Gillian E. Mcfadzean
Gillian E. McFadzean
As a Director of a major Research and Enterprise unit Gillian has over 20 years experience leading university research, technology and knowledge transfer development and assisting others to develop that capability.
In the last five years her team helped grow research income at Heriot-Watt University from .£15m to £35m; grew licenses from >20 to 150 and created 22 spinouts in addition to establishing a core entrepreneurial development programme for all the Scottish universities – Converge Challenge.
In addition she has chaired AURIL in the UK and ProTonEurope and been a member of several policy-focussed Expert Groups for the European Commission and has managed institutional submissions to every UK research evaluation exercise since 1989.
She was Director of Research and Enterprise at heriot-Watt University, Scotland from 2001-13.
Core roles require: membership of senior management team; financial and staff management; leadership and management of academic staff without direct management role; external and internal stakeholder management at senior level; policy and strategy development; project management; implementation of major IT systems to manage management information; understanding of governance, standards, ethics and equality issues; risk management; identification and monitoring/delivery of key performance indicators (KPI).
Additional roles involved: bid development and planning (£100k- £6.2M): chairing grievance and disciplinary investigations across the University; assessing staff for promotion and development; membership of promotion and appointment boards outside my own area; oversight of identification and monitoring of risk and KPIs for different functions and academic activity..
Technical expertise: leadership and organisational development; funding bid development; funding and other contracts; intellectual property; marketing and events management, HR issues; team management and capacity building.
At European level she has extensive experience of both policy and practice, including:
2006/7 – Chaired Proton Europe an organisation developing capacity , good practice and shared standards in knowledge and technology transfer across Europe’s universities through policy and practice.
- delivered for Intertrade Ireland report proposing how and in what areas the universities in Republic of Eire and in Northern Ireland might collaborate and be encouraged to collaborate
2007 - chaired EC Expert Group “ Knowledge Sharing in the ERA – developing a Framework that set framework for IP in the ERA and led to the European Commission’s Recommendation to Member States on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities and Code of Practice for universities and other public research organisations
2007/8 – one of four expert international advisors to CERT-TTTM programme developing structure and curriculum for TTO staff at all levels in training and accreditation
2008–invited to write paper for publication by the Danish government : Publications: “Embedding Innovation in Support of Knowledge Transfer” Chapter in “Characteristics of the innovative University” ed G. Balling, M.SvoldgaardGadsboll, Copenhagen April 2010 ISBN 978-87-7070-200-3
2011– won and delivered 2 year contract to deliver knowledge exchange and spin-out creation training to Czech academics across all Czech universities.
2012 - bid for and won funding and stakeholders to roll out across all Scottish universities Converge Challenge programme to "create entrepreneurs" through a competition to identify the best plans from academics and students for new companies, with provision of training in market awareness and understanding
In addition since 2010 delivered evaluation for the Ligurian government to evaluate the Liguria government funded Spinout programme U.N.I.T.I. and established and delivered successful capacity building projects with 2 major universities in Russia.
Joined Helix Advisory Services Ltd in July 2013.
In November 2013 was appointed as member of Horizon 2020 Energy Advisory Group (November) advising on policy implementation through the Energy programme and as thematic expert on Knowledge Transfer to European Commission Expert Group on developing ERA Impact Assessment Methodologies (December)
-Awarded Scottish “Outstanding Contribution to Knowledge Exchange” November 2013
-Appointed as Trustee, Stirling Citizens’ Advice Bureau (December), Stirling
She holds a number of non-executive roles on private and public sector boards, including chairing boards of international organisations.
She is also active in the voluntary sector as a trustee of Stirling Citizens Advice Bureau.