User:Professor1949/Tim Wilson (mathematician)

Sir Robert James Timothy Wilson, also known as Tim Wilson, is an English mathematician and professor.

Early life

Robert James Timothy Wilson was born in 1949, and raised in urban Leeds. He attended Temple Moor School in Halton where he studied for his GCSEs and A-levels. He subsequently studied mathematics and computer science at the University of Reading and acquired his masters degree in operational research at the University of Lancaster.

Early career

Throughout his period at the Universities of Reading and Lancaster, he was sponsored by Yorkshire Imperial Metals Ltd, working for the company during student holidays in the field of operations research. His major role in this period was the development of simulation models to underpin capital investment decisions in operations management and transport/distribution. He subsequently joined the Hargreaves Group where he was employed as a mathematical modeller in Merger and Acquisition Analysis.

Academic career

Moving to Leeds Polytechnic for an academic post in the Business School, he continued to work with the Hargreaves Group and other companies on a consulting basis, using these experiences to develop teaching materials and a case study based approach to learning. An early pioneer in the field of computer aided learning, he also developed a suite of business games, many of which he published.

In parallel to his activities in practice based teaching, he led the development of post-graduate programmes for students who wished to work within a pan-European business environment. Sponsored by the European Union, students would study a semester in the UK, Germany and France, as part of a coordinated academic programme and undertake an internship to complete their studies. During this period, he held visiting academic positions at FHW Pforzheim and ESCAE Dijon and became a strong advocate for collaboration between employers and higher education.

In the mid-80s, he moved to the Royal Military College of Science (RMCS), a faculty of Cranfield Institute of Science and Technology (now Cranfield University). His position of Director of Studies in the School of Defence Management blended his responsibilities of academic leadership in programme design and management with the acquisition and delivery of sponsored research. He pioneered the first industry-specific MBA programme in the UK (a Masters of Defence Administration), targeted at the Defence industry and the Armed Forces; he led research teams in acquiring and delivering research projects in the fields of weapon design and logistics support, for both Ministry and industrial sponsors.

Moving to Leicester Polytechnic as Assistant Director (Operations) in the late 1980s, he pioneered the concept of ‘design to cost’ in academic degree programmes and led the development of a network of Further Education Colleges, acting as a supply chain to support the development of the Polytechnic and to enable students from non-traditional backgrounds to access higher education in their locality. In the early 90s, he moved to Hatfield Polytechnic as Deputy Director, working for Professor Neil Buxton, with responsibilities for operations, finance and property development. The Polytechnic became the University of Hertfordshire in 1992. Following the closure of the British Aerospace factory in Hatfield in 1992, Tim Wilson joined with civic leaders and land owners (Arlington Securities Ltd) in the economic regeneration of central Hertfordshire. In addition to a significant inward investment programme, the University built its de Havilland campus on the former British Aerospace site. At the time it was the largest new campus development in the UK for 3 decades.

He obtained a PhD from Walden University,USA in 1997 and was made a Professor at the University of Hertfordshire in 2001.

He was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Hertfordshire in 2003. Shortly afterwards, the University adopted its business-facing mission and brand, differentiating itself in the UK higher education sector and reflecting its history and its culture. During his tenure, Hertfordshire progressively integrated its business-facing mission with its academic achievements, including the creation of a portfolio of profit-making businesses that subsidised to academic activities of the University. He retired from the position of Vice-Chancellor in December 2010, becoming an Emeritus Professor of the University shortly thereafter.

On retirement, he accepted an invitation to join the Board of the Unite Group plc, and also established other business interests in the UK, Greece and Singapore. In the Government White Paper “Putting Students at the Heart of Higher Education” June 2011, he was invited to lead a national review of university/business collaboration and to recommend ways that the UK could become a world leader in this field. The report was published in February 2012.

Public positions

During the 1990s, Tim Wilson was a member of national working parties in the fields of health research, teacher education funding, higher education in further education, and widening access to under-represented groups. He served on the Lambert Committee on Intellectual Property, and subsequently on the Saraga Committee. During 2004 – 2009, he was a Board member of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) with specific responsibility for innovation, overseeing the RDA’s investments in university campuses in Southend and Ipswich, and in a number of science and research parks throughout the region. He also served as Chair of EEDA’s Audit Committee for four years. He served as a Board member for the Higher Education Funding Council for England from 2004 – 2010, Chairing its Teaching, Quality and Enhancement Committee for five years. He was a member of the CBI Innovation, Science and Technology Committee for six years, and Deputy Chair for four years.

In the 2010 New Year’s Honours List, he was conferred with a Knighthood for Services to Business and Higher Education and became a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hertfordshire in January 2011.

Sport

Tim Wilson played rugby union for Roundhay RFC in Leeds for 10 years, captaining the Club in 1976 – 1977. He retired with a neck injury and started a coaching career with Roundhay RFC, supporting Head Coach Tony Biscombe, during a period when current and future England internationals Brian Moore, Richard Cardus, Ian Orum and Keith Smith were playing at the Club. He became an England RFU Senior Coach in 1980 and was promoted to Staff Coach in 1983. He coached in Yorkshire, Oxfordshire and Leicestershire before retiring from coaching in 1989 to start refereeing. He became an England “A” list referee in 1992 taking charge of national league matches, retiring in 1995. He captained Letchworth Golf Club in 2001.

Personal Life

Tim Wilson met his wife, Jackie, at the University of Reading. They were married in 1972 and have two daughters.