Professor Vishanth Weerakkody,

Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Biography

I joined the University of Bradford as a Professor of Digital Governance in 2017 after completing a 15-year tenure at Brunel University London where I held multiple leadership responsibilities including for learning and teaching, graduate employability, and external engagement and outreach. Since joining the University of Bradford, I have held multiple leadership responsibilities including as Associate Dean for Planning and Resources for Management and Law, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences, and Associate Dean for International and Enterprise. As Associate Dean of Planning and Resources, I was responsible for leading the implementation of a transformative growth programme for the Triple Accredited School of Management. As Dean, I was responsible for completing the complex merger of Management and Law with Social Sciences and implementing a unified culture and values across a diverse faculty. As Associate Dean of International and Enterprise, I have developed and led the international strategy for the faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences resulting in significant international growth, strong academic and research partnerships, and global engagement focused on supporting joint curriculum, knowledge transfer, and student mobility. In my present role as Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Partnerships, I lead the international strategy to grow and consolidate the University of Bradford brand and footprint globally, and support social mobility through a ‘responsible and ethical’ student recruitment and global stakeholder engagement agenda. As a Professor of Digital Governance within the Triple Accredited School of Management at the University of Bradford, I maintain an active research track record with regular publications in 3* and 4* journals and R&D funding which have led to two REF2021 impact case studies. My current research is multidisciplinary and centred around public sector policy implementation, process transformation through digital government, social innovation, and the implementation, diffusion and adoption of disruptive technologies within a smart city–services context. Focusing on the evolving role of technology, I closely follow and critique digital-enabled service transformation efforts in the public sector. In this realm, I have presented written evidence to separate parliamentary inquiries on the UK Universal Credit and Common Agriculture Policy Development Programmes and given oral evidence on Digital Governance to the Science and Technology Committee in the House of Commons. My passion for solving societal problems through research and innovation together with a vast network of collaborators from both academia and industry has allowed me to attract over £25 million of R&D funding from the EU, ESRC, Qatar Foundation, British Council, and UK Local Government. Given the changing landscape of the UK within Europe, I am particularly passionate about research and innovation to tackle the societal challenges prioritised in the National Industry Strategy, including the use of emerging technologies to transform health and social care and using community-led innovation to deal with increasing levels of scarcity and poverty. Prior to my academic career, I worked in several multinational organisations both in the UK and overseas and my last role in industry was as a Methods and Process Analyst at IBM UK. I draw from over 30 years of commercial and academic experience to combine leadership, innovation, and intrapreneurship to accomplish both personal and institutional success.