UWTSD’s INSPIRE recruit Impact and Engagement Ambassadors

Eighteen members of staff from across the University have been recruited as INSPIRE Impact and Engagement (I & E) Ambassadors.

The aim of the Impact and Engagement Ambassador scheme is to create an opportunity for university staff to work in partnership with INSPIRE’s Research, Commercialisation, Enterprise, and Civic Engagement leaders to help deliver the University’s RWIF (Research Wales Innovation Fund) Strategy.   

INSPIRE is a core professional support unit at UWTSD which is responsible for driving research, innovation, commercialisation, enterprise, and civic engagement across the University. Executive Director of Commercialisation at UWTSD and head of INSPIRE, Gary Clifford, commented:

“We are delighted to announce the names of our first group of impact and engagement ambassadors. This is a new cross-departmental role that will formally unite the University’s ‘change-makers’ with INSPIRE’s vision.

We will draw on their experience and expertise to lead, motivate, and engage others in a way that builds upon the university’s impact in the fields of research, commercialisation, enterprise, and civic engagement. This role has been designed to support those individuals who have the desire to make a marked impact and influence on society and to build a strong rapport with fellow staff, students, funding bodies, industry leaders, employers, and people in our local communities.

We have assembled quite a team and I am very much looking forward to working with each and every one of them.”  

At a special event held at the University’s SA1 campus, the new ambassadors came together to start planning their work and activities. Richard Morgan, Head of Innovation and Engagement at the University’s Wales Institute for Science and Art (WISA), will be focussing on the Commercialisation division. Following the event, he added:

“It was wonderful to meet the other ambassadors today and I am very much looking forward to getting started.

Currently I lead on a number of Welsh Government funded collaborative partnership projects, working with organisations such as Aston Martin Lagonda, Marelli, Troy Manufacturing Group, Treharne Automotive Engineering and Reeco Automation. Through this Ambassador role I’m aiming to play a crucial role in supporting the University’s commercial activities throughout the year and to establish and develop further exciting collaborative projects.” 

The following members of staff have been appointed as Impact and Engagement Ambassadors for 2022-23.

Nalda Wainwright

Anna Lewis

Elizabeth Edwards

Claire Savage-Onstwedder

Richard Morgan

Kathleen Griffiths

Ffion Spooner

Catherine Owen-Williams

Jacqui Jones

Ashley Pullen

Elizabeth Walder

Gary Metcalfe

Matt Anthony

Jessica Shore

Geraint Forster

Andrew Killen

Vasilios Tavlaridis

David Bird

Further Information

For more information please contact Arwel Lloyd, Principal PR and Communications Officer, on 07384 467076 / arwel.lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk