Emma Wakeling

Emma is responsible for the strategic direction of the Business Development and Knowledge Exchange (BDKE) team. The BDKE team is responsible for developing external, commercial relationships and building partnerships between organisations and academics. This engagement activity will lead to collaborations, applying for project grants and increasing the University’s Knowledge Exchange activity, including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), consultancy, CPD, short courses, licensing and internships.

With a career in Business Development, Innovation and Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange spanning 17 years, Emma has designed, piloted and led Knowledge Exchange and business support programmes, generated significant income, increased regional productivity, and led teams to successful outcomes.Most recently, Emma led the Digital Creative specialism for the EIRA network and was also responsible for AI projects at the University of Essex. EIRA is a Research England Connecting Capabilities Fund project working with seven universities across the East of England.