A new Director of Research and Innovation Services (RIS) will join the University in August, following a competitive recruitment process.

Caroline Quest will take up the directorship from 19 August, leading the RIS team in advancing the University's international reputation for research and knowledge transfer by increasing the volume of externally funded research, improving grant application success rates and enhancing strategic and operational support to academic departments. Caroline will take over from Interim Director Dr Alison Evans who has served in this position over the last thirteen months.

A former Director of Research & Enterprise at the University of Leicester and Director of Enterprise & Innovation at Queen Mary University of London, Caroline has been a higher education, research commercialisation and knowledge exchange consultant since 2016, working for a wide array of clients.

She said: “The University of Bath has a history of world-class research and impact across disciplines and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to build on this reputation and achieve even more. This is an exciting time to be joining the University as it moves into its next stage of development and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead Research and Innovation Services.”

Professor Jonathan Knight, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), said: “Caroline has a wealth of experience of research management in UK higher education, and the interview panel was very impressed by her skills and knowledge. I’m delighted to be welcoming her to the University and I am confident that she is the right person to guide RIS through some of the challenges facing the sector. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognise the excellent job that Dr Alison Evans has done as Interim Director.”