FUTURE LEADERS
ANNOUNCEMENT - We are delighted to announce the applications are available for the 2025 Foundation Future Leaders Programme. Closing date 18th November. All the details and forms can be found here.
Future leaders in science, technology, research and innovation need not only knowledge of the sector they are in – be it higher education, industry, the civil service or elsewhere – but also an understanding of the other parts of the UK’s research and innovation system. The Foundation Future Leaders Programme seeks to support the leaders of tomorrow in building the links and knowledge that they will need.
The programme brings together a cohort of around 30 mid-career professionals over the course of a year, with approximately 10 representatives each from the research community, industry, and the civil service and wider public sector. Over a 12-month period, the group meet and discuss with senior figures from government, parliament, universities, large industry, SMEs, research charities and others. Just as importantly, Future Leaders present their own expertise, develop skills and make future contacts. The programme includes external visits and the development of an annual conference for a wider group of mid-career future leaders in science, technology, research and innovation.
2024 sees the fifth cohort of Foundation Future Leaders take part in the programme. Details of Foundation Future Leaders from earlier years can be found as follows:
- The 2019/20 cohort are here.
- The 2021 cohort are here.
- The 2022 cohort are here.
- The 2023 cohort are here.
The Foundation Future Leaders for 2024 are:
|
NAME |
POSITION |
ORGANISATION |
|
Dr Kharmen Billimoria |
Lead Researcher |
National Measurement Laboratory, LGC |
|
Dr Billy Bryan |
Evaluation and Research Leader |
RAND Europe |
|
Dr Rosie Cane |
Cluster Development Manager |
Space Wales |
|
Dr Hamish Cavaye |
Johnson Matthey / ISIS Research Fellow |
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, STFC |
|
Dr Césaré Cejas |
Co-Founder and VP R&D |
MicroFluidX (MFX) Ltd |
|
Dr Liz Cooper |
ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow |
Heriot-Watt University |
|
Ms Danielle Croucher |
Policy Lead for Skills and Talent |
National Centre for Universities and Business |
|
Dr Lorna Daniels |
Senior Policy Advisor |
Government Office for Science |
|
Dr Antonia Ford |
Research, Relationships, & Commissioning Lead |
Ministry of Justice |
|
Mr James Frankland |
Lightning Propulsion System Engineering Authority |
Ministry of Defence DE&S |
|
Miss Natalia Grzomba |
Policy & External Relations Manager |
British Science Association |
|
Miss Michelle Hackett |
Head of International Fisheries Science |
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
|
Mr Alex Hale |
Advanced Technology Project Lead |
National Composites Centre |
|
Mr Lloyd Harriman |
Manager, Infrastructure Advisory Group |
KPMG UK |
|
Mrs Jennifer Hindson |
Senior Scientific Advice Officer |
Scottish Government |
|
Dr Rich Howells |
Senior Marine Ornithologist |
Scottish Government's Marine Directorate |
|
Miss Beccy Hutchinson |
Policy & Public Affairs Officer |
Catapult Network |
|
Miss Sam Islam |
Systems Engineering Consultant |
Energy Systems Catapult |
|
Mr Sri Harish Kalidass |
Cyber Defence Research Specialist |
BT Plc |
|
Dr George Koutsourakis |
Senior Scientist |
National Physical Laboratory |
|
Mr Nicholas La Bianca |
Project Engineer, Hydrogen Combustion |
Rolls-Royce plc |
|
Mrs Flavia Levi |
Deep Tech Venture Capital Investor |
Octopus Ventures |
|
Miss Bethan Matthews |
Senior Applied Scientist |
AWE |
|
Dr Geoffrey Neale |
Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and Lecturer |
Cranfield University |
|
Dr Fabrizio Ortu |
Associate Professor |
School of Chemistry, University of Leicester |
|
Ms Kathryn Page |
Associate Director - PR and Communications |
Advanced Research Clusters |
|
Dr Christopher Pilgrim |
Knowledge Transfer Manager – Materials |
Innovate UK KTN |
|
Dr Eike Schneiders |
Transitional Assistant Professor |
University of Nottingham |
|
Mrs Myriam Telford |
Strategic International Analysis Lead |
UK Research and Innovation |
|
Dr Mershack Tetteh |
Lecturer in Construction Management and Engineering |
Aston University |
|
Dr Lauren Josie Thomas |
Senior Lecturer in Marketing |
University of South Wales |
|
Dr Lauren Thomas-Seale |
Senior Lecturer |
University of Birmingham |
|
Miss Magda Wolna |
Researcher |
University of Oxford |
|
Ms Hua Zhong |
Associate Professor, London South Bank University and |
Honorary Fellow, University College London |
| Dr Martina Zimmermann | Reader in Health Humanities and Health Sciences | King’s College London |
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| Foundation Future Leaders visiting CERN on November 27th, 2023. | Foundation Future Leaders touring Rolls Royce on March 31st, 2022. |
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|
Foundation Future Leaders during a visit to Parliament, June 2023. |
Visiting the Harwell Science Campus, 2023. |
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At RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments), Culham Science Centre, December 2019. |
Meeting of the Foundation Future Leaders at the Royal Society in London, February 2020. |
The 2024 Foundation Future Leaders Programme is partly sponsored by AIRTO (the Association for Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations) and Advanced Research Clusters. The Foundation for Science and Technology gratefully acknowledges their support.
