Awards for Bridging Cultures

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• Judging
  • The judging panel
    • David Pilsbury

• Judging
  • The judging panel
    • Eddie Botsio
    • Ted Cantle
    • Lord Dholakia
    • John Hall
    • Mimi Harker
    • Andrew Kilburn
    • Ibrahim Mogra
    • Heather Petch
    • David Pilsbury
    • Ranjit Sondhi
    • Baroness Verma
    • Andrew Whyte
    • Maire Young

David Pilsbury

PVC International, Coventry University

David Pilsbury took up the position as PVC International, Coventry University in September 2008 with broad responsibility for developing overseas partnerships, fostering internationalization of the curriculum and promoting student and staff exchange as part of the university’s international strategy.

Pilsbury was previously the founding Chief Executive of the Worldwide Universities Network.  Established in 2001, WUN is now recognized as the leading global research alliance.  Over 3,500 individuals are involved in a growing portfolio of activities that includes in excess of 70 international communities that have secured more than $40 million in funding for innovative research and educational activities.  In addition, under Pilsbury’s leadership, WUN developed an novel, international research mobility scheme for graduate students and early stage researchers that has made over 650 awards and is recognized for the flexible and imaginative way that it links the benefits to awardees with developing the wider collaborative agenda.  Pilsbury also positioned WUN to take a leadership position in the development and delivery and research-led eLearning to internationalize the curriculum and make world-class learning experiences more widely available both through its successful virtual research seminars and also though the development of full Master’s programs that are collaboratively authored and delivered by faculty across the partnership. 

Prior to this Pilsbury was Head of Research Policy for the Higher Education Funding Council for England – the major higher education funding organization in the UK – where he oversaw a fundamental reappraisal of research policy and the creation of the creation of the UK’s main funding organization for the arts and humanities – the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Pilsbury came to this role having formerly been Assistant Director of Research and Development at Cambridge University Hospital.

Pilsbury spent a number of years in strategic consultancy and investment banking after completing a D.Phil and postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford.