A new addition to the AccessHE team

March 10, 2017

It is an exciting time in the AccessHE office at the moment as we welcome Dr Jamie Mackay into the role of Deputy Head. Some readers may be familiar with Jamie who brings with him over ten years of experience in the widening access arena. He first started as a Student Ambassador whilst studying his PhD at the University of Reading. This introduced him to the Aimhigher project and he soon moved to work in a series of roles in the Widening Participation Team at Thames Valley University. His last role saw him lead a small team of practitioners, delivering activities across West London and Berkshire in collaboration with other universities. Jamie then moved to take on a new role at Southampton Solent University where he maintained his focus on access and outreach but was also the University lead for all domestic partnerships with education and business. After delivering some innovative partnerships with the likes of B&Q, the Mary Rose Trust and CVQO, Jamie decided to try a new venture working at Emsi where he was the sector lead for higher education; working closely with key individuals in the sector to help them get a better understanding of how labour market information could help them address key challenges such as student recruitment, graduate employability and widening access.

During his first week, Jamie commented, “I’m really excited to be taking on this new role. I have already seen some of the innovative collaborative projects AccessHE is leading on in London and can’t wait to get more involved myself. As a key partner in the London NCOP, I can really see how the work of AccessHE will have a powerful impact on the lives of learners and their support networks across London.”