Sabrina Au | Partnerships Lead | Dot Dot Fire
Championing social impact and creative education through empathy-led partnerships has been at the forefront of my mission throughout my career, which has spanned the arts, non-profit, and tech industries.
As a History of Art graduate, I started my career seeking to integrate arts and education, with the Victoria and Albert Museum and Camden Art Center, curating material into educational events for young people. At the same time, I founded Exotero, a creator’s collective with a core concept of non-monetary art exchange, which hosted a successful online art auction during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
In the non-profit sector, I worked to raise awareness for migrant rights at Migrateful, a cookery initiative supporting asylum seekers and refugees. At Migrateful, I headed their outreach both online and offline, from strategy to execution. I also worked in events, with highlights including my tenure at CogX, an annual event that brings in over 1,000 experts with over 90,000 attendees. At CogX, I coordinated over 80 speakers and worked closely with them to deliver unique, curated sessions from start to finish.
I am currently the Partnerships Lead at Dot Dot Fire, an educational video game developer, where I lead the outreaching for schools and teachers, as well as partnerships with councils, politicians, and corporate entities. In a volunteering capacity, I am a Citizens Leader at Newham Citizens UK, where I spearhead community organising initiatives such as shaping asks for mayoral campaigns and events to bring the local community together.
Katharine Childs | Research Assistant | Raspberry Pi Foundation
I am a Research Assistant at the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre, and my current focus is working on projects to broaden participation in computing.
As a former network manager and primary classroom teacher, I bring dual perspectives of technological knowledge and learning science to all my work, and am committed to exploring ways to engage a diverse range of students in computing.
My recent work includes being part of the project team that delivered a 4-year research programme called Gender Balance in Compuitng, which trialled a range of interventions to increase the uptake of Computer Science at GCSE and A-level amongst female pupils. This was the largest research programme of its kind in England, and I was responsible for recruiting over 500 primary and 250 secondary schools to take part in research trials. I also played a key role in presenting findings from the trials to a wide audience by writing summaries and blog posts so that teachers can apply the research in their classrooms. I am a contributing author to academic papers that have been written about the trials.
I also believe in working with others to strengthen the message that girls belong in computing and seek out opportunities to collaborate with others in order to bring this important conversation to as wide a network as possible. An example of this is my 2015 TEDx talk “Coding the Hairy Toe” which argued for the importance of coding as an essential skill in this digital age.
Dr Harveen Chugh | Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship | Warwick Business School
Harveen is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs through teaching and practice.
She is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Warwick Business School and Course Director for the Distance Learning MBA London programme. She co-leads two of the largest modules at Warwick Business School, which are Entrepreneurial Mindset (taught to 705 undergraduate students) and Business in Practice (taught to 680 postgraduate students). She is also a Mentor on the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Leaders in Innovation Fellows programme.
She founded and managed VIS-3, which provided entrepreneurship programme design and coaching services to universities. She worked on the UK government's graduate entrepreneurs programme with PA Consulting Group, where she managed a portfolio of 25 startups to raise £4.97mn in equity investment.
Harveen has previously held academic roles at Imperial College Business School, Royal Holloway University of London and LSE. She gained her PhD in Entrepreneurship from Imperial College London, holds an MSc in Bioinformatics from Birkbeck College London and BSc in Biology with Business Studies from Queen Mary, University of London.
Dr Emma Yhnell | Senior Lecturer (Teaching Focused) | Cardiff University
Dr Emma Yhnell is a passionate and multi award-winning educator, science communicator and senior lecturer in (neuro)science based at Cardiff University.
Emma uses her international expertise in science communication to deliver engaging and interactive teaching with passion and infectious enthusiasm, she consistently receives phenomenal student feedback. Alongside significant teaching and management responsibilities, Emma provides vital pastoral support to learners as a personal tutor and mental health first aider.
Emma’s ethos is grounded in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), driven by personal experiences, she wants to ensure that all learners can excel during their time at University. Emma is an advocate for supporting, mentoring, and championing others, in recognition of this she was made Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in 2022. She is EDI representative to the British Neuroscience Association, a national organisation of ~2,600 neuroscientists. She sits on the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Communication Committee, an international organisation of ~21,000 from 44 member societies and she co-chairs the ALBA External Events Working Group, a global neuroscience diversity network.
Emma is a well-respected academic who has built a strong reputation for her ability to untangle the academically technical and translate it into entertaining and relevant content. In recognition of this, in 2022 she was elected Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (FLSW), the youngest ever Fellow. Emma is a regular media commentator and as a first generation academic, she is changing the typical image of academia, to make (neuro)science more accessible, engaging and fun for everyone.
Emily Davies | Head of Student Entrepreneurship | University of Exeter
I grew up in Hertfordshire and studied for my degree in Nottingham with a year abroad in the USA.
I've had a varied career through which I have had opportunity to live and work in many different parts of the country.
