Professor Tim Wilson
Vice-Chancellor, University of Hertfordshire
Professor Tim Wilson was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire in September 2003.
He is acknowledged as being one of the leading thinkers in university/business collaboration.
Professor Tim Wilson has served on several national working parties in the field of knowledge transfer and intellectual property and is a strong advocate of a new model university: a business facing university.
Professor Wilson serves as a:
- Board member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE); Chair of its Quality Assessment Learning and Teaching Committee and Member of its Business and Community Committee.
- Board member of the East of England Regional Development Agency; the regional lead role in innovation.
- Deputy Chair of the CBI Science Innovation and Technology Committee.
- Member of the East of England Science Industry Council.
- Chair of Hertfordshire Prosperity Ltd - the economic development agency for Hertfordshire.
- A non-executive Board member of a number of companies.
Career
Professor Wilson secured his first degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Reading, followed by a Master of Arts Degree in Operational Research from the University of Lancaster and a PhD in Education Management from Walden University in the USA.
Spending the early years of his career in manufacturing industry as an analyst working on large-scale simulation models, he then followed an academic career with institutions that are now the Leeds Metropolitan, Cranfield and de Montfort universities.
Professor Tim Wilson also held visiting positions at the Ecole Superieure de Commerce et d'Administration in Dijon, France and the Fachhochschule Wirtschaft in Pforzheim, Germany.
During these periods he was involved in the innovative development of undergraduate international business degree programmes.
In addition, Professor Tim Wilson undertook pioneering work in computer aided learning, authoring a number of computerised business games and publishing in his field and in his academic discipline, Operational Research.
Professor Wilson enjoyed three decades of involvement in Rugby Union at national level, firstly as a player in Leeds and then subsequently as an England RFU staff coach and then as an England "A" list referee, taking control of national league matches.
Professor Tim Wilson retired from rugby as the sport entered the professional era and the game became quicker, as he became slower.
He is married with two daughters, one an accountant and one an actress.
Speeches
The 2009 Vice-Chancellor's Lecture – Digital, Green and Healthy: Universities meeting society's challenges.
Watch the lecture online | Download a copy of the lecture
The 2008 Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture - Enterprising economies: The real university challenge 
End of Empire: Higher Education in a global economy - Vice Chancellor's Public Lecture - Monday 2 October 2007 - HEFCE conference speech 2007
- New thinking on competitiveness Public Lecture 2006
- Global College Keynote Speech Kuala Lumpur 2006
- Unlocking the potential of small business Public Lecture 2005
- Annual public lecture 2004
- Inaugural Address 8 October 2003
Papers
- From onlookers to leaders? Rethinking the potential of universities in local economic development
- Hertfordshire County Review: January 2007
Interviews
- Focus Reports interview with Professor Tim Wilson in International Business Daily - UK.