Speakers

Mary Richards has over 20 years experience in Higher Education. She led and co-designed Brunel University of London’s trans-disciplinary Bachelor of Arts and Sciences Global Challenges undergraduate program and set up the Division of Trans-disciplinary Studies in Global Change. The BASc Global Challenges degree includes strand pathways on planetary health, social cohesion, security, and global innovation: providing an opportunity for students to study in a more holistic manner through engagement with natural and social sciences, as well as humanities disciplines. This is done in recognition that the complexities of the contemporary world do not respect disciplinary boundaries and graduates need the skills to met the demands of a rapidly changing global context and the climate emergency. Elements of the programme have been developed in partnership with local and international partners eg Planetary Health Alliance. Mary is a former Vice Dean of Education (College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences) and oversaw the educational provision for over 6,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students within the College. Mary has experience in knowledge exchange projects www.eskeproject.com , participatory practices and interdisciplinary public engagement projects. As Principal Investigator, she has managed Research England and Office for Student external and match-funded projects of over £500K.