Register of Governors’ Interests
School of Coding & AI is committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency, and integrity.
To support good governance, members of the Board of Governors are required to declare any relevant professional, commercial, charitable, educational, or public appointments that may be considered relevant to their role as a governor.
The Register of Interests is reviewed regularly and helps ensure that potential conflicts of interest are identified and managed appropriately.
Professor Tom Crick
Professor Tom Crick MBE is Chair of the School of Coding & AI. He is Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where he provides independent scientific and technical advice to ministers and senior officials, with a particular focus on research and evidence infrastructure, digital technologies, data policy, responsible AI adoption, and technology governance. He is also Professor of Digital Society and Policy at the University of Bristol.
Tom’s interdisciplinary work sits at the research-policy-practice interface, spanning computer science, digital education, AI governance, public policy, skills, innovation and the role of technology in society. He has played a leading role in computing and digital skills reform across the UK, including major computing, digital, STEM curriculum and qualifications reform in Wales, and has advised governments, regulators, professional bodies and learned societies on digital technology, education and public value. He has also held senior professional leadership roles, including as Vice-President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
Alongside his academic and government roles, Tom has extensive non-executive and trustee experience across education, utilities, health and social care, infrastructure, media and telecommunications, including in complex, regulated and multi-billion-pound organisations. His board work has included governance, strategy, risk, assurance, workforce, technology, procurement and organisational transformation.
Tom was appointed MBE in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to computer science and the promotion of computer science education. He is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and the Academy of Social Sciences, a Chartered Fellow of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and recipient of the BCS Lovelace Medal and the IET Achievement Medal for contributions to computer science, digital and STEM education, and public policy.
Professor Crick serves as Chair in a personal capacity.
Sandeep Athwal
Sandeep Athwal is a highly professional, compassionate, and community-focused leader with over 20 years of experience across human resources, education, wellbeing, and community engagement. She holds a BSc in Human Psychology, a Certificate in Counselling Psychology, and is a Level 7 Qualified Apprenticeship Assessor. Throughout her career, Sandeep has developed strong leadership, communication, organisational, and interpersonal skills, with a professional approach centred around empowering individuals, supporting wellbeing, and creating inclusive environments in education and workplaces where people feel valued, supported, and encouraged to reach their full potential.
Sandeep played an instrumental role during the early stages of School of Coding & AI’s development, supporting her husband, Manny Athwal, in growing the organisation from a small business into an international education provider with campuses around the world. Her dedication, strategic support, and belief in the organisation’s vision helped contribute to the strong foundations and continued growth of the organisation. Alongside serving as a Non-Executive Director at School of Coding & AI, Sandeep now leads SOC Communities Foundation, a charitable foundation funded by School of Coding & AI. The foundation is committed to supporting disadvantaged individuals and communities from diverse backgrounds by improving access to higher education, skills development, entrepreneurship, and personal growth opportunities. Through her leadership, the foundation focuses on creating meaningful social impact, breaking down barriers to opportunity, and empowering individuals to build brighter futures through education, support, and community engagement.
Sandeep remains passionate about inclusion, empowerment, wellbeing, and creating lasting positive change through education and community-led initiatives.
Mashkura Begum
Mashkura brings over 20 years of experience spanning the third sector, public sector, government regeneration programmes, and international development. She has developed strong expertise in community cohesion and stakeholder engagement, working with diverse groups including young people, women, families, and faith-based communities. She currently serves as a Programme Manager for a Swedish organisation delivering Erasmus+ projects across Europe, where she oversees complex, multi-partner programmes.
Mashkura is a Public Contributor for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) West Midlands, the UK’s largest funder of health and care research. She is also a member of the strategic steering group for the £50 million Maternity Disparities Challenge, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
In addition, she is Co-Chair of Birmingham Citizens, a national community organising civil society alliance, and Chair of Trustees at Saathi House, a women’s development charity based in Aston, Birmingham. An accredited Governance Specialist, Mashkura has extensive experience chairing both charity and corporate boards.
She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and an LLB in Law.
