Our External Advisory Board is made up of a range of leading people in tech, across different sectors and roles. They help us to optimise the relevance of our teaching, research and how we can best prepare students for their future careers.
They also participate in our Goldsmiths Computing community by giving talks, attending events such as degree shows and even taking part in student podcast interviews.
Adu Antwi
Head of Faculty, Lewisham College
Adu is Head of Faculty, Business Digital & Creative Arts at Lewisham College.
He has in depth expertise in leading, managing and teaching in the Futher and Higher Eduction. He is interested in innovative curricula to meet the needs of local, national, government and skills agenda.
Alex Blount
Head of Security Architecture Services at HSBC
Alex has most recently worked at HSBC as Head of Security Architecture Services, delivering internal intelligence to inform and improve the bank’s security posture.
Alex found herself inexplicably working in IT after gaining a degree in English Literature and has loved working on complex technology and data projects ever since.
Alex is interested in the power of good storytelling to bring IT and data to life and has spent her career in project delivery turning new ideas that make life better, easier, or more meaningful into reality. Alex started her career in Publishing and has since worked in leadership roles within Automotive, Retail, Consulting and Financial Services. In her spare time Alex is a professional children’s author.
Colin Davis
Head of Production, Experience Design, Nexus Studios
Colin Davis leads the XR, AI and interactive & experience design teams in the London & Los Angeles offices at Nexus Studios.
Over the time, he’s led the AR, XR, AI and real-time engines for clients like Google, Disney, Meta, Amazon, NBA, MLB, Mars, Kraft, EE, NBC Universal, WeTransfer, and Samsung.
He has won a variety of awards including two Cannes Grands Prix for the AI project for Pedigree for the work for the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as well an Emmy for Dexter (along with two other nominations).
Giuseppe Sollazzo
Deputy Director of Data Enablement, Department for Work and Pensions
Giuseppe is a Data & Technology specialist, currently Deputy Director of Data Enablement at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Giuseppe is a Data & Technology specialist, currently Deputy Director of Data Enablement at the Department for Work and Pensions. His role involves managing over 100 people who look after hundreds of data products, including national-scale data services, such as the data engine that powers the electoral roll, and the eligibility checks for a variety of welfare benefits.
He was previously a Deputy Director of the NHS Artificial Intelligence Lab, where he covered the role of an innovation and deployment-focussed CTO. His earlier role in Government data was as Head of Data at the UK Government Department for Transport, where he led the set up of data capability, managed transport-related data, and worked on improving the data culture.
Giuseppe's background is in IT operations. He's had a range of freelance work in data journalism and analysis and digital advisory, and he has moonlighted as an Open Data activist.
James Fletcher
Responsible AI Lead, BBC
James leads the BBC’s Responsible AI team. The team’s remit is to make sure that use of AI by and for the BBC aligns with the BBC’s values, priorities and legal and regulatory obligations.
The team co-ordinate the BBC’s overall RAI governance and risk management approach to ensure responsible internal development, procurement and use of AI, provide tools and support to turn principles into practice with teams across the BBC, and work to build a culture across the whole organisation of using AI responsibly.
Previously James worked in the BBC’s conversational AI team, after many years travelling the world as a radio reporter and producer with a passion for technology.
Jessica Driscoll
Director of Technology, Digital Catapult
An immersive technology specialist Jessica Driscoll is the Director of Immersive Technology at Digital Catapult.
She has an MA in Digital Culture and Technology and experience of working with a variety of technologies from virtual reality, augmented reality and haptics in the creative and industrial sectors.
She has implemented immersive training solutions in both educational and commercial institutions in particular NGO’s, Oil & Gas, Aviation, Pharmaceutical, Construction and Automotive industries.
Her previous experience at BBC Research and Development gave her understanding and insight into audiences and testing new broadcast technologies at scale.
With experience of each part of the immersive value chain from startups to international broadcaster, from business development to content production, this hands-on experience in immersive will help to shape the support offered for startups and scaleups in the immersive economy.
Kay Kukoyi
CEO, Purposeful Group
Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL is an award-winning entrepreneur, global tech startup mentor, and speaker.
She is the author of 5 books for entrepreneurs and SMEs, including the Amazon international bestseller, Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book, and has been recognised on the #IB100, the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards list of the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in the UK Technology Sector.
Kay is the CEO and Founder of Purposeful Group, an international community and centre for learning focused on entrepreneurship, technology and digital skills training. The company supports digital learners and empowers entrepreneurs around the world through its bestselling books, professional mentoring, and specialist workshops and programmes.
She is the winner of the BTA Lifetime Award for individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the technology profession (2022), and has also been shortlisted for a number of awards, including Digital Woman of the Year, Digital Entrepreneur of the year, Role Model of the Year, Best Small Business Owner and Best Small Service Based Business.
Matt Sansam
Deputy Challenge Director, Innovate UK
Matt Sansam joined Innovate UK in 2010, where he is currently Deputy Challenge Director, developing a cross sector, cross council strategy for supporting Immersive Technologies in the UK.
Previously Matt was Deputy Director (Special Projects) for the £98m Healthy Ageing Challenge and Mindset, a £20m Pioneer Challenge fund aimed at catalysing collaboration between Healthcare and the Creative Industries. Prior to that Matt was Head of Delivery for ‘Audience of the Future’, a £39m Challenge Fund focused on commercialising Creative Content using XR technology.
