Meet our Academic Accreditation Committee Members

Elaine is a chartered electronic and electrical engineer with a doctorate in engineering education. She is currently a senior lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, and she specialises in electronic and electrical engineering, software development, learner transition, widening access to education and enhancing the student experience.

She has also held a number of educational leadership roles including Student Success Centre Director, Head of Learning and Teaching and Associate Dean of Learning, Teaching and Quality in the university’s technical school.

Elaine has been an Academic Accreditor for over 10 years and a member of the AAC for 9 years.

Rebecca is currently Director of Partnerships at the School of Engineering, UWE Bristol, responsible for apprenticeships, UK and international partnerships across Engineering, and University lead for UWE’s partnership in Oman.  Starting her career in industry working on avionics systems, Rebecca has been an academic for many years previously at Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Central Lancashire, focussing on cross-discipline, blended learning, and international engagement. 

She has held a number of leadership positions in quality assurance and international development at School and Faculty level, with extensive experience of programme development, validation and accreditation.

Gordana is the Head of School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics at Oxford Brookes University, previously a Programme Director and Associate Professor at Kingston University London. Previously, she held R&D and senior management roles in the military and security industries. She specialised in embedded systems with current research related to battery management and electric vehicles0.

She also has 15+ years of experience of running student extra-curricular projects, including Formula Student, greatly enhancing student learning experience and employability.

Gordana has been supporting curriculum review for UK Universities and internationally as an accreditor since 2010 and has been a member of the AAC since 2017. 

After many years of serving on the IET Future Talent Scholarship Panel, she became the Panel Chair in 2024. Gordana is also a member of the Worshipful Company of Engineers.

Professor Mike Fernando is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at the Open University. A highly experienced academic leader, he has extensive expertise in change management, strategy implementation and organisational leadership.

He represents the Engineering Council UK at the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE) and is recognised for his values-based leadership approach. Before joining the Open University, he held senior roles at the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where he led major strategic and organisational development initiatives.

Dr Filip is the External Business Engagement Lead for the Faculty of Technology at University of Portsmouth and the Operations Director of ASTA Technology UK Limited, the only ESA-accredited certification centre in the UK. Prior to this, Dr Filip has been a head of department for twelve years.

In his academic career, Dr Filip taught digital electronics, embedded systems and telecommunications. He has extensive experience as an External Examiner for both UK and International HEIs and has been an IET accreditor since 2010. Dr Filip holds an electronic engineering degree and a PhD in Digital Satellite Communications.

James is a Professor of Wireless Systems Engineering. His research focuses on various aspects of wireless systems, especially in the area of electromagnetics and transducer design in electromagnetics and acoustics. He has a keen interest in biomimetics, ultrasound and converting systems found in nature into workable engineering solutions.

James also has a long history of supporting the IET, including being a past IET Council Member, and a member of various committees including the Professional Network on Antennas and Propagation.  He served as Chair of the IET Academic Accreditation Committee between in September 2023-2026 and has represented the IET on the Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB).

Beverley is Vice-President and President-Elect of the Engineering Professors’ Council, having previously chaired its Education, Employability & Skills Committee. With 15 years’ experience spanning industry, applied research and higher education, her career has included roles at the National Physical Laboratory, UCL, the University of Sheffield, NMITE and the Dyson Institute.

She has led major curriculum reforms, established new engineering institutions and secured degree-awarding powers for two specialist engineering HEIs. Her national work focuses on engineering capability, employability, social mobility and neuro-inclusive education, alongside thought leadership on the future of engineering education and professional pathways.

Mike is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick. He received his BA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and PhD in Computer Science from the University of East Anglia and also has an MA in Post-compulsory Education from the University of Warwick.

He is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Fellow of BCS – the Chartered Institute for IT, a Fellow of the IMA, a Chartered Scientist, a Senior Member of the ACM, and a Senior Fellow of the HEA. His research interests focus on educational technology and computer science education, and he is the author or co-author of over 200 papers in journals and in international conferences. Mike is a member of the BCS AAC and sits on the IET AAC as a representative of BCS.

