AI.RDN+ Project Lead

Phil is a Professor of Sociology & Policy at the Department of Society & Politics, Aston University. He was previously the Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Researcher Development and Dean of Aston Graduate School. He was also a Co-Chair of the PCE REF 2025 sub-panel Social Work and Social Policy and a member of the REF 2021 Sociology sub-panel. He is currently a member of the REF 2029 Sociology sub-panel.

AI.RDN+ Project Co-Lead

Helen is a materials scientist who has spent most of her career fostering collaborations between universities, industry and regional and national organisations. She is currently the Director of Midlands Innovation and has led the organisation to: nationally advance the status and opportunity for HE and research technicians; establish Midlands Mindforge, an investment vehicle to invest in IP-rich Midlands businesses, secured funding for Forging Ahead (a project involving over 15 universities); scaling the commercialisation ecosystem across the Midlands; and championing the role that universities can play in securing FDI into regional R&D (Invest in Universities campaign, 17 Midlands universities).

AI.RDN+ Project Co-Lead

Hosam is the Director of the MA Digital Design Futures and Professor of Immersive & Digital Design Innovation at the University of Leeds. His research advances digital design innovation by integrating research excellence, human-centred design, and emerging technologies to transform how people learn, interact, and engage within digital environments, including AI-enhanced experiential systems.

AI.RDN+ Project Co-Lead

Anikó is the Director of the Aston Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application (ACAIRA) and Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Department of Applied Artificial Intelligence at Aston University, interested in trustworthy, ethical and sustainable Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for the future. She was previously Director of Research Degree Programmes in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Aston University. Her research is focused on interpretable and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence methods, and their application in healthcare and transport problems.

AI.RDN+ Project Co-Lead

Arunangsu is the Dean of Digital Transformation at the University of Leeds. He is responsible for driving forward the delivery of the University's Digital Transformation strategy, with a particular focus on leading change programmes and projects in digital education, digital research and digital operations areas. Arunangsu has academic responsibility for the development of relevant digital transformation programmes, securing academic buy-in to change initiatives and leading the delivery of initiatives through project activity into business-as-usual activities.

AI.RDN+ Project Co-Lead

Frances has 10 years' experience of qualitative research. She has been Principal Investigator on three projects funded by Cancer Research UK and Co-Investigator on three further studies exploring smoking and cessation, including a study with people living with HIV in Uganda. Frances is currently Programme Director for the Sociology and Criminology BSc courses and Lecturer at the Department of Society & Politics, Aston University. She previously worked at Durham University and at the University of York.

AI.RDN+ Project Manager

Ronni has recently held the role of the Strategic Funding Manager at Aston University, having previously held a number of research support roles at the University of Birmingham and University of Warwick, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Quality Assurance Agency. She has worked in a number of different areas including research development and grant capture, research impact and support for REF. As well as being interested in how AI is transforming research, Ronni studied Psychology and is thus fascinated by how AI has the potential to impact one's thinking, emotions and behaviour.

AI.RDN+ Network Development Manager

Sebastian has worked as a Research Fellow at the Universities of Cardiff, Exeter, and Plymouth, and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Plymouth, where he has also contributed to research. His academic background is in social network analysis, network modelling, mixed methods evaluation and economics. He has worked across academia, health systems and innovation environments, and has held board-level roles within NHS healthcare delivery where he has brought digital health and innovation expertise into strategic discussions about service development and system change. Outside of AI.RDN+, Sebastian is the Research Director and Co-Founder at Apollo Health Innovations.

AI.RDN+ Senior Researcher Developer

Victoria has previously held Research Associate and Research Fellow roles on a range of large- and medium-scale EU research projects, Innovate UK and MoD-funded industrial projects, and a 5-year ERDF consultancy support project, based at Aston University in School of Computer Science and Digital Technologies. Her research is focused on human-subject studies, human-computer interaction, applied Artificial Intelligence, and data and systems integration.

AI.RDN+ Skills Developer

Robert was previously a Lead Instructional Designer in Digital Education at the University of Leeds, specialising in the development of impactful learning programmes. He has extensive experience in online pedagogy and design thinking, with a professional background in leading technology-focused educational initiatives within law enforcement. Robert holds FHEA status and is currently a LITE Fellow with the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence, where he is researching the role of intrinsic motivation in game-based learning.

AI.RDN+ Project Support Officer

Ernest has been based at Aston University since 2020 and is currently a Teaching Associate at the Department of Society & Politics. He has also worked at Aston Graduate School designing and delivering RD workshops and focus groups to PGRs. Prior to that, he had worked in communication, translation and qualitative research in the private sector. With political communication as the focus of his earlier research at University College London, University of Belgrade and Aston University and with AI playing an increasing role therein, Ernest has since begun to expand his knowledge in this direction.