He is an acknowledged sector expert in Immersive, Creative and Digital technologies with nearly 30 years of experience in the UK’s Innovation Ecosystem and a proven track record of scoping, developing, and delivering innovation programmes across multiple sectors.
He is a Member of British Standards Institution IST/31 Immersive Technology Committee and ISO/IEC Joint SEG on the Metaverse.
Mat is a member of the advisory board for the UK Games Talent and Finance Community Interest Company and AHRC’s CoStar Programme board.
Sarah Wiseman
Principle User Researcher, Viable Data
Sarah is the Principal User Researcher at Viable Data and conducts research primarily for government and public sector projects.
Previously Sarah was a lecturer of Human Computer Interaction and Interaction Design.
Vinoba works at Samsung in the R&D’s Open Innovation team in the UK, as a Senior Technology Strategy Analyst focused on Mobile Carrier Strategy looking at future technologies in the space.
Amongst other things, she is interested in all things related to the VR/AR (Metaverse), Industry 4.0, Connected Living/Home, Companion Devices, and User Experience. Previously, she held a position as a research engineer (scientist) in R&D for the BBC.
She has extensive hands-on experience in areas to do with designing and building visual experiences on emerging technologies and enjoys looking into how audiences respond to novel experiences.
She has a healthy interest in inclusive thinking and diversity. She has a PhD in Computer Science (VR) from University College London and a BEng. in Information Systems Engineering from the University of Surrey.
Dr Jamie Ward
Head of Department for Computing, Goldsmiths University
Jamie is a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths where (since May 2024) he is acting Head of Department for Computing. He sits as a staff representative on the college Academic Board, and as a board representative to the governing Council. Jamie's research lies at the intersection of wearable computing, theatre, and psychology.
He obtained his PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland in 2006, and a joint degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 2000. Prior to joining Goldsmiths, Jamie was a post-doctoral researcher at University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN), and at Lancaster University, where he was a Marie Curie Fellow. He is a visiting researcher at UCL ICN; from 2019-2023 he was a visiting professor at Keio University, Japan; and from 2016-2019 a visiting researcher at the German Centre for AI (DFKI).
Between academic positions Jamie worked variously as a technology consultant, an analogue circuit designer, and as an actor in television, film, and theatre.
Eilidh Macdonald
Industry Employability Champion, Goldsmiths
Eilidh helps grow employability opportunities for students and increase collaboration with employers and Industry Advisory Panels.
Larisa Soldatova
Director of Research, Goldsmiths
Larisa is the director of the online Masters in Data Science programme at Goldsmiths.
William Latham
Director of Enterprise, Goldsmiths
William is a designer of computer games and computer artist with expertise in evolutionary art.
Aisha Aliyu
Lead Product Designer, 11:FS
(Previous member of the board)
Alisha is the Lead Product Designer at 11:FS Pulse and has extensive experience in User Experience (UX) design, particularly in the Fintech sector.
Her UX and product design experience is underpinned by over 10 years working in design for print, digital and interaction, branding, web development and business management in waterfall, lean and agile environments.
She has two undergraduate degrees in Business Computing and IT, and Web Development from Aston University, Birmingham and SAE/Middlesex University, London, respectively, and an MSc in Human-Centred Systems from City University of London.
Her experiences at university and then industry mean she is passionate about ensuring that higher education is equipping graduates with the skills to succeed in a world of emerging technologies and professions. She is a lover of lifting, technology, Fintech and Spanish.
Damien Peters
Senior Team Leader, Utility Warehouse
(Previous member of the board)
Damien is a Senior Team Leader at Utility Warehouse. He previously worked as a website developer at M3 Housing Software. Damien is an alumni of the department and studied BSc Computing.
Dr Jo Twist OBE
CEO, UKIE
(Previous member of the board)
Jo has been CEO of UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE), the trade body for games and interactive entertainment businesses in the UK since 2012.
Before this she was Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for Education, where she commissioned Digital Emmy-winning Battlefront II, free to play browser and iOS games, (Sweatshop, Nomnation and International Racing Squirrels) and social media projects.
She's a London Tech Ambassador, a VP of Special Effect, and is on various boards and advisory groups, including the Bafta Games Committee.
Jo was awarded an OBE in 2016 for her contribution to the Creative Industries.
Phil Harvey
Principal Applied AI Architect, Microsoft Research
(Previous member of the board)
Phil is a big beardy AI geek who loves working with data and solving interesting problems.
He is especially interested in soft skills for technical people in data, empathy, ethics and in the impact of data on what people know and how they know it. Starting his career with a BA in AI, he has worked in a wide range of industries from surveying, to architecture, to advertising, to being the CTO and technical founder of a data start-up.
Phil most recently worked at Microsoft as Industrial Metaverse Architect in the Industrial Metaverse Core group.
Robin Hunter
Lead Creative Technologist, Burberry
(Previous member of the board)
Robin is now Lead Creative Technologist at Burberry and was previously at rehab_agency.
Before this he worked at Fjord, part of Accenture Interactive. He designs & builds interactive tools and digital experiences enabling new forms of creative expression.
He is an alumni of Goldsmiths Computing Department (MSci Creative Computing and BSc Creative Computing).
Jennifer George
Head of Department (Chair), Goldsmiths
(Previous member of the board)
Jennifer’s research areas include HCI, theology and computer science and accessibility and research through design.
