The People’s University

•Sir William Cavendish, 

2nd Earl of Burlington (later 7th Duke of Devonshire), Chancellor 1930 

•Chancellor 

• Queen Mary II Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal is our Chancellor. 

Her role involves representing the University at a wide range of engagements each year. 

The Princess Royal has been Chancellor since 1981 and is the 10th person to hold the post since our foundation. 

Professor Dr. Alistair Jarvis CBE 

 Royal Highness (University Of London)

PhD in Historical Philosophy, DM 2, University of Kent

Vice-Chancellor (Partnerships and Governance), University of London

Alistair is a member of the senior executive team at the University of London. His responsibilities include governance, communications, fundraising, marketing, legal, student recruitment, inclusion, regulatory compliance, quality assurance and supporting partnerships with federation members.

He was CEO of Universities UK from 2008 to 2013. Leading the representative body for the UK’s 140 universities - a registered charity and six subsidiary entities - his role included influencing policy, strategy and member engagement. Before this, he was Deputy CEO and Director of External Relations since 2013.

Previously, he was a Director at the University of Birmingham and has held external engagement roles for national organisations. 

Alistair received a CBE in 2022 for services to Higher Education and supporting the sector during the covid-19 crisis.

He is a member of the UCAS Board of Trustees and a member of the advisory boards of Wonkhe, the UPP Foundation and the Discovery Decade project. Alistair was educated at the Universities of Kent, Leicester and the Institute of Education, UCL​.

Professor Hammad Md. Sahil CBE

 Chief Administrative Officer ( University Of London)

 Chief Executive Officer (DYNAMIC FEATURES)

B.sc in COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Professor Hammad Mohammed Sahil CBE is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the University of London, Executive Director (CEO) of DF, and Spot-Contributor of the UOL Community. He is the University of London's youngest senior executive member. His duties encompass overseeing all of the collaborations with leading companies and providing guidance on every security platform within the UOL community.

 He was born in Chittagong, Bangladesh. He was a student of Dynamic Features back in 2018. He started his journey as a freelancer and broke the milestone of being the World's Top 100 Freelancer. He upgraded his career to many positions in different leading brands.

He started in the UOL community as an Assistant Professor in 2019. He migrated his position to Professor, Head of the Department, Alumni, Assistant President, Head President and Ambassador from Assistant Professor. With all his leadership and guidelines, overall 127k+ Students Reached Successful Positions. He is also founder of two startup companies (Excen Co. Macros LTD and XiteX)

He received his Dean Award From Goldsmiths University in 2023 & from Harvard University in 2022. He also received honorable membership in the World University Organization in 2023. He also won other tags, like: 

• Employee of The Month from: Google (03/09/2021), Microsoft (17/02/2021), Facebook (20/11/2022) and Table Xi Game Development Corporation (11/5/2022). 

• Student Of The Year : Berlin University (2020), Harvard University (2021) and University College London (2022)

• Duke of  UK National Governance IV (2022)

He allows and collaborates with brands to encourage Women Empowerment and Child Education . His CAO funds & scholarships also  inspire students not to stop learning at any cost.

He is also a member of the UCAS Board of Trustees and a member of the advisory boards of Wonkhe, the UPP Foundation and the Discovery Decade project.

Professor Oriyasha Akter Rina

 Active CEO (DYNAMIC FEATURES)

Bachelor of Economics, University of California

Professor Oriyasha Akter Rina is an accomplished leader with a robust background in economics and a passion for women's empowerment. She holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of California and has extensive experience in administrative and strategic roles. 

Since graduating from her freelancing career in 2018, she has dedicated herself to advancing women's rights and opportunities through her work as the owner of the National Organization for Women in Australia. 

In addition to her leadership at the National Organization for Women, Professor Rina is an active member of the AOC Women Empowerment Camp in the UK, where she collaborates with like-minded individuals to foster change and support for women worldwide. 

Her commitment to social impact and her expertise in economics make her a valuable asset to any initiative aimed at promoting equality and empowerment. 

