University of the First Age

Jason R Smith (Chair)
Jason R. Smith (FCA, DChA, BA Hons). Jason is a Chartered Accountant with over twelve years of working with clients across a broad spectrum of industries and sizes, ranging from listed international groups to small owner-managed businesses. His recent experience has focussed on charitable entities, and he achieved the Diploma of Charity Accounting in 2008. Jason has led a Midlands-wide programme of community involvement at his current employer for the past four years. He is also the Chair of Governors at his local Infant school, and vice Chair at the Junior school, represents Derbyshire School Governors on the Derbyshire Schools Admission Forum, and is treasurer for three local organisations.

Sarah Evans
Sarah Evans has been Head of King Edward V1 High School for Girls since 1996, a girls independent selective day school in Birmingham. Before that she was head of a co-ed boarding and day school in Essex.
Sarah Evans has been involved in the Academy of Youth for some years.
Professionally she has chaired an Education Committee for a heads' association and currently chairs the Independent Schools Council National Teacher Induction Panel.
She runs from her school summer holiday courses through the Independent State School partnership scheme.
Sarah Evans is a columnist for the Birmingham Post.

Dr Barry Henley
Barry is from Liverpool and studied Chemical Engineering. He worked for BOC in industrial and medical gases for ten years in several rôles, including production manager in Manchester of what was the largest air separation unit in Europe and as BOC's youngest-ever branch manager in Barrow-in-Furness.

In 1981 he moved into the electronic security and fire protection industry. In time he became the Marketing Director of Chubb Alarms and was responsible for the introduction of many new products including radio transmission of alarm signals and the first trial of electronic tagging of offenders. Barry represented the UK industry in Europe and contributed to the writing of British and European Standards that still guide good practice in fire and security today.

Chubb asked him to turn around two underperforming businesses in the UK. The first was in electronics manufacturing, and then the second was in fire engineering for oil rigs. The company appointed Barry to run their Singapore operations. In four years at Chubb Singapore Barry tripled profits in the 'tiger economy' of the time.

Barry returned to Birmingham in 2000. He has served as a Birmingham City Councillor, and is currently a school Governor at Uffculme primary school, and at King David Primary School. For five years he was Chief Executive of the Technology Innovation Centre which is Birmingham City University's faculty of engineering, computer technology and media production, and was responsible for its move up the University league tables, record levels of home and overseas recruitment, and huge expansion of its support for local industries.

Dr Henley is now a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Adviser helping businesses with their research projects by involving University faculties. In a KTP an academic with the appropriate technology skills supervises an Associate who is a new graduate part-funded by the Government to carry out the work.

His interests include voluntary work on the committees of amenity groups and an economic regeneration group where he lives; politics; and watching football.

Sion Simon

Born into a Welsh-speaking family, he grew up in Birmingham and went to Handsworth Grammar. He then went on to Magdalen College, Oxford, to read philosophy, politics and economics, and straight afterwards started work as research assistant to an MP.

He has worked as a senior manager for Guinness PLC and became a weekly columnist on the Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and News of the World as well as associate editor of The Spectator.

In 2001, he was elected MP for Birmingham Erdington, and re elected in 2005 with the biggest Labour majority in the city. In the latter years, he was Minister for Further Education in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, then Minister for Creative Industries, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He stepped down as an MP to campaign for an elected Mayor for Birmingham. Every other Saturday he likes to watch West Bromwich Albion.

Born into a Welsh-speaking family, he grew up in Birmingham and went to Handsworth Grammar. He then went on to Magdalen College, Oxford, to read philosophy, politics and economics, and straight afterwards started work as research assistant to an MP.

He has worked as a senior manager for Guinness PLC and became a weekly columnist on the Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and News of the World as well as associate editor of The Spectator.

In 2001, he was elected MP for Birmingham Erdington, and re elected in 2005 with the biggest Labour majority in the city. In the latter years, he was Minister for Further Education in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, then Minister for Creative Industries, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He stepped down as an MP to campaign for an elected Mayor for Birmingham. Every other Saturday he likes to watch West Bromwich Albion.

John Lloyd

Educational Consultant

Sue Harris

Associate Director of Education, Education and Learning Team, Birmingham Children's Hospital

Arti Halai
Arti Halai has spent twelve years in the media industry working for both radio and television. During that time she has worked for some of the country's largest organisations like the BBC, ITN News Channel, LWT, Mirror Group and Sunrise Radio.
She has presented, reported and produced everything from news and current affairs to magazine and lifestyle programmes. She is currently a television Presenter for ITV1's regional news output in the Midlands, Central News.
Arti also presents a number of live events. She hosts award ceremonies, Annual dinners for organisations and companies, is asked to chair panels at conferences and business breakfast seminars as well as doing live entertainment events. For example she interviewed film stars and pop stars at the largest Asian lifestyle event, the Mela at the NEC in Birmingham a three day event that attracted more than twenty thousand people.
She lends her support to a number of charity events throughout the year, and spends time visiting schools where she talks to groups of children about her role in the media and inspires them to think about their future.
Through her work here she has gained a broad and deep understanding of behavior, communication and the most effective way to get a message across. She continues to build positive relations with others through her friendly and approachable manner.
Arti has a company called AH Action! This specialises in offering workshops and seminars in communication and presentation skills.
She is a Practitioner of NeuroLinguistic Programming and NLP Life Coach INLPTA trained. She has a Diploma in Stress Counseling and Management from the European College Collective and a BA (Hons) in Social Policy from the University of Sussex.