“I’m delighted to be taking the helm as Academic Director of Warwick Institute of Engagement. My very first priority is to enable my wonderful colleagues in the Institute, and all of our Fellows, to continue the excellent work initiated by my predecessor, Professor Michael Scott. Beyond this, I want to ensure that engagement gets fully recognised in our institution and beyond as an integral part of the research landscape, and as an element of our curricula that can really raise students’ aspirations and make their learning more exciting, more relevant, more vital, and more collaborative. I want to lead us towards playing a key role in delivering outstanding results in the university’s assessment exercises (the Research Excellence Framework, the Knowledge Exchange Framework, and the Teaching Excellence Framework), and to increase opportunities for folks at Warwick to realise their engagement aspirations, helping them to find the funding and training needed to deliver their most exciting engagement plans. I have a deep and longstanding commitment to taking the work of the university out to our regional, national and international communities, and creating new opportunities for collaboration and co-production with those communities. I hope that under my direction it will be easier for more people from all walks of life and life stages to engage with Warwick staff and students, and to be inspired, enthused and enabled by their interactions with them. Wishing everyone a very successful and engaging term.”