James Newby is President and Chief Executive of the New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering (NMITE), a pioneering higher-education institution based in Hereford that is rethinking how engineers and technologists are educated to meet real-world challenges. An educational innovator and outspoken advocate for social mobility, he regularly writes and speaks about widening participation, skills, place-based growth and the need to challenge established systems in higher education that can inhibit innovation and opportunity.
Under his leadership, NMITE has developed accelerated, challenge-based engineering degrees, deep partnerships with industry, and a strong civic mission focused on regional regeneration.
James is known for his clear, pragmatic and often forthright commentary on education policy, regulation and institutional sustainability, and for questioning whether existing policy frameworks genuinely serve students, employers and communities. A former Open University graduate himself, he is passionate about opening up high-quality technical education to those from backgrounds traditionally under-represented in higher education.
BSc in Chemistry, Open University; MBA Open University; Member British Computer Society and the International Information Management Association