Science and technology diplomacy workshop

Dr Sandeep Sandhu is a research and innovation expert with experience across government, academia, and international partnerships. She currently leads a 50-strong directorate at Innovate UK Business Connect, spanning global partnerships, policy and insight, strategic stakeholder engagement, and private investment across the UK and Africa. Sandeep has built impactful collaborations with governments, industry, investors, and universities worldwide, and previously led IUK’s international programmes, brokering bilateral innovation partnerships with key global economies. Earlier, Sandeep served as Senior International Policy Manager at UK Research and Innovation, where she developed UKRI’s international strategy, advanced European science policy, and represented the UK on the Global Research Council. At the Medical Research Council, she managed global health programmes including the Newton Fund and GCRF, and acted as National Contact Point for Health for Horizon 2020. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Dr Sandeep Sandhu is a research and innovation expert with experience across government, academia, and international partnerships. She currently leads a 50-strong directorate at Innovate UK Business Connect, spanning global partnerships, policy and insight, strategic stakeholder engagement, and private investment across the UK and Africa. Sandeep has built impactful collaborations with governments, industry, investors, and universities worldwide, and previously led IUK’s international programmes, brokering bilateral innovation partnerships with key global economies. Earlier, Sandeep served as Senior International Policy Manager at UK Research and Innovation, where she developed UKRI’s international strategy, advanced European science policy, and represented the UK on the Global Research Council. At the Medical Research Council, she managed global health programmes including the Newton Fund and GCRF, and acted as National Contact Point for Health for Horizon 2020. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Alice Bowen is a researcher in the field of chemistry. She uses combinations of light, microwaves and magnetic fields to study the structure of molecules with unpaired electrons via Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy. This method has applications in a wide range of fields from structural biology to materials science and may even be a basis for the next generation of quantum computers.

Jennifer Clarke joined NPL Management Limited in 2017, originally working across the organisation to deliver collaborations, sales and research partnerships with other National Metrology Institutes, big science organisations, government, academia, and industry. She is now the operations leader for the Chief Scientist, working at the interface of strategy, governance, and operational implementation. She is a keen member of NPL’s Juno committee, and passionate about creating opportunities for junior scientists to develop through the Directors Science and Engineering Fund, International Secondment Scheme, and Daphne Jackson Fellowships. Originally a chemical oceanographer, Jennifer previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher focusing on developing and testing instrumentation to measure carbon dioxide, pH, and other associated parameters in situ in marine environments. She collaborated internationally both with other academics and industry, taking part in international research cruises, fieldwork, and conferences. Jennifer is a passionate STEM ambassador and desires to encourage more diversity in science.

Nikita Hari is the Head of Teaching and Research Design Support Group at the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. She is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary Engineer with a career spanning more than a decade in integrated global industry, start-ups, and higher education. Nikita holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cambridge and was a Faculty for Future Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford. A TEDx speaker and Co-founder of two Edtech companies, Nikita serves as a strategic advisor, influencing policy and systems across governments, startups, and universities. Holding key roles such as CTO/Director/Co-founder and as the innovation lead of UK's first industry-based university, her career journey is defined by leading transformative initiatives in engineering and education. A passionate advocate for Engineering, Nikita’s vision is to engage, educate and inspire the next wave of change-makers and innovators to engineer a better, brighter, and more sustainable future.

Dr Sandeep Sandhu is a research and innovation expert with experience across government, academia, and international partnerships. She currently leads a 50-strong directorate at Innovate UK Business Connect, spanning global partnerships, policy and insight, strategic stakeholder engagement, and private investment across the UK and Africa. Sandeep has built impactful collaborations with governments, industry, investors, and universities worldwide, and previously led IUK’s international programmes, brokering bilateral innovation partnerships with key global economies. Earlier, Sandeep served as Senior International Policy Manager at UK Research and Innovation, where she developed UKRI’s international strategy, advanced European science policy, and represented the UK on the Global Research Council. At the Medical Research Council, she managed global health programmes including the Newton Fund and GCRF, and acted as National Contact Point for Health for Horizon 2020. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Clare Siviter-Groschwald is Associate Professor in French Theatre at the University of Bristol, having previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Université Clermont Auvergne, France, after a BA and PhD at the University of Warwick. Clare’s current research primarily focuses on theatre as a lens to study discussions of nationalism and rights during the longer Revolutionary period in France (c.1788-1818). Clare is passionate about Arts education, international collaboration, and how history can help us better understand the present world. Clare has also been nominated as a BBC/Arts and Humanities Council New Generation Thinker; a Franco-British Young Leader (a scheme supported by the FCDO and its French counterpart); and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society amongst other positions. She is also dyslexic and epileptic and is a keen advocate for disability awareness.

Nikita Hari is the Head of Teaching and Research Design Support Group at the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. She is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary Engineer with a career spanning more than a decade in integrated global industry, start-ups, and higher education. Nikita holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cambridge and was a Faculty for Future Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford. A TEDx speaker and Co-founder of two Edtech companies, Nikita serves as a strategic advisor, influencing policy and systems across governments, startups, and universities. Holding key roles such as CTO/Director/Co-founder and as the innovation lead of UK's first industry-based university, her career journey is defined by leading transformative initiatives in engineering and education. A passionate advocate for Engineering, Nikita’s vision is to engage, educate and inspire the next wave of change-makers and innovators to engineer a better, brighter, and more sustainable future.