Mike Baker
Mike is a columnist for BBC News Online and The Guardian and broadcasts regularly on the BBC and Teachers TV. Twice winner of Education Journalist of theYear, he writes an education blog. During 27 years with the BBC, he was Education Correspondent 1989-2007,and a Political and Foreign Correspondent. He was Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education and held fellowships at Oxford and Michigan, publishing several books. He is an Honorary Fellow of the College of Teachers and a Trustee at the National Education Trust. Educated at state schools and Cambridge, he has an MA from Kingston University.

Professor Nicholas Barr
Nicholas is Professor of Public Economics at the LondonSchool of Economics and the author of numerous books and articles. He spent two periods at the World Bank and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund. Since the late 1980s, he has been active in debates about pension reform and higher education finance, advising governments in the post-communist countries, and in the UK, Australia, Chile, China, Hungary, New Zealand and South Africa.



Sir John Chisholm
Sir John became the Chairman of QinetiQ in 2005, after transitioning the company from a collection of government owned research laboratories into a successful international business which floated on theLondon Stock Exchange in February 2006. He has been Chairman of the Medical Research Council (MRC) since October 2006 and took the Chair of the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) in November 2009. A Cambridge graduate, Sir John’s career took off when he formed CAP Scientific Ltd, which grew rapidly to become a core part of the CAP Group plc. He is a past president of the IET and holds a number of Honorary Doctorates and Fellowships, including the Royal Academy of Engineering. He was knighted in 1999.

Anna Fazackerley
Anna is Head of the Education Unit at the leading centreright think tank Policy Exchange. In recent months the education unit has published research on part-time higher education, whether universities should be allowed to fail, and the impact of choosing ‘soft’ A-Levels on university applications. Her unit is currently working on a major project on the future of university top-up fees. Anna is a well known media commentator on the education sector. Prior to joining Policy Exchange she was Director of the higher education think tank Agora. She has also spent several years working as a journalist, writing about universities for the Times Higher and The Guardian amongst others. She edited Can the Prizes Still Glitter? The Future of British Universities in a Changing World, published by the University of Buckingham Press.

Professor Christine King
Christine is Vice-Chancellor and Chief  Executive of Staffordshire University. Christine is an active and recognised champion of access, inclusion and diversity and was commissioned by Government to undertake a review of part-time study as part of the larger debate on the future of higher education. As an academic Christine has an international reputation. She is a Professor of History and has a number of Honorary Doctorates from various educational institutes and is Honorary Fellow of the University of Central Lancashire.


Professor Don Nutbeam
Don became the Vice-Chancellor of the University ofSouthampton on 1 October 2009. A University of Southampton alumnus, he has returned to lead the university where he completed his postgraduate education in the 1980s. Professor Nutbeam is a world-renowned expert on public health, and over his thirty-year research career has made a substantial international impact on the theory, science and practice of health promotion. He has held leadership positions in universities, government and health services. Before moving back to Southampton, he was Academic Provost at the University of Sydney.

Professor Steve Smith
Steve is Universities UK President. He has been Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter since October 2002. Steve is a graduate of the Universityof Southampton and holds a BSc in Politics andInternational Studies, an MSc in International Studies and a PhD in International Relations. He has contributed to or written 15 books, nearly 100 academic papers and hasgiven over 150 academic presentations in 22 countries. In 2001 he became only the second UK academic to be elected President of the International Studies Association in the USA. In 1999 he was the recipient of the Susan Strange Award of the International Studies Association for the person who has most challenged the received wisdom in the profession.

Wes Streeting
Wes is President of the National Union of Students. He was elected to the post in April 2008 with a convincing majority, having previously served for two years as the union’s Vice-President for Education. Wes read history at Selwyn College, Cambridge and was President of Cambridge University Students’ Union from 2004-05. Wes has a strong interest in education policy, particularly on widening participation, and has held a number of positions within the higher education sector, notably membership of the ‘Burgess Group’ on measuring and recording student achievement. He was a non executive director of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education from 2006 to 2008 and has been a non-executive director of the Higher Education Academy since 2006. He continues to serve on the HE sector delivery partnership steering group on HE admissions reform.

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