Timothy O'Shea | |
|---|---|
_(Timothy_O%2527Shea_cropped).jpg) O'Shea signing an agreement between Peking University and Edinburgh University in 2012 | |
| Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Edinburgh | |
| In office 2002–2018 | |
| Chancellor | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Anne, Princess Royal |
| Preceded by | The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood |
| Succeeded by | Peter Mathieson |
| Master of Birkbeck, University of London | |
| In office 1 January 1998 – 31 December 2002 | |
| Chancellor | Anne, Princess Royal |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Blackstone |
| Succeeded by | David Latchman (as Vice-Chancellor) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-03-28)28 March 1949 (age 76) |
| Alma mater | |
Sir Timothy Michael Martin O'SheaFRSE (born 28 March 1949,[1]Hamburg, Germany)[2] is a Britishcomputer scientist and academic. He was the Master ofBirkbeck, University of London from 1998 to 2002 and subsequentlyVice-Chancellor andPrincipal of theUniversity of Edinburgh from 2002 to 2018.
O'Shea grew up inLondon, attended theRoyal Liberty School, inRomford,Essex. A computer scientist, he was Master ofBirkbeck College from 1998 to 2002[3] and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of London from 2001.[4]
A graduate of the Universities ofSussex andLeeds, he has worked in theUnited States and for theOpen University where he founded the Computer Assisted Learning Research Group and worked on a range of educational technology research and development projects, later becoming Pro-Vice-Chancellor there.He was a Research Fellow at theUniversity of Edinburgh, Department of Artificial Intelligence, from 1974 to 1978.[2]
The most translated of his ten books isLearning and Teaching with Computers, co-authored with John Self and his most recent 2007 book,In Order to Learn, published byOxford University Press, was co-edited with Frank Ritter, Josef Nerb and Erno Lehtinen.[citation needed]
O'Shea became Principal of the University of Edinburgh in October 2002. Since his appointment he has sat on various boards including the Boards ofScottish Enterprise, theIntermediary Technology Institute Scotland Ltd, theBritish Council, the Governing Body of theRoslin Institute and has been Convenor of the Research and Commercialisation Committee ofUniversities Scotland and Acting Convener of Universities Scotland.
In 2004 he was elected Fellow of TheRoyal Society of Edinburgh.
He wasknighted in the2008 New Year Honours.[5]
O'Shea received an Honorary Doctorate fromHeriot-Watt University in 2008[6]
On 21 June 2016, it was announced that O'Shea would step down from his position as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the university in September 2017.[7] He was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Academy of Engineering in 2017.[8]
Since January 2008, O’Shea has been Chair ofJisc (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee).[9] He is also Chair of the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, was Chair of the board of directors of theEdinburgh Festival Fringe from 2012 to 2021,[10][11] and the Board of Newbattle Abbey College Trust. He sits on the Council of theConfucius Institute Headquarters,[12] and is currently a member of the German Initiative for Excellence, or 'Excellenzinitiative'.[2]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Principal of the University of Edinburgh 2002–2018 | Succeeded by |
.jpg)
