ETCI | Speaker Profiles

David Bolman

Provost and Dean of the University of Advancing Technology, Arizona, USA
"Emerging Technologies & Society"

Dave Bolman is the Provost of the University of Advancing Technology (UAT), a private technology college in Tempe, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. During his eighteen-year career with UAT, he has watched this small technical college evolve into one of North America’s most unique private institutions. Mr. Bolman is a passionate proponent of both learning and technology. As a part-owner in a private technology institution, he understands first-hand how changes in technology affect businesses and business decisions. And as an educator, he has a great interest in watching UAT students grow into their roles as leaders at the forefront of technological change in the 21st century. Mr. Bolman’s efforts at UAT have succeeded in helping it become a learning organization that produces a distinct type of technologist: UAT graduates not only use and create technology, but they also spend a great deal of time thinking about it and they are well equipped to help other organizations understand the consequences of technology and the impact of technological change.

Mr. Bolman teaches graduate-level topics in technology. He has also been a professor of technology at UAT and at Arizona State University. In the early days of computer graphics (CG), he worked as a CG programmer for Motorola and the Smithsonian's National History Museum, and as an application developer for the stereoscopic-viewing algorithms used in head-mounted displays.

Mr. Bolman holds Master of Technology and Bachelor of Science degrees from Arizona State University and has published papers on the history and ethics of technology, curriculum and program development models, educational methodologies and computer-aided design. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering and Technology Management from North Central University.

Dave Pender

Managing Editor of Digital Oman at Knowledge Oasis Muscat, Oman
"Digital Oman - Innovation & Enterprise"

Dave Pender is a senior advisor to the Omani Government working in the ICT and manufacturing sectors. He is responsible for marketing Oman’s six Government-run industrial estates, a newly created free zone on the Oman-Yemen border and a Muscat-based Technology Park. He is also involved in the day-to-day running of The Knowledge, Oman’s new business incubator program. He is Managing Editor of Digital Oman, a quarterly ICT magazine published in conjunction with the Ministry of National Economy, the Ministry of Information and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates. He was educated in London and at Cambridge.

Rebecca Whitehead

Academic Dean of the University of Advancing Technology, Arizona, USA
“Serious Games Applications”

Rebecca Whitehead is the Dean of Academic Affairs of the University of Advancing Technology (UAT), a private technology college in Tempe, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. Throughout her eleven-year career at UAT, Ms. Whitehead has pursued ways to fully integrate technology into the 21st century learning environment. Her efforts have been instrumental in the transformation of UAT into an educational model that addresses the needs of individual students in the digital age, as well as the needs of our information-driven culture. Her current initiatives include research into the customization of educational curricula through advanced technology and the educational promise of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG).

Aside from her role as a dean at UAT, Ms. Whitehead teaches general education courses. She earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Engineering from Arizona State University. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Business Administration with an emphasis on the management of engineering and technology environments. Ms. Whitehead participated as the educational panelist at the 2005 Techno-Security Conference, and has presented at conferences of the Career Colleges Association and Frontiers in Education.

Simon Evans

Managing Director of Creative Clusters, Sheffield, UK
“Technology & Creative Clusters”

Simon Evans is an entrepreneur, consultant and advocate for cultural business. His career includes events production, performance, venue development, cultural tourism, mentoring and business-building. Simon’s expertise is in initiating, guiding and delivering projects that seek commercial, cultural and political outcomes. He has been a lead player in developing Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter since its inception in the mid-80’s. After fifteen years of producing arts and entertainment events, Simon now works all over the world as a policy consultant and public speaker. He is currently Director of Creative Clusters, the international conference and network on creative industry development and regeneration.

Toni Wanklin

Business Development Manager, UK Business Incubation
“Business Incubation and Creative Technologies”

Primarily involved in UKBI’s communications, Toni has over 4 years experience of working within the incubation community, supporting and advising practitioners and stakeholders on all areas of incubator development and management. She has been heavily involved in the development of UKBI’s good practice materials and training opportunities, as well as building relationships with global partners.

Toni is a Journalism graduate and has worked for many public and private sector organisations in a PR and marketing capacity. In the past, she has assisted in establishing a social enterprise, providing training for young unemployed people, giving them the skills and confidence to go out into the marketplace and seek employment and has also worked with a number of SMEs in developing their marketing strategies.

Toby Barnes

Managing Director, Pixel Lab, Nottingham, UK
“Emerging Technologies & Business Development”

After helping to launch Emap’s Internet publishing group, Toby worked at NTL founding their interactive division; launching the world’s first digital interactive TV service and multi platform gaming product. Moving to MTV Networks Europe Toby created a number of innovative entertainment web sites, headed their interactive division, won a BAFTA and brought a strategic approach to their mobile projects. After a brief stint on the Pacific Rim as surfer, film maker, and games consultant Toby returned to the UK and his new base in the British Midlands. Here is has worked with a number of the regions independent digital media companies, and after working as Executive Producer for Digital Media and Games at EM Media, the Regional Screen Agency, Toby now runs Pixel-Lab, consultancy and production company focusing on production, innovation and talent development in the videogame industry.

