What makes an education focused Business Management academic and what is the significance of this role?

In this episode, I speak to Professor Sally Everett, to explore the evolving landscape of education-focused leadership in Business and Management Studies. Sally shares insights from her own journey in education leadership, reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of an education-focused career pathway in academia. We discuss the role and significance of education-focused management academics, the leadership support needed to navigate career progression, and how to bridge the gap between aspirations and systemic realities. Finally, Sally offers her perspective on future directions and the changes needed to create a more sustainable and rewarding pathway for education-focused scholars.

Sally is Professor of Business Education, Deputy Dean and Vice Dean (Education) at King’s Business School, King’s College London. Sally is a National Teaching Fellow (2017), Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2013), Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence award holder (2016) and is Equality Officer for the Association of National Teaching Fellows. Sally is a member of the Chartered Association of Business School’s Race Equality Working Group and their Equality and Diversity Committee, and is Director of their Leaders in Learning and Teaching programme. Sally also set up and leads the business school’s gender inclusive network (Women@KBS).

What happens when you challenge centuries-old traditions in higher education? In this episode, we hear the compelling story behind the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) — a university built from the ground up to rethink how we educate for a complex world.

From the inspiration behind its founding to the hurdles faced in pushing against the boundaries of traditional academia to prepare students to tackle global challenges head-on, our guest shares what it takes to build an institution that puts real-world impact and interdisciplinary thinking at its core.

We explore why interdisciplinary learning is more than a teaching method — it’s a response to the world’s toughest challenges. You’ll hear how LIS connects theory with action, empowering students to work on live problems from industry, government, and society.

Plus, we tackle a big question: Is this the future of higher education? With momentum growing, we ask what needs to change for other universities to embrace a more connected, flexible, and problem-led approach to learning.

Professor Carl Gombrich, is the Dean of and the dynamic force behind The London Interdisciplinary School. With a diverse background spanning mathematics, physics, philosophy, and even professional opera singing. As a professorial teaching fellow at University College London, he spearheaded the UK’s inaugural Bachelor in Arts and Sciences degree, showcasing his dedication to fostering versatile minds.

Renowned for his captivating keynote addresses on topics like interdisciplinary education and the future of talent, Carl’s expertise has earned him a prestigious place in the British Academy Working Group on Interdisciplinarity. He’s also a core panel member at the Accreditation Organisation of Netherland and Flanders (NVAO).

In this episode, we explore leadership in digitally enabled education and the strategic decisions shaping the future of higher education with Sukaina Walji, Director of Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Sukaina reflects on navigating digital transformation, from reimagining undergraduate assessment through technology to embedding blended and online learning at scale. We discuss how leaders can communicate a clear vision, align diverse teams, and manage cultural change in universities. The conversation also examines the rise of AI in education—its opportunities, challenges, the issue of erosion of trust between staff and students, unreliability of AI detection tools, implications for institutional strategy and being intentional in designing learning. We also consider the leadership qualities essential for guiding universities through the next decade of innovation and digital adoption as emerging technologies continue to disrupt Higher Education.

Sukaina is the Director of CILT. She oversees operational functions for the department including supporting the growth and development of CILT’s capacity to design and develop blended and online courses. She provides strategic advice for university senior leadership for digitally enabled education, participates in university level committees and initiatives, and is Chair of the Online Education sub-committee. She is also the member of Assessment Framework Working Group and co-lead of the UCDG project ‘Transforming Undergraduate Assessment’.

In her previous role as Coordinator of CILT’s Curriculum and Course Design team she oversaw the work of the Digital Media unit and the Learning Design team. Her research interests include learning design, MOOCs, Unbundled Higher Education and assessment practices. She has a Masters in Online and Distance Education from the Open University UK, and a BA (Hons) in History from Oxford University.

What makes a writing culture feel alive—or depleted? Dr. Alicja Syska, Editor in Chief of JLDHE, explores how academic leaders can notice and nurture the different relationships scholars hold with writing: confidence, anxiety, joy, fatigue. Small shifts matter: when someone stops sharing drafts, or suddenly finds their voice again.

We discuss how to balance productivity pressures with meaningful practice, create sustainable structures—time, community, mentorship—without adding burden, and navigate the tensions GenAI brings to authorship and identity. Can AI genuinely support scholarly growth, or does it risk diluting the very thinking that makes academic writing matter? How do we craft guidelines that feel like care, not policing?

At the heart of it all: How do we help everyone feel writing is "for them" too—especially those outside traditional academic moulds? Join us as Dr. Syska offers a thoughtful conversation about holding space for both empowerment and caution as writing cultures shift, and rediscovering what it means to write with humanity in academic spaces.

Dr Alicja Syska is a Lecturer in Humanities and Education at the University of Plymouth, where she previously also held a decade-long post in Learning Development. She has a Ph.D. in American Studies from Saint Louis University, USA, is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA), and an ALDinHE Senior Fellow. Her interests include writing, community building, Third Space identity, and researcher development. 

She serves as Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Lead Editor at the Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal, and also co-hosts the Learning Development Project podcast.