International Principal, Europe, RMJM

Professor Will Alsop is Design Principal at RMJM's European flagship office in London, and is one of Britain's most renowned architects - widely considered to be a leading light in the profession.

Alsop has worked extensively across the UK and internationally with major projects in cities such as Toronto, Marseilles, Hamburg, Shanghai, Singapore and New York. Recent projects in the UK include the 'Chips' apartments in Manchester, 'The Public' exhibition space in West Bromwich and a luxury hotel development on the banks of the River Thames.

http://www.rmjm.com/

Design Advisor (Schools), Architecture+Design Scotland

Sam has worked on significant projects for over 100 public and private sector organisations, and has 25 years' experience helping clients make well informed strategic decisions about their investments in design.  He has qualifications in architecture and economics, and speaks and writes on applying creative tools to solve complex problems.

http://www.ads.org.uk/

Architect and Deputy Director, Portuguese Secondary School Building Programme, Portugal

Teresa is an architect and Deputy Director of the Portuguese Secondary School Building Programme. She is also Professor of Architecture at the Civil Engineering and Architecture Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal.

Her research interests include the evaluation of school learning environments and attempts to relate pedagogy (including student and teacher attitudes) to space. She is author of a number of publications and articles.

Research, Faculty of Architecture and Fine Art. SINTEF Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Biography to follow

Cofounder and Managing Director, Brain Management Ltd, Finland

Biography to follow

Director, Glasgow School of Art

Seona became director of Glasgow School of Art in 1999, having previously spent nine years as Director of the Scottish Arts Council. She is currently on the Board of Cove Park Artists Retreat and a member of the Executive Committee Universities Scotland.  Previously she has been a member on the Scottish Government's Scottish Broadcasting Commission and their Joint Future Thinking Task Force on Universities; the Scottish Advisory Committee of the British Council; and a member of the Knowledge Evaluation Committee of the Arts and Humanities Research Council. 

She was previously Vice Chair of the Lighthouse Centre for Architecture, Design and the City and on the Boards of the Arches and Suspect Culture Theatre. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen in 1995; became an honorary professor of the University of Glasgow in 1999, received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University in 2001 and in 2005, received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Glasgow Caledonian University, all for services to the Arts in Scotland.  She was awarded a CBE in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to the Creative Industries.

http://www.gsa.ac.uk/

Charles Whitehead

Social Anthropologist

Charles Whitehead is interested in investigating brain areas involved in social displays such as pretend play, role-play, and representational art, which he sees as central to our humanity and probably a major reason for our large brains. Following twenty years as Creative Director of an advertising agency, he gained his MSc in Social Anthropology at University College London, followed by a PhD in anthropology and neuroscience in 2003. He has published more than fifty papers, chapters, and articles on neuroscience, anthropology, consciousness, and related topics, and has presented regularly at international conferences on consciousness, psychology, and human behaviour.

http://www.socialmirrors.org/

Richard Yelland

Head of Education Management and Infrastructure Division (Directorate of Education, OECD, France

Richard Yelland is Head of the Education Management and Infrastructure Division in the Directorate for Education at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). This division manages both the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) and the Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE).

The Directorate’s mission is to assist Members and Partners in achieving high quality lifelong learning for all that contributes to personal development, sustainable economic growth and social cohesion.

The objective of IMHE is to analyse the governance and management of higher education institutions and the development of their role in society and thereby to contribute to the improvement of higher education.

The mission of CELE is to improve education by maximising the social and economic benefits of investment in teaching and learning environments and associated technologies.

Richard joined OECD in 1986 from the then Department of Education and Science in the United Kingdom where he held a range of posts in educational policy and administration. From January 1997 to March 1998 Richard was seconded to the University of Adelaide, South Australia.

http://www.oecd.org

Michele Zini

Architect and Designer, ZPZ Partners and Reggio Children, Italy

Michele carries out professional work and research in architecture and design. He was professor at the Design Faculty at Milan Polytechnic Institute (1998-2005) and works with Reggio Children and Domus Academy Research Centre.

His professional work as architect and designer covers diverse thematic fields (public and community service spaces design, commercial spaces design, image design) but focuses on spaces for children (nurseries, schools, children's centres) and furnishing systems for schools design.

www.zpzpartners.it