Contributors
Andy Cotterill
Head of Global Undergraduate Student Recruitment and Access
Keele University
Dr Ceri Davies
Associate Professor in Economics
Director of Admissions & Recruitment
University of Birmingham
Courteney Sheppard
Head of Customer Contact
UCAS
Dr David Carrington
Senior Lecturer in Strategy and undergraduate Programme Director for BSc Business & Management
Aston Business School
David Howells
Head of Undergraduate Admissions
University of Bath
Dr Eleanor Parker
Business Improvement Manager (Disability/Exam Access and Mitigation Review)
University of Cambridge
Katrina Edmunds
International School of Lausanne
Leanne Gibbons
Assistant Principal, Head of Sixth Form
Impington International College
Sophie Miller
Deputy Director Guidance & College Team
Dr Ceri Davies is a macroeconomist with research interests in monetary economics and macroeconomic policy. He joined the University of Birmingham in 2013 upon completing a PhD in Economics at Cardiff University. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor in Economics and has served as Admissions Tutor for Economics undergraduate programmes since 2018. Dr Davies has delivered macroeconomics modules across all levels of study during his time at the University of Birmingham.
David is the Head of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Bath. He has worked at the university for over 12 years, predominantly focused on undergraduate admissions but also leading student immigration and university quality assurance teams at various times. He has experience overseeing admissions at a highly selective institution with over 35,000 applications annually, and has developed a keen interest in admissions forecasting, the use of technology in HE administration and UK fee regulations. He is also the product of the University of Bath, as a graduate of its MMath programme.
Academic Counselor
Lisa Mortini
Senior Assistant Director of Admissions
New York University
Liz Shaw
Admissions Manager (Undergraduate)
University of Stirling
Nick Hull
Director of Admissions
University of Birmingham
Richard McHugh
School & College Recruitment Manager
Canterbury Christ Church University
Heading up the Global Undergraduate Student Recruitment and Access team at Keele University, Andy’s team work with prospective undergraduate students from all over the world, studying a diverse range of qualifications and from a wide variety of backgrounds. Andy has been working in schools liaison, recruitment and access work for UK and overseas students for the past nine years working in a variety of institutions across the Midlands and in London, with the past three years spent at Keele.
Liz is the Undergraduate Admissions Manager at the University of Stirling, with over nine years of experience in admissions, recruitment, and conversion across both English and Scottish institutions. With a keen interest in internationalisation, she focuses on continuous improvement of admissions policies and procedures, with a particular expertise in refining and expanding entry requirements. Liz started her higher education career at the University of Birmingham.
University of Birmingham
Having worked at UCAS for over 13 years, Courteney leads the Customer Contact teams who support parents, teachers, advisers, students and universities with any enquiries they have about the UCAS process. He is passionate about the power of Higher Education and is responsible for ensuring that the service UCAS provides is the best it can be. He hosted the majority of the UCAS Facebook Live sessions throughout the pandemic and often supports and facilitates conferences, webinars and events. Alongside operational responsibilities, Courteney also manages and is accountable for the formal engagement UCAS has with all our customers through a comprehensive network of Groups and Forums.
Dr Eleanor Parker has 17 years' experience in supporting effective student transitions and enabling student success in UK Higher Education. Her roles as an academic and in professional services span five UK universities, including the University of Oxford (where she taught at the undergraduate level for 10 years), King's College London (where she led the institutional student service for academic skills and student success) and the University of Cambridge, where she is currently leading projects on student disability provision and assessment access and mitigations. She is Chair of the UCAS English Policy Group and a Global Summit Member for the Council of International Schools, specialising in international student success and transitions. Eleanor has lived and worked in the UK, Italy, France and North America.
Katrina is dedicated to helping students define and achieve their aspirations, particularly during the transition from high school to life beyond. Her work focuses on guiding students to understand their identity, values, passions, and purpose to find their path.
She began her career promoting British higher education to international students while working at the University of Dundee and then the University of Edinburgh. On her twin daughters' arrival, she exchanged global recruitment to work as a counsellor in international schools in Switzerland and is currently at the International School of Lausanne. With two decades of experience in education, Katrina has gained valuable insights into global education and supporting students to thrive through transitions.
Lisa is a Senior Assistant Director of Admissions for NYU’s Global Admissions and NYU Abu Dhabi teams, based in the London office. She is the NYU undergraduate representative for France, Ireland, Monaco, Switzerland, and the UK and recruits for NYU Abu Dhabi in the Southern states of the USA.
Born and raised in France where she gained two masters degrees, Lisa also lived in Denmark and worked for a couple of years in Westchester County, New York. Before joining NYU, she was a teacher then spent a decade in the admissions team of a top business school in the UK, enrolling international graduate students. She is a dedicated gardener, a keen traveler to the UAE, India, and Japan, and loves watching the tennis at Wimbledon. She now spends her free time training and playing with her little rescue Chorkie dog, Cooper.
Nick is Director of Admissions at the University of Birmingham, a post he has held for four years. He is responsible for the strategies, policies, and processes through which almost 150,000 applications are considered annually for undergraduate, postgraduate, online, and short courses at the university’s campuses in Birmingham and Dubai. Prior to joining to Birmingham, Nick was Head of Admissions and Visa Compliance at the University of Southampton for seven years during which time has was also Chair of the Russell Group Admissions Directors’ Forum. His career in Higher Education began at the University Warwick where he held various roles including in Admissions, Planning and Management Information, and Student Records and Graduation. Nick graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Microbiology.
Dr. David Carrington is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and undergraduate Programme Director for BSc Business & Management at Aston Business School, Birmingham, U.K. He is currently a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. David is the module leader for Strategic Management which is the capstone module for final year Aston Business School undergraduate students. He completed his PhD at Aston University, U.K. in 2017 focusing on managerial and organizational cognition during crises. David’s research interests are in sensemaking, consensus, strategic cognition, and cognitive shifts. He currently has two published articles in The Leadership Quarterly as well as a contributing author to Leader Thinking Skills: Capacities for Contemporary Leadership.
Leanne is the Assistant Principal and Head of Sixth Form at Impington Village College. As part of her role, she has been the IBCP and Sixth Form Progressions Coordinator for 10 years, supporting students following both the IBCP and IPDP with their higher education and career ambitions. Before joining Impington, Leanne taught in east London. Graduating from Oxford University studying English and completing her PGCE at Goldsmith's University, Leanne continues to teach English alongside her SLT roles.
After initially training as a Physical Education teacher and working in a variety of roles within both sport & education settings, I joined the School & College Engagement team at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2020. With a focus on supporting the progression of students to university, I advise students regarding a variety of aspects of Higher Education, such as student finance and the UCAS application process, along with guidance around university courses, providing information about key aspects such as course content and our university’s approach to entry requirements. This has included extensive work with students studying both the IB Diploma Programme and IB Career-related Programme, with significant numbers of students from both programmes, particularly the IBCP, progressing on to courses at Canterbury Christ Church University.
During her time at Birmingham, Sophie has led the development and implementation of the University’s employability strategy achieved through a college delivery model, along with specialist staff and teams. She has developed expertise in delivering services that aim to better engage underrepresented students and those with diverse backgrounds and employability needs.
Her role within the Careers Network senior leadership team requires an in-depth understanding of the student journey, student experience and student outcomes and she has used her expertise to help University of Birmingham maintain top ranking for graduate outcomes. current responsibilities include developing new approaches that enhance the employability of postgraduate and international students and recent graduates.
Sophie is a qualified Professional Development Coach and Conflict Resolution Mediator and enjoys spending her additional time mentoring emerging leaders.
