Professor Ian Montgomery is the PVC for Global Engagement.In support of our global potential and ambitions, Ian leads strategies in relation to global engagement, partnerships, collaborations and international recruitment potential.He has been Dean of Ulster University’s Faculty of Art, Design and the Built Environment since summer 2008. He was previously Head of the School of Art and Design and Director of the Research Institute for Art and Design at Ulster University. His main research interests are in the areas of design theory, knowledge transfer, and design perception.Ian obtained his first degree in 1988, began his academic career in 1991 following a period in industry and was awarded his PhD in 2000.Ian has completed two terms on the Board of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland since 2007.  He was a Management Board member of the Higher Education Academy’s Art Design and Media Subject Centre and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD).He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the International Society of Typographic Designers and the Design Research Society. Ian has examined and chaired validation panels in the UK, Ireland and Europe and has established numerous international academic partnerships in the US, the Middle East, China, Hong Kong and Europe.He is on the Editorial Boards of ITERATIONS Design Journal (Ireland) and City Street Conference (Lebanon).Ian chaired the Academic Services Review Group established this year to undertake a timely review of academic structures in support of the new strategic plan and the University’s future ambitions.