Pixel-Lab encompasses a knowledge base of over 16 years in the gaming and games development sectors. This understanding coupled with a passion for the industry drives Pixel-Lab to support the industry and make the connections that will encourage continued growth. Within the public sector, Pixel-Lab advises, develops and delivers strategies to support industry growth nationally and regionally, from skills to innovation development. Within the private sector, Pixel-Lab is in touch with its roots and deep-seated passion for games and content, working with individual organisations within the industry to enable business growth and develop better development practises. Pixel-Lab also works with organisations outside the industry, enabling them to harness the power of games.

Susi O’Neill

Interactive Media Manager, EM-Media, Nottingham, UK
“Interactive Media”

Susi O'Neill is the Interactive Executive for EM Media, the Regional Screen Agency who provide investment and support for the film, games, TV and interactive media sectors in the East Midlands. She delivers business development to digital media businesses and innovators and develops the skills, opportunities and potential for regional digital media practitioners.

Previously, she worked in London as a new media consultant, web project manager and writer for clients including Universal Music, BBC and Capital Radio and as Head of New Media for travel TV producers Pilot Productions where she led multi-platform content delivery, e-commerce, online distribution and IPTV projects.

She holds a B Mus (Hons) degree in music and drama from the University of Birmingham and is a leading practitioner of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments.

Frank Abbott

Collaborative Communications, Nottingham Trent University

Frank Abbott (Based in Nottingham, UK) has been active as an artist working with new media for the last thirty years. His early television and independent film work included a trilogy of films "On The Air", 1976-83. (News and Comment, Workers Playtime and Magic Hour) examining contemporary mass media. He subsequently worked in theatre and cinema collaborations with writers and musicians including "Demon Lovers" with writer Steven Lowe, 1985 (Meeting Ground Theatre Company) and "Drive Me Crazy" with musician Jan Kopinski.

In 1997 he began a series of new media performances in a variety of different contexts exploring the relationship between new media performance, web streaming and the online environment which he continues to develop. They have included work in the context of New Media Clubs, Festivals, radio and conferences as-well as work online and in site specific environments in Berlin, Tokyo and the UK. As a teacher he has engaged with a range of new initiatives exploring the theoretical and practical relationship between cultural production and new media developments.

Chris Ward-Brown

Innovation Manager, EMDA, Nottingham, UK

Chris Ward-Brown is East Midland Development Agency’s Innovation Manager and his work includes the design and digital industries in the region. He has a long experience of working with the creative industries both with emda and in local authorities. Prior to this he worked in the live and performing arts industry and was General Manager of a large multi-purpose entertainments centre for seven years. He has a BA (Hons) degree in Drama and English from the University of Kent, UK.

Clare Hudson

Project Manager, Creative Leicestershire, UK

Clare Hudson runs the Creative LeicesterShire programme which supports creative businesses in Leicestershire and Rutland. In previous lives she was Head of Resource Development at Arts Council England, West Midlands and Head of Arts for Warwickshire County Council. She has also worked for Classworks Theatre, Leicester International Music Festival, the Royal Opera House and the South Bank Centre.

Michael Thompson

Manager, City Growth Leicester

Michael Thompson has worked for the last few years with the LeicesterShire Economic Partnership on developing the private-sector led City Growth strategy for Leicester and the Intelligent Landscape ICT strategy for Leicesteshire. This has included specific work on the creative industries and technology clusters and the provision of world-class connectivity across the county.

Michael previously spent 10 years with the the British Council in Singapore, Brazil and Sierra Leone on working on cultural and technology exchanges before joining NTL/Telewest with responsibility for the roll-out of internet business services. He subsequently worked for worked for Logica/CMG as a supply chain consultant and has also run his own company providing eMarket services to the craft and design industries.

Michael holds degrees in Food Technology and Educational Administration and is an active member of the Chartered Institure of Purchasing and Supply and the Association for Project Management.

Chris Hinton

Multimedia Course Leader, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
“Emerging Technologies and Education”

Chris Hinton is Subject Leader for Multimedia Design in the Faculty of Art and Design at De Montfort University. His background is in graphic design with a career covering three decades working for Avon Cosmetics, The Steiner Group and British Gas in the UK, and, in the 1980's, leading international design companies in France, Germany and The Netherlands. After a post graduate degree in Multimedia Design at DMU in 1997, he joined North Oxfordshire College as Course Leader for Graphic Design and Illustration and then moved to DMU as Senior Lecturer in Multimedia Design in 2000. His specialist areas are interactive interface design and TV graphics.

Emma Hunt BA(Hons) MA, MBA, FRSA

Assistant Dean/Head of School
School of Design and Media
Faculty of Arts, Design and Technology
University of Derby

Emma Hunt is the Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Technology at the University of Derby where her remit covers the School of Design and Media and also third stream funding that covers the creative industries. Previous to her appointment at Derby, Emma was head of Design at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth and various teaching positions at Winchester School of Art and Chelsea School of Art.

With a proactive approach to working in partnership for the Creative Industries she is chair of the East Midlands NTI for the Creative Industries which works closely with HE and FE providers to strengthen the linkages between education and the local economy. She is inter alia a board member for the Metro Cinema in Derby, an External Examiner, a subject reviewer for the QAA and a member of the Audio Visual Sector Alliance for Skillset.

In September 2006 Emma will take up a new role as Dean of Art and Design for the University of Huddersfield.

Michael Powell

Head of Game Art Design, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
“Gaming Technologies and Business Applications”

Speaker profiles

The following people spoke at the event:

10.00-11.00 Emerging Technologies