ISBE 2022 Keynote Speakers & Panelists

Keynote Speakers & Panelists

Rt Hon Justine Greening

Justine Greening is the founder of the Social Mobility Pledge, bringing together more than 600 UK businesses and universities, covering over 7 million people committed to improving social mobility. Justine is Chair of the Purpose Coalition – a coalition of the UK’s most innovative purpose-led leaders and organisations.

Justine is the former Secretary of State for Education (the first to attend a comprehensive school), Minister for Women and Equalities, Secretary of State for International Development, Secretary of State for Transport and Economic Secretary to the Treasury. Justine was born and brought up in Rotherham before studying economics at the University of Southampton and was MP for Putney from 2005 to 2019.

Professor Charlie Jeffrey, Vice Chancellor, University of York

Professor Charlie Jeffery became Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of York in September 2019. He joined us from the University of Edinburgh where he had been Senior Vice-Principal since 2014. He was a Member of Council of the Economic and Social Research Council from 2006-12 and Chair of the Political Studies Association of the UK from 2009-12.
He has a deep-rooted interest in how university research and education can serve the general benefit of society, or public good. In Edinburgh and now in York he has worked to bring together the University with local authorities, businesses, other universities and colleges to promote inclusive economic development, and to open up access to university study and economic opportunity to people from disadvantaged backgrounds – both in the UK and internationally.
Charlie is committed to sustainability, in particular, harnessing the expertise and passion of the university sector to respond to the climate crisis.
Charlie is Chair of the N8 Research Partnership (a collaboration of the eight most research intensive universities in the North of England), a member of the Partnership Board of key organisations in the City of York, the York Central Steering Board, and the York Health and Care Alliance Board. He is currently Deputy Chair of the Russell Group of leading universities in the UK. He lives in York with his family.

Professor Karen Bryan OBE, Vice Chancellor, York St John University

Professor Karen Bryan OBE joined York St John University as Vice Chancellor in April 2020. Karen is Chair of Yorkshire Universities, the representative body for universities and higher education institutions in Yorkshire and The Humber. She is also a member of UUK, Guild HE and the Cathedrals Group of Universities.

She was previously Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) at the University of Greenwich. Prior to that she was Pro Vice Chancellor for Regional Engagement and Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at Sheffield Hallam University.

Professor Bryan qualified as a speech and language therapist from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and also gained her PhD there. Her research interests are in communication difficulties in young offenders and in forensic populations. Also the impact of communication difficulties on access to healthcare. She is involved in the development of Registered Intermediaries working for the Ministry of Justice, and was previously a member of the Health Professions Council.

Professor Bryan is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Neuropsychology at the University of Warsaw, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. She was awarded an OBE for services to higher education in 2018.

Professor Julia Rouse, Manchester Metropolitan University

Professor Julia Rouse works in two research centres at Manchester Metropolitan University that are dedicated to putting knowledge to work to create better working lives: the Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre and the Sylvia Pankhurst Gender and Diversity Research Centre. She also Chairs the Women’s Enterprise Policy Group and founded ISBE’s Gender and Enterprise Network. Julia is passionate about developing communities of scholars who engage knowledge to help tackle tricky social and economic problems. Under funding from the ESRC, and in partnership with ISBE and BAM, Julia has been leading the Engaged Scholarship Learning Lab

Professor Stephen Roper, Enterprise Research Centre, Warwick Business School

Stephen Roper is Professor of Enterprise at Warwick Business School, founding Director of the Enterprise Research Centre (www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk) and Co-Director of the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (https://ncl.ac.uk/nicre/). He is a co-investigator in the ESRC-funded Productivity Institute and a member of the Institute’s Executive Committee. Stephen has spent over 30 years’ researching issues related to innovation and innovation policy in the UK and internationally and has published widely in both areas. He has led over 80 externally funded projects many involving inter-disciplinary and multi-national teams. Stephen regularly acts as a consultant for the OECD and the World Bank on issues related to small business development and innovation policy including projects in Austria, Abu Dhabi, Mexico, Israel, Columbia and Poland, Austria and Canada over the last four years. His current work focuses on firm level determinants of productivity, workplace mental health, well-being and productivity and the micro-geography of innovation. Stephen is an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the RSA.