ACU vice-chancellor summit 2024:

Professor Colin Riordan CBE is the ACU's Secretary General and Chief Executive. He studied German at the University of Manchester, gaining his PhD from there in 1986. He was Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer in German at Swansea University from 1986 to 1998, when he moved to Newcastle University to become Professor of German. He became Head of the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle in 2001. After three years in that role, he was appointed as Faculty Dean of Postgraduate Studies, and a year later, in 2005, as Pro Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. In October 2007 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex, before moving to Cardiff University in 2012, where he served as President and Vice Chancellor until August 2023. Professor Riordan has undertaken numerous Board roles including on Universities UK, UCAS (twice), Advance HE, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (until May 2023), as Chair of UUKi, Chair of Universities Wales and as Chair of The Conversation. From 2021 to 2023 he was Chair of the IDP Connect Strategic Advisory Board. On 1 September 2023 he became Interim Secretary General of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Dr Ezekiel Machogu was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Education in 2022. Before his appointment, the seasoned career civil servant and administrator, had served as Member of Parliament for Nyaribari Masaba Constituency between 2017 and 2022. Since his appointment as the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Dr Machogu has led a successful turnaround of the fortunes of the hitherto stuttering implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum, a new system being rolled out in phases to replace the 8-4-4. Dr Machogu is currently in charge of implementing sector-wide reforms recommended by a Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms that was formed by Kenyan President, Dr William Ruto, upon forming his Government in 2022. Some of the key reforms that Dr Machogu is currently spearheading include the implementation of a new funding model for Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions and Universities, drafting new laws to govern the basic and higher education sector, and the writing of a new Sessional Paper to anchor the new education system. Dr Machogu is a graduate of the University of Nairobi where he studied Political Science (Government and Sociology). Due to his outstanding contribution to the education sector, Hon Machogu was awarded an honorary doctorate degree of the Taita Taveta University in 2023.

Hon. Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum (MP) is currently the Minister for Education of the Republic of Ghana and the Chairman of the Ghana Commission for UNESCO. He is the Member of Parliament for the Bosomtwe Constituency and hails from Jachie, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He was the CEO and Founder of New Designs
Educational Group, California, USA. He
has decades of experience in educational policy, planning, and administration. A philanthropist extraordinaire, within a period of three years, he has sponsored 150 students from the Bosomtwe Constituency to pursue programmes in Engineering and Medicine at various universities across the country. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Teaching Credentials) from Chapman University, City of Orange, California, USA. He further acquired a Master of Education degree in Educational Management and Administrative Services from the University of La Verne, California, USA. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, USA. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Capacity Building Centre (CBC) in the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Patron of the Africa Curriculum Association (ACA). The Hon. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum is also a member of a High-level UN Advisory Group for Mission 4.7, a new global initiative to put into practice the vision articulated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on education. He has received many awards both locally and internationally including Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA), Award of Excellence for the Development of Africa and National Union of Ghana Students’ (NUGS) Educational Leadership award for Visionary Leadership.

Bill Rammell was the first person in his family to go to University, developing a real personal commitment to the capacity of Higher Education to transform lives. Bill studied French at Cardiff University. At the end of Bill’s course he was elected President of Cardiff University Students’ Union. Bill was elected as a Labour Councillor in Harlow in 1985, becoming Chair of the ruling Labour Group. In 1997 Bill was elected as Labour MP for Harlow. Bill went on to serve as a senior minister at the Foreign Office, the MOD and as Higher Education Minister. After losing his seat in Harlow in 2010 in 2011 Bill became Deputy Vice Chancellor at Plymouth University (Internationalisation and the Student Experience) and in 2012 Bill became Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, serving successfully as Vice Chancellor for 8 years. Whilst Vice Chancellor Bill also served as an elected member of the Universities UK Board, and as Chair of Million Plus (The Coalition of modern universities). From 2021 to 2022 Bill served a term as President of the University of Kurdistan Hewler, based in Iraqi Kurdistan. Since September 2022 Bill has worked as President of Zoom Abroad an innovative EdTech Company specialising in international student recruitment and partnerships. Bill is also still active in Labour politics, and is a member of the Labour International Group.