My career began with a traineeship in a local Arts Centre and I continued to work in Arts marketing for a theatre and then a music festival. I then moved to London to re-launch a restaurant in the heart of the City - in the crypt of St Mary le Bow church. I managed Front of House and within our first month of opening, we received a brilliant review from Jay Rayner in The Guardian. In 2011, I moved into Higher Education - working for an International Education Provider - leading a successful Internship Placement programme for 800+ American undergraduate students per year studying abroad in London. In 2017, I moved to Devon and began work at the University of Exeter, starting with 9 month maternity cover position as Global Employability Consultant. Subsequently, I secured a permanent post as Student Startup Manager. I have since been promoted to Head of Student Entrepreneurship where I deliver impactful entrepreneurship & venture creation programmes and am supporting delivery of an ambitious strategy to embed entrepreneurship throughout the institution. The threads throughout my professional career are the desire to take on new challenges, to make a positive difference, to unlock the potential of others and to create and nurture connections between people.
Samantha Haigh | Software Engineering Coach | Multiverse
Growing up in a working-class family in one of the least educated areas of the country, the odds were stacked against me.
Despite this, I had the drive to succeed and was always intrigued by the tech industry. Pursuing this passion, I studied Software Engineering at university and started my career as a software developer for a small company, churning out code, fixing bugs and wondering how I could use my programming powers for good. The transition to my integration developer position at the Sheffield College provided me with the job satisfaction I craved. In this role, I continued to write code, but now it was to support the learning of young people. My start at Sheffield College was quickly followed by the pandemic which gave me the opportunity to modernise the way our courses were delivered, implementing online learning tools that enabled teaching staff to create interactive and effective online classes. I thoroughly enjoyed this role, and it was difficult to leave when the position of Software Engineering coach at Multiverse opened up. Nonetheless, joining Multiverse gave me the chance to utilise my software engineering expertise to support more people than I ever imagined. As a Software Engineering Coach, I help apprentices build their technical knowledge while navigating the complexities of the working world. I support them through their ups and downs, and it fills me with pride to watch them begin their careers as fully-fledged software engineers.
Parm Plummer | Assistant Headteacher | Victoria College Jersey
A teacher for over 25 years, I have worked in London, Devon and the Channel Islands in a range of roles.
At present, I am an Assistant Headteacher at Victoria College Jersey, where I lead on staffing and wellbeing. I established WomenEd Jersey in April 2019, and became a Global Strategic Leader for WomenEd in 2020. I am now a trustee of the charity and support networks in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Wales. I believe passionately in a more equitable society and have worked with the Government of Jersey on DEI matters. I recently completed my Masters and am in the final stages of my NPQH.
Georgina Durrant | Founder | Cheshire SEN Tutor LTD
Georgina Durrant is a former teacher/Special Educational Needs Coordinator and founder of Cheshire SEN Tutor LTD.
She founded the award-winning SEN Resources Blog www.senresourcesblog.com to share activities, advice and recommendations for parents and teachers of children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities. She wrote a monthly column for Nursery World Magazine and hosts Twinkl Resources' Special Educational Needs Podcast 'SEND in the experts with Georgina Durrant'. Her parenting and education advice has been featured in the Independent, Guardian and Telegraph. Her first book 100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play was published in 2021.Her second book ‘How to Boost Reading & Writing Through Play’ was published in 2022 and she is currently writing her third book to support children with SEND which is due to be published by Bloomsbury in 2024.
Evelin Sanderson-Nichols | Sustainability Assistant | University of Warwick
Evelin Sanderson-Nichols is a first-class University of Warwick graduate who is currently working as a Sustainability Assistant as part of the Energy & Sustainability team at Warwick.
Since Evelin joined the Sustainability team she has placed community engagement at the heart of her work. Building on her extensive volunteering experience with Students Organising for Sustainability and The Climate Coalition, one of her main foci is to engage student societies and departments that are not traditionally associated with sustainability in order to i) build awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ii) share experience and knowledge within and across the Warwick community, and iii) promote the university’s Way to Sustainable strategy.
Her commitment and enthusiasm to her current role has been recognised throughout her employment, and she was recently longlisted in the Sustainability category and shortlisted in the Community Engagement category of the University of Warwick's Estates Awards in 2023.
She is also a Committee Member at IEMA’s Midlands Steering Group.
Ebanie Xavier-Cope | Year 5 Teacher, Music Lead and EDI Lead | New Horizons Children's Academy
I have been teaching for a number of years, starting my career as a secondary music teacher.
I did that for five years before deciding to become a primary school teacher. I am now in my seventh year as a primary teacher and I am now in the place where I really enjoy my career. It has been a process and there have been many ups and downs along the way. I am also a school governor for my local secondary school as I believe that it is important to give back and to be a positive role model to the next generation.
I am first generation British and have also been taught about the importance of a good ethic so I work hard - I am the first in my immediate family to be awarded a Masters. I come from a loving Caribbean family who still enjoy spending time together. Family is so important to me because no matter what, they'll always be there.