management at the University of Bath, having previously held senior positions at Warwick, Birmingham, and Macquarie University.
An economist by training, he is globally recognised for his research in corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation, stakeholder management, and sustainability.
His work explores organisational responsibilities towards employees with health issues, corporate social harm, and the impact of CEO activism. He has published in journals including Business & Society and Business Ethics Quarterly.
Margaret Heffernan is a professor of practice at the University of Bath, lead faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organisations.
She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath and writes for the Financial Times and the Huffington Post.
She has authored six books, her third book, Willful Blindness, was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. Her TED talks have reached over twelve million people.
Dr. Jack Spicer is a senior lecturer in criminology, specialising in illicit drug markets, drug law enforcement and policy reform. He's written on ‘County Lines’ drug supply, ‘cuckooing,’ and related policy responses. His research has been widely published, and he contributes to practitioner events, parliamentary inquiries, and media discussions.
Dr. Spicer received the Best Early Career Researcher award from the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy in 2019 and Radzinowicz Prize in 2021. His books include Policing County Lines and Cuckoo Land. As Director of Studies for the Criminology MSc, he teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate criminology courses.
Dr. Mihika Chatterjee is a political economist with an interdisciplinary approach to international development. She is a lecturer in international development and co-director of the Centre for Development Studies at the University of Bath.
Her research focuses on land dispossession, rural industrialisation in Western India, and the role of finance in global food regimes. More broadly, she explores late-industrialisation, labour struggles, food politics, and rural inequalities. Her work has been featured in Al Jazeera, BBC World Service, and Raeson.
Dr. Yixian Sun is a senior lecturer in the Department of Social & Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. His research focuses on transnational governance, environmental politics, and sustainable consumption, with a focus on China’s role in global environmental governance and the Belt and Road Initiative.
His book, Certifying China (MIT Press, 2022), explores China’s engagement with sustainability certification. A UKRI future leaders fellow, he leads a £1.7 million project on sustainability governance in global infrastructure investments. He also serves as associate editor for Global Environmental Politics and contributes to policy initiatives such as the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign.
Dr Bonnie Pang is senior lecturer/associate professor and a sociologist in sport, health and education (Department for Health) at University of Bath. Dr Bonnie Pang's research focuses on Chinese diaspora’s health and physical cultures alongside contemporary issues in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Dr Bonnie Pang serves as an adjunct fellow of the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Pang was a recipient of the prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, and AIESEP Young Scholar award.
Dr Ricky Kanabar is assistant professor of social policy at the Department of Social Policy and Social Sciences at the University of Bath. His principal research interests are in ageing, social mobility and health.
Current research involves analysing the effect of state pension age reforms on individual’s retirement expectations and also understanding the effects of testosterone on labour market dynamics.
Ricky has contributed to multiple reports released by UK government departments and international organisations such as the OECD.
Dr Annie Snelson-Powell is a researcher exploring the links between organizational strategies and practices, with a focus on the societal roles and responsibilities of global organisations, including universities and business schools. Her work examines how socially oriented goals, such as sustainability and human rights, are implemented in practice.
Her research has been published in leading journals such as Academy of Management Learning and Education, Journal of Management Studies, and Business and Society, as well as in key volumes on responsible management and higher education.
Dr. Adwait Sharma is an assistant professor in Computer Science at the University of Bath, where he leads the Advanced Interaction and Sensing (AIS) Lab. His research focuses on enabling computing in situations where traditional input methods are impractical, such as when users' hands are occupied.
His techniques combine user-centered design, data-driven insights, and real-time machine learning and have significant practical applications in mobile device control, smart environments, and healthcare. His work has been featured in top journals and conferences. He has also held research roles at Meta Reality Labs, the University of Copenhagen and the National University of Singapore.
Dr. Sian Ephgrave is a lecturer in education at the University of Bath and a lecturer in community engagement at the University of Bristol. She is the deputy director of Studies for the MA Education distance learning degree at Bath. Her research focuses on the wellbeing of secondary English teachers, inspired by her own teaching experience.
Dr. Ephgrave is committed to the emancipatory potential of education and has interests in play-based learning, educational equality, and Foucauldian and Deweyan perspectives on schooling.
Dr. Eliana Osorio Saez is a lecturer in education at the University of Bath, specialising in educational technology. Her research focuses on the design, implementation, and integration of digital tools in education, with a particular interest in how AI technologies and teachers' digital practices are evolving. She holds a PhD in Education from the University of Bath and has led significant projects on digital technology use in education.
She teaches in the BA(Hons) education with psychology and MA in education and contributes to the EdD Summer and Winter Schools. She is an active researcher and published author on the relationship between people and digital technologies.