With a dynamic approach to leadership and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by women today, Professor Rina is dedicated to creating sustainable solutions that uplift and empower communities.

Professor Dr. Ali Abedi CBE

Vice-Chancellor (University Of London) 

  Chief Operating Officer (DYNAMIC FEATURES)

PhD in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, University of Waterloo

Dr. Abedi joined the University of London, in 2005, where he was Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Cooperating Professor of Computing and Information Sciences. He is also serving as Associate Vice President for Research and Director of Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) at UOL. 

He was visiting Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, a Guest Researcher at NIST in 2012, and Faculty Fellow at NASA in 2016. Dr. Abedi is the founding Director of WiSe-Net Lab, where he directs research programs including analytical performance evaluation of block codes, new methods for performance and convergence analysis of Turbo-codes, and applications of error correction codes in wireless sensor networks for structural monitoring, space explorations, and bio-medical applications. His research on wireless sensing of lunar habitats was featured on the NSF Science360 website in 2012. He is the co-founder of two startup companies (Activas-Diagnostics and Nawindor). 

Dr. Abedi has received a number of awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), NASA, and IEEE. He is a senior member of IEEE and has served on several IEEE committees at local, regional, national, and international levels.  Dr. Abedi is Co-founder of IEEE International Conference on Wireless for Space and Extreme Environments (WiSEE) and currently serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Journal of RFID, IEEE/KICS Journal of Communications and Networks (JCN), and IET Wireless Sensor Systems (WSS) Journal.  

Dr. Abedi serves as program evaluator (PEV) for ABET (Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology) since 2016 and as an Extra class accredited Volunteer Examiner (VE) for ARRL since 2012.

Professor Dr. Wendy Thomson CBE

Pro Vice-Chancellor (University Of London) 

  Chief Financial Officer (DYNAMIC FEATURES)

PhD in social administration, University of Bristol

Born in Montreal Canada,  she is recognized as an international expert in public service governance and reform, experienced leader and adviser, working closely with governments in Canada, the United Kingdom and internationally.

Moving to the UK in the 1980s, Professor Thomson obtained a PhD in social administration from the University of Bristol supported by scholarships from Canadian governments. She stayed on, working for the Greater London Council before becoming Assistant Chief Executive of Islington Council in London. In 1993, she was appointed Chief Executive of the charity, Turning Point. Professor Thomson returned to local government as Chief Executive of Newham Council before becoming Director of the Audit Commission.

During Prime Minister Tony Blair’s second government, Professor Thomson led the Office of Public Service Reform in the Cabinet Office and served on the advisory committees of the University of Warwick’s school of local government, the University of Birmingham’s INLOGOV and several think tanks. She was awarded a CBE for her work on public service reform in the 2005 New Year Honours.

In 2005, Professor Thomson was given a tenured Professorship in Social Policy at McGill University, Montreal when she was appointed Director of the School of Social Work and founding member of the centre for research on Children and Families.  She taught public policy, supervised graduate students and established a research programme in child welfare and communities in northern Quebec.  Alongside her role at McGill, she was appointed to lead Commissions for the governments of Ontario (Commission on Child Welfare) and Quebec (Patient-based financing of health care). International work included advising governments in Nigeria, Ghana, the UNDP and OECD missions in the Middle East. In 2014 she was received a Women of the Year award from the YWCA for her work in education.

In 2014, Professor Thomson returned to the UK to serve as Chief Executive of Norfolk County Council, a role she combined with leadership of Norfolk’s Integrated health system and development of a Combined Authority for East Anglia.  

As chair of the London Anchors Institution Network and the London Research and Policy Partnership and member of the London Partnership Board Professor Thomson is committed to the contribution the university can play in enriching life in London.  

She has served on many public and private Boards of Directors and is currently on the board of London Higher, The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), and the University Advisory Board for Coursera.  She also is chair of the Social Market Foundation.  