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles is Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies. He is a distinguished academic, international thought leader, United Nations committee official, and global public activist in the field of social justice and minority empowerment. Sir Hilary is a director of SAGICOR Financial Corporation PLC, the largest financial company in the Caribbean region, Chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the former chairman of The University of the West Indies Press, Chairman of the Caribbean Community [CARICOM] Commission on Reparation and Social Justice, President of Universities Caribbean, an editor of the UNESCO General History of Africa series and a Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre. He has also served as an advisor to the UN World Culture Report and Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Sustainable Development. He is a past Vice President of the International Task Force for the UNESCO Slave Route Project and a past consultant for the UNESCO Cities for Peace Global Programme. He is a member of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the United Nations University. He has received numerous awards, including Honorary Doctor of Letters from Brock University, the University of Glasgow, University of Hull, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, in recognition of his major contribution to academic research on transatlantic slavery, popular culture, and sport. In 2017, the Town of Hartford in the state of Connecticut (USA), declared 21st March, 'Sir Hilary Beckles Day' in recognition of his global contribution to social justice and human equality. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Award for global advocacy, academic scholarship and intellectual leadership in support of social justice, institutional equity, and economic development for marginalised and oppressed ethnicities and nations.
Under his leadership as Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, the institution established a fifth Campus – the Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda, and debuted in the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking in 2019 when it was ranked in the top 4% of the world’s best universities. In 2020 The UWI earned a “triple first” accolade – as the number one university in the Caribbean, among the top 1% in Latin America and top 1% of worldwide universities between 50 and 80 years old. Continuing its upward trajectory, in 2021, The UWI was ranked among the top 1.5% of universities ranked globally by the THE. Sir Hilary has spearheaded an aggressive global reputation building strategy, which has resulted in ten global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. He also forged strategic industry partnerships to allow for the widened penetration of The UWI brand through new media channels and 24/7 cable television programming made possible by the creation of a public information and education service – UWITV. Sir Hilary has lectured extensively in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas and has published over 100 peer reviewed essays in scholarly journals and more than 20 academic books.

Sibongile Muthwa is the vice-chancellor of Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. She has a distinguished career both in South Africa and internationally, working in development and public-sector institutions, and in academia. She is the former Director of the University of Fort Hare Institute of Government; a former Director-General of the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, South Africa; and the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Institutional Support, of Nelson Mandela University. She is deeply committed to gender justice, social inclusion and active democratic participation. She is the former Trustee of South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID). She was the Commissioner and Deputy Chair of the Financial and Fiscal Commission of South Africa. Until December 2023 she served for two terms as Chair of Universities South Africa (USAf), a membership organisation representing all 26 South African Public Universities. She is a member of the International Governing Board of the BRICS NU. She is a member and Trustee of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) Council.

Rhonda Lenton is the eighth President and vice-chancellor of York University. A sociologist by training, her areas of teaching and research expertise include gender, family conflict, research methods and more recently, higher education. Her vision for positive change has guided the University’s success and leadership, particularly within the areas of 21st century learning, research and innovation, sustainability, global health and social justice.

Professor (Dr) C Raj Kumar, a Rhodes Scholar, is the founding vice-chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) in India. He was appointed as the VC at the age of 34 in 2009 when the university was established. Professor Kumar has academic qualifications from the University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Hong Kong, University of Delhi and Loyola College. Professor Kumar conceived the idea of establishing India's first 'Global University' and with the philanthropic support (US$ 100 Million) of Mr Naveen Jindal, established JGU in Sonipat, Haryana in 2009. JGU has been ranked as India’s Number 1 Private University for three years in a row by the prestigious QS World University Rankings 2023. JGU is also recognized among the Top 150 universities globally under 50 years by the QS Young University Rankings. In 2020, JGU was recognized as an `Institution of Eminence’ by the Ministry of Education, Government of India – a recognition that is given only to 10 public and 10 private universities among 1000 universities in India. Professor Kumar is an accomplished scholar in the fields of human rights and development, comparative constitutional law, terrorism and national security, corruption and governance, law and disaster management, legal education and higher education with more than 200 publications to his credit.