Rakinder Gill
Rakinder is a highly accomplished and respected nursing professional with 26 years of post-qualification experience. Her career reflects sustained professional growth and leadership capability. Throughout her career, Raki has demonstrated strong financial awareness, routinely managing resources within her clinical area to ensure safe, effective care whilst remaining in budget. As the Hip Fracture Lead, she plays a pivotal role in monitoring performance, analysing outcomes and presenting results at governance meetings.
Raki has held responsibility as the Health & Safety Risk Assessor for her ward for a period of 3–4 years, ensuring that risk assessments were completed regularly, policies and procedures remained current and compliance standards were consistently met. Her commitment to professional development is evident through her recent academic achievements. Raki was awarded an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice in 2025 and is currently completing the clinical competencies required to transition into an Advanced Clinical Practitioner role. Alongside her studies, she has maintained a demanding clinical workload and family responsibilities, demonstrating resilience, discipline, and a strong personal drive for excellence. She also contributes to the development of the future workforce by mentoring students on the ward, drawing on her experience within higher education environments.
Raki brings a well-rounded understanding of safeguarding, regularly undertaking mandatory training, making referrals where appropriate, and maintaining awareness of PREVENT responsibilities. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are embedded in her daily practice; she actively ensures that patients, colleagues and students experience fairness, respect and equitable access to opportunities regardless of background or heritage. Her experience extends into core HR processes, including recruitment, absence management and performance management, giving her insight into workforce challenges and the operational realities of leading teams in a complex healthcare environment.
Tim Luft
Tim is the Chief Executive of European Innovation Limited. He has over 20 years’ experience building, scaling and exiting technology businesses and designing innovation ecosystems that translate research into commercial impact.
Tim has extensive entrepreneurial experience across the public and private sectors, both within the UK and abroad. He is currently serving as a Dealmaker for the UK Government’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP), supporting international deep tech founders to establish and scale operations in the UK.
Tim has expertise in deep tech commercialisation, digital transformation, immersive technologies, AI-enabled solutions and university-industry collaboration. Tim supports inclusion and has mentored university spin-out founders, technology entrepreneurs and apprentices. He has co-ordinated multi million European (ERDF, ESF), and Innovate projects and is expert in investment and securing angel investors. Tim has a BSc Hons in Environmental Planning – Specialising in Urban Regeneration.
Daljinder Mattu
Pen portrait to come.
Thomas Osbourne
Pen portrait to come.
Stuart Ross
Stuart Ross is CEO of High Growth, providing executive coaching, training, and consultancy to CEOs and directors of scale-up and blue-chip organisations. He brings over 30 years’ experience in building, scaling, and advising businesses. High Growth partners with some of the world’s most ambitious and fast-growing companies, equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and discipline required to achieve and sustain growth. Its approach combines cutting-edge, results-driven coaching with both online and in-person training programmes. High Growth is currently recognised as East Midlands Mentor of the Year.
Stuart has a proven track record of delivering significant sales, profit, and performance improvements—consistently ahead of competitors—both for clients and within organisations where he has held senior leadership roles in the UK and internationally. He has managed businesses with revenues of up to £500 million. He is passionate about building high-performance cultures grounded in trust, accountability, and transparency.
Stuart is Non-Executive Chairman of The School of Life and serves as a Trustee of Nottinghamshire Community Foundation and Forever Notts. He is also a recipient of the Freedom of the City of London. He is a Guest Lecturer at the University of Oxford and the University of Nottingham.
Stuart holds an MBA and a BSc (Hons) in Business Studies.
Steven Smith
Pen portrait to come.
Declaration of Interests
All governors are required to declare any interests that may reasonably be perceived as influencing their judgement or decision-making in relation to School of Coding & AI. Where a conflict of interest arises, appropriate steps are taken in accordance with the organisation’s governance policies to ensure that decisions are made fairly, transparently, and in the best interests of School of Coding & AI.
Last updated: June 2026
The Register of Interests is reviewed annually and updated whenever a governor reports a material change in their interests or appointments.