Dr Chiew-Foong “C.F.” Kwong is currently the Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the Engineering Council U.K. and a Senior Fellow of Advanced HE (SFHEA). Dr Kwong has over 20 years of experience in teaching and research in both U.K. and Malaysian based universities. In the IET, he currently serves as a Professional Registration Interviewer and a member of the Academic Accreditation Committee. Dr Kwong is also a former member of the IET Council and recently retired from the Registration and Standards Committee.

Professor Claire Lucas is Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and Innovation at Aston University. She has extensive experience in engineering education, research leadership, curriculum innovation and skills development. Claire works closely with industry, professional bodies and government on engineering capability, professional standards and the future skills needed for emerging technologies.

She serves on a number of national advisory groups and contributes to initiatives spanning engineering education, digital transformation and workforce development. Her interests include systems thinking, competence and professional formation, and the role of engineering in addressing complex societal challenges.

A Chartered mechanical engineer, Associate Professor and faculty Director of Academic Quality at a large London university until 2021.  Denis has been an IET academic accreditor since 2012 and a member of the Academic Accreditation Committee since 2016.  He is a member of the Engineering Council (EngC UK) International Advisory Panel and International Registration Committee.

In 2021 Denis was appointed as the EngC (UK) member to the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE) label committee and voting member of the ENAEE General Assembly.  Denis has extensive experience of chairing accreditation events in the UK and worldwide.    

James holds a Personal Chair in Control Engineering at Lancaster University and is Impact Champion for the School of Engineering, having previously held School Director of Teaching roles for many years. He conducts research in data-driven modelling and robust control, translating real-world data into predictive and decision-support tools for applications in energy, healthcare, robotics, and the environment. He teaches and supervises projects across mechanical, electronic, nuclear and chemical engineering. James has been an accreditor for the IET since 2012 and an AAC member since 2020.

Currently developing solutions for the safety of autonomous systems, Ken was previously Discipline Lead for Software Engineering for the Maritime & Land Division of BAE Systems Plc. He has extensive management and engineering experience in a range of enterprises working on the development of information and software-intensive systems. Prior to moving into industry, he spent several years in academia in the UK and North America working at the intersection of computing and neuroscience. Ken has been an accreditor for the IET since 2017 and an AAC member since 2019.

Andy is active in delivering and supporting Engineering Education for 40 years, mostly in the HE sector. This initially included concurrently contributing to the development and quality assurance of both HN and degree programmes. The result is experience in working with national bodies on programmes for home and abroad.

The development, delivery and auditing of engineering programmes plus involvement in IET activity underpins his work in delivering and supporting TNE programmes in China.

Following PEI local network activity, involvement in academic accreditation began in 1996, since then along with professional registration activity as registrar, moderator, assessor, PRA, PRI.

Sean is a higher education consultant and former university executive who has served as Interim Vice-Chancellor, Provost/Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro Vice-Chancellor. He has contributed to IET academic accreditation since 2003, served as Chair of the Academic Accreditation Committee from 2014 to 2017, and led the Engineering Council's review of the Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP Edition 4).

Sean now advises universities, governing bodies and sector organisations on governance, academic quality, regulatory assurance and institutional performance.

John is a semi-retired academic engineer with 25+ years in academic leadership and over 35 years designing and delivering tertiary level programmes. With deep experience across software engineering, programming, telecoms, and analogue/digital electronics, he’s spent more than 26 years refining online and digital assessment. He’s especially known for building “authentic” engineering coursework that mirrors real world practice and for creating blended learning experiences that work for technical students.

Mark Zwolinski is a professor in the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. He has been Associate Dean International from 2018 to 2023. He has published 220 refereed papers and written three text books. He has supervised 30 PhD students to completion and more than 100 MSc student projects. Mark has taught digital electronics at undergraduate and masters levels.

He has been an external examiner at several leading universities and has been on over 20 IET accreditation panels. Since 2015 he has been a member of the IET AAC and represents IET on the BCS AAC.