Baroness Barran MBE was re-appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education on 27 October 2022. She is Government equalities spokesperson in the Upper House. Prior to this she was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School and College System) at the Department for Education from 21 September 2022 to 26 October 2022. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School System) at the Department for Education from 17 September 2021 to 20 September 2022. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Civil Society) at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 26 July 2019 to 17 September 2021.

Mr Kailash Satyarthi, a prominent social reformer and Nobel Peace Laureate, stands out as an exceptional leader and an unwavering advocate for the marginalised and voiceless. He was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his tireless crusade against the oppression of children and youth, and his unwavering commitment to ensuring every child's right to education. With Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, he exemplifies a life guided by compassion, setting an unmatched standard in the field of social reforms. He has played a pivotal role in shaping ground-breaking legislations worldwide, intending to eradicate violence against the powerless. Through Bachpan Bachao Andolan, he has been instrumental in liberating more than 115,000 children from child labour, slavery, trafficking and other forms of exploitation and developed a successful model for their education, rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The Global March Against Child Labor, which he led, galvanized support in 103 countries resulting in the adoption of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. He is also the founding president of the Global Campaign for Education, an exemplary civil society movement working to end the global education crisis. He successfully spearheaded a countrywide movement to make education a Constitutional Provision which subsequently paved the way for the Right to Free and Compulsory Education in India in 2009. Mr Satyarthi is credited for establishing GoodWeave International, a first of its kind certification and social labelling mechanism for child labour free carpets in South Asia. He has worked to advance ethical business practices, to help businesses liberate their supply chains from child labour. He has been at the forefront of driving child related agendas into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which resulted in the UN Secretary General appointing him an SDG Advocate in 2021. Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation is ensuring an end to exploitation of children in India and around the world. In 2016, Mr Satyarthi launched Laureates and Leaders for Children, a platform bringing together Nobel Laureates and global leaders committed to working together for the world’s most vulnerable children. Alongside former child labourers and students, he also launched the 100 Million campaign in 2016 to inspire and mobilize young people to stand up and act for their own rights and the rights of their peers. Mr Satyarthi has received several prestigious awards including the Parliamentarians for Global Action Defender of Democracy Award (2009-USA); Alfonso Comin International Award (2008-Spain); Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award (1995- USA); Medal of the Italian Senate (2007-Italy); Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Human Rights Award (1999-Germany); Wockhardt Foundation, Lifetime Achievement Award (2019);Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice (2019); Rotary International Award of Honour (2022-USA); Honorary Doctorate Degree for Social Justice and Education, Amrita University (2022- India) among many other accolades. In 2017, he received the Guinness World Record for Largest Child Safe Guarding Lesson. 

The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC is the 6th Commonwealth Secretary-General. She was born in Dominica and was their candidate for the post at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta in 2015. She is the second Secretary-General from the Caribbean and the first woman to hold the post. The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC trained as a lawyer and became the first black woman to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 1991. At 35 she was also the youngest woman ever to be made a QC. She was also the first black woman to be appointed Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder and Master of Middle Temple. She joined the House of Lords in 1997 as Baroness Scotland of Asthal going on to serve as a minister in the Foreign Office, Home Office and Lord Chancellor’s Department. The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC undertook major reform of the criminal justice system, including the introduction of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act. She was appointed Attorney General in 2007 – the first woman to hold the post since it was created in 1315. She founded the Eliminate Domestic Violence Global Foundation in 2011 and was appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to South Africa in 2012. She was elected as the Alderman of Bishopsgate in the City of London in 2014, and awarded Eminent Caribbean Jurists Award in 2022.

