Professor Liz Bacon holds the position of Principal and Vice-Chancellor at Abertay University. In addition, she has earned several professional distinctions, including Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), Chartered Engineer (CEng), Chartered Scientist (CSci), Chartered IT Professional (CITP), Fellow of the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT (FBCS), Fellow of the Institute of Science & Technology (FIScT), and Professional Member of the ACM. Her expertise lies in designing and developing systems, with a particular research interest in smart systems, security, artificial intelligence, and technology-enhanced learning. She is especially interested in using smart games-based learning environments to create immersive learning experiences.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between CIO Affairs and Liz Bacon:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
I like to think I take a similar approach both in the university and outside of my professional sphere in that I’m open and approachable, and I value and take on board the perspectives put forward by the people in my life, whether that’s in or out of the workplace. Creating and sustaining positive relationships is absolutely key to success in any endeavor, and remaining open to new ideas, while also having the ability to challenge those that don’t seem right has stood me in good stead to date.
Describe your background and what did you do before you started/joined the company.
I have an international research background in computer science, and I’m a global speaker on a range of related topics, including preparing staff and students for the fourth industrial revolution’s impact on teaching, learning, and work, and improving diversity and participation in STEM, particularly among women and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Part of my focus as an academic has been to work closely with politicians, professional bodies, and many other organizations to address the global shortage of skills in the IT industry and drive forward the agenda in this area. I also work with a range of external organizations—I’m a National Teaching Fellow, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Scientist, and a Chartered IT Professional. I’m also a former president of both BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and EQANIE, the European Quality Assurance Network for Informatics Education; a past chair of both the BCS Academy of Computing and the Council of Professors and Heads of Computing; and a trustee of Bletchley Park Trust and a board member of V&A Dundee.
I joined Abertay University in September 2018 as Deputy Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and initially led the university’s activities in the areas of partnerships, teaching and learning, research, and knowledge exchange, while also pioneering a new digital strategy—all areas we have continued to develop since I was appointed Principal in 2022.
Tell us about the inception of the company. How did it all start?
Abertay is a modern, friendly university in the heart of Dundee, Scotland, with a strong focus on teaching and preparing our graduates for the world of work, combined with excellence in research and knowledge exchange.
With roots going back to 1888, Abertay has always responded to the needs of industry, supplying a pipeline of graduate talent to work, lead, and innovate across a wide range of sectors.
Having forged a reputation as one of the UK’s leading tech universities, we are best known for our expertise in video game education, and our degrees in this field are consistently ranked among the best in the world.
From mental health nursing to civil engineering, or business analytics to ethical hacking, our three academic schools offer programs that prepare our students for employment and offer real-world work experience alongside their studies.
We pride ourselves on offering an inclusive, friendly, and welcoming environment for our students and staff, along with award-winning teaching and an excellent student experience.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
Abertay’s success has come from staying in close alignment with the needs of our students and our local community and responding quickly to the changing demands of industry. As a smaller institution, we are well placed to pivot quickly to adapt to disruptions caused by advances in technology or societal shifts, and that has helped us deliver on our key strategic aim of providing transformational opportunities.
Which are the major services of the company and how do the company to get ahead in the competition? What value-added services does the company provide?
Our core business is teaching, research, knowledge exchange, and innovation, and all of our activities are geared towards having an impact in the real world, whether that’s supplying the talent pipeline for Scotland’s booming games industry, creating the country’s first hub for cybersecurity R&D, or leading food innovation work that helps Scottish firms produce more sustainable products. In addition to these core strands of work, we also take an active role in civic engagement and in informing political discussion and debate on a range of issues where we have academic expertise.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
At Abertay, we pride ourselves on offering a friendly, welcoming culture for both staff and students, and creating that close-knit feel on campus is something we do really well. We very much welcome open dialogue and diverse views and put inclusivity high on our agenda. Creating a genuine team ethos is a difficult challenge for any organization, but it is particularly hard for universities, which more often than not have a hugely diverse portfolio of teaching and research interests. We tackle this by promoting cross-disciplinary work and collaboration in our activities, which leads to more and better co-working between staff departments and cohorts of students, meaning that a culture of support and teamwork is able to thrive.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in the company?
We are well versed in supporting the innovation requirements of our partners through projects like Transform Net Zero, an innovation scheme for food sustainability, and InGAME, a center for driving innovation in the Scottish video games industry. But we also have a culture of innovation within the university itself, and at the moment we are going through a period of significant digital transformation that is going to improve the way we teach and undertake research, work, and engage with our students and stakeholders. Abertay University places a lot of value on free speech and openness, and I’m proud that our campus is a place where there’s ready access for ideas to be fed into the senior management team.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Be bold in your decision-making, but always follow what data, institutional knowledge, and verifiable feedback are telling you, and communicate your intentions and actions effectively, both within and outside the organization. Listen and take advice; surround yourself with good people that you can trust and that you believe in; and never forget that your greatest strength is your colleagues. These are the people who take the organization’s culture off the written page and into reality, so it’s imperative that their voice be acknowledged and their ideas harnessed.