Professor Dr. Mary Stiasny OBE 

Chairperson of The Board

PhD in Civilization Civil Service, University of Greenwich

Throughout her career, Professor Dr. Mary Stiasny OBE has worked to deliver and promote quality accessible education across the world.  As Pro Vice-Chancellor (International), she has responsibility for around 45,000 students studying in 190 countries worldwide, as well as the 1.4 million learners enrolled on the University of London’s MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

Prior to becoming Pro Vice-Chancellor (International), Professor Stiasny provided strategic direction and leadership at the Institute of Education, in her capacity as Pro-Director with responsibility for Learning, Teaching and International. 

Professor Stiasny began her career as a secondary school teacher, and then moved to higher education at Goldsmiths College, where she was involved in initial teacher education, becoming Director of PGCE and Deputy Head of the Department of Educational Studies. This was followed by a move to Oxford Brookes University, where she was appointed Deputy Head of the School of Education. After her time at Oxford Brookes, she returned to London, to become Head of the School of Education and Training at the University of Greenwich. Professor Stiasny then spent four years at the British Council as Director of Education and Training before joining the Institute of Education. From there, she made the move to the University of London to take up her present role. 

Professor Stiasny’s practical and strategic experience in education spans across a wide range of roles, including providing consultancy for a number of education projects, as an external examiner, as a Commonwealth Scholarships Commissioner, and as a member of the Boards of a range of educational bodies and Advisory Groups. 

Professor Dr. Jo Fox OBE

Chairperson 

PhD in Modern European History , Durham University 

Professor Dr. Jo Fox began her career at Durham University as a lecturer in Modern European History. She became Durham History Department’s first female professor in 2010 and its first female Head of Department in 2016. She was appointed as the first female Director of the Institute of Historical Research at the School of Advanced Study in 2017.

Jo Fox is a specialist in the history of propaganda, rumour and mis- and dis-information. She is the author of two major monographs, and has published widely in leading journals (such as the Journal of Modern History).  Her most recent research has focused on ‘The Political Warfare Executive, Covert Propaganda and British Culture’ with James Smith, Pat Waugh and Guy Woodward (Durham) (funded by the Leverhulme Trust), and she was Principal Investigator on an AHRC COVID-19 rapid response project on ‘COVID-19 rumours in historical context’ (with David Coast (Bath Spa) and James Smith (Durham)).  

Jo is a regular commentator on historical and contemporary propaganda and disinformation campaigns and works with policymakers on contemporary challenges in this area. She also regularly assists museums and archives in their public programmes and exhibitions.

Jo has previously served as the Honorary Communications Director of the Royal Historical Society. She is a National Teaching Fellow (2007), a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Manufactures and the Arts (FRSA). 

From 2019-2023, she served as Chair of the Humanities and Social Science Early Research Awards panels at the Welcome Trust.

Jo is a committed advocate for gender equality and social mobility in Higher Education, has served as an Athena Swan panel chair and as a member of the working group for the Athena Swan Charter Mark, and (with Ben Dods and the RSA) established social mobility programmes in North East England.

Professor Dr. Rita OBE

Co-Chairperson 

PhD in Humanities, University of Manitoba

Dr. Rita is an accomplished senior finance and commercial leader. She has developed and led large finance and corporate support teams. She is a fellow of both the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales) and of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Rita first started working in audit in 1990 as a trainee-chartered accountant. She then left public practice and spent the next 24 years of her career with social housing organisations including Gateway Housing, Newlon Group, Thames Valley Housing and Sovereign.

Immediately prior to joining the University as Chief Financial Officer, she was CFO for Cancer Research UK.

Rita has held Executive Finance Director/ CFO roles since 1999 and her experience includes corporate funding strategy and implementation, business planning and tax. She has also led on strategic matters including mergers, acquisitions, growth, diversification, and change management. In addition to finance, she has held executive responsibility for corporate services, technology, business improvement, governance, risk management and procurement.

She has held several non-executive positions, including Chair of the Audit Committee of The Beatson Institute and is currently a NED of HICL Plc, a UK-Listed Infrastructure Investment company.