Dr Gavan Conlon is a Partner at London Economics and a specialist in education and labour market economics. In the higher education arena, he has delivered research projects to central government departments, non-departmental public bodies, university mission groups, individual higher education institutions, unions and representative bodies, charities, think-tanks, regulators and private sector clients. Over the last decade, he has written extensively on the costs associated with alternative higher education fees and funding regimes across the four nations of the United Kingdom; the impact of Brexit on HE enrolment; the costs and benefits associated with international students; and most recently, the financial sustainability of UK higher education institutions.

Lord Ranger of Northwood is a member of the House of Lords. He has been a leading figure in the development and communication of innovate, technology led services and has a unique record of working in politics, the public and private sectors over the last twenty-five years. He has been a trusted adviser to senior politicians, chief executives and boards and has led teams through major project delivery, large scale transformational programmes, reputation and communications crises, as well as driving corporate and public affairs campaigns. Kulveer was part of the team that delivered the London Oystercard and spent four years working for the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, leading the transport and environment briefs and establishing the Digital London Office. His time at City Hall included preparing for the 2012 Olympics, making the case for Crossrail, leading on ground-breaking initiatives such as the cycle hire scheme and Tech City. Most recently he was a senior executive at Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, and established and led the strategic corporate communications function across Northern Europe, APAC and India. Kulveer has sat on various boards including Transport for London and Bristol 2015 European Green Capital City and is currently a member of the West Midlands Digital Advisory Board and the board of techUK. He is an international public speaker, a regular broadcaster for TV and radio and a passionate Tottenham Hotspur FC fan.

Professor Wendy Thomson CBE took up the role of Vice-Chancellor of the University of London in 2019, following a distinguished career in government and higher education. She has held roles as the UK Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor on Public Service Reform, as
Director of Best Value Inspections at the Audit Commission, CEO of the London Borough of Newham and as MD of Norfolk County Council. At McGill University, she was Director of the School of Social Work and Professor of Social Policy. Wendy has served on various government commissions and boards of directors. She is a member of the Board of Universities UK, London Higher and Diabetes UK. She also is chair of the Social Market Foundation.

Professor Moses Oketch was educated at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received his Master’s and PhD degrees focusing on economics of education. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from University of Nairobi. He started his academic career as Assistant Research Professor of Public Policy and Education at Vanderbilt University (USA) in August 2002. He then took up academic post at the Institute of Education (IOE) at the start of 2004. Prior to merging with UCL in 2014, IOE was a constituent college of the University of London. Prof Oketch’s research interests include the contribution of tertiary education to development and higher education finance, among others. He has published more than 100 papers, books, reports, book chapters and working papers in the field of education and international development and supervised many doctoral and master’s students. He has been a Visiting Professor at University of Pennsylvania (USA), Hiroshima University (Japan), taught a summer course at University of Bonn (Germany), and served as Director of Research at APHRC (Nairobi). He also spent two and a half years working in government on secondment as a Senior Research Fellow at United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). He is currently Professor of international education policy and development at University College London (UCL) and Co-manages UCL’s Centre for Education and International Development.

Kathryn Bailey oversees operations, communications, policy, and partnerships at the Ethical Data Initiative. The Initiative is hosted by the University of Exeter and the Technical University of Munich, and focuses on building research capacity, providing educational support, and offering a neutral platform for discussions around data ethics and governance. Kathryn’s expertise is in ICT, international development, data, and economics communications. During her career, Kathryn has coordinated communications and outreach as the Head of Communications and Partnerships for Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN). She has also managed the OECD Development Centre's multilingual publications program and PR strategy as Publications and Media Relations Officer, worked as a Project Officer on the OECD Environmental Performance Review team, and co-founded a tech start-up where she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of running the operational side of a small-to-medium-sized enterprise. She is Editorial Advisor for Taylor&Francis’ f1000 Agriculture, Food and Nutrition open research gateway, and holds a BA Hons in French, Linguistics and Translation from the University of London Institute in Paris.