College Governance

Corporate and Academic Governance

Corporate Governance Arrangement


The Board of Governance

The Board of Governance is responsible for the oversight of Nelson College London subject to the ultimate authority of the Board of Directors. The Board advises the Principal and Directors on strategy, risk, resourcing and employment matters, including the engagement of senior officers.


Executive Members

- Roger Paul Bradburn

- Nazim Uddin

- Athiqul Islam

- Shiraj Islam

- Aleksandra Osiniagova (Observer)

- David Douglas (Observer)

 
Schedule of the board meetings

- The 33rd Board meeting was held on 28th November 2024

The 32nd Board meeting was held on 25th July 2024

The 31st Board meeting was held on 17th April 2024

The 30th Board meeting was held on 24th November 2023

The 29th Board meeting was held on 26th July 2023

The 28th Board meeting was held on 19th April 2023


Committees on the Board of Governance

Principal's Executive Group
The Principal's Executive Group advises the Principal on strategic decisions relating to the academic conduct and well-being of the College. Of itself, it has no executive authority.

Academic Governance Arrangement - Structure


Academic Board

The Academic Board is the principal academic body of the College and has oversight and responsibility for its local regulatory frameworks, policies and procedures, as well as for the management of academic standards and quality. The Academic Board aims to meet the expectations of the College’s external stakeholders, more especially in relation to the quality of the student experience and the academic standards of the programmes taught. The Academic Board has ten committees reporting to it: the Academic Planning Committee, the Programme Committees, the Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee, the Course Committees, the Academic Assessment Panel, The Ethics Committee, the Progression Board, the Student Representatives Committee, the Student Access and Success Steering Group, the Equality and Diversity Committee, The Knowledge Exchange Centre Management Committee. The Academic Board reports to the Board of Governance.

1. Academic Planning Committee
The Academic Planning Committee (APC) is responsible for academic portfolio planning and development and for making recommendations to the Academic Board on approval and re-approval of partners, with due consideration being given to the enhancement of quality and standards. The Academic Planning Committee reports to the Academic Board setting out proposals and recommendations for approval.

2. Programme Committee
A Programme Committee is formed for each HND Programme the College delivers. The Programme Committees report to the Academic Board and are responsible for managing the day-to-day academic quality and standards of the programmes, and for ensuring effective engagement with students on programme-related matters.

3. Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee
The Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (QAEC) is responsible for ensuring that the College’s quality assurance systems meet the expectations of the UK Quality Code, awarding bodies, students and other internal and external stakeholders. The Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee reports to the Academic Board.

4. Course Committee
The College offers Courses validated by the London Metropolitan University. A Course Committee is formed for each London Met Course the College delivers. Course Committees are an important element of the quality assurance and enhancement cycle. A Course Committee is advisory to the Course Leader(s), Head of Programme Delivery, subject leaders and Dean of the Faculty, for the general operation and management of one or all the undergraduate/postgraduate courses in its subject area as distinct from the Subject Standards Boards and Awards Boards which are both Assessment Boards of Examiners concerned with student assessment, the conferment of awards and the setting and monitoring of standards and from Performance Enhancement Meetings. A Course Committee reports to the Academic Board.

5. Academic Assessment Panel
The Academic Assessment Panel (AAP) is responsible for overseeing all assessment decisions and awards at the College including the consideration of requirements for re-submissions and re-sits. The Academic Assessment Panel reports to the Academic Board.


6. Ethics Committee
The Ethics Committee considers issues relating to research undertaken by undergraduate and postgraduate students which raise ethical questions, and to teaching issues in which ethical issues may surface. The Ethics Committee operates as a committee of the Academic Board, to which it will submit an annual report.

7. Progression Board
A Progression Board meets prior to the commencement of teaching for the academic year two. The purpose of the Progression Board is to review the students’ academic performance to make progression decisions from year one to year two. The Progression Board reports to the Academic Board.

8. Student Representatives Committee
The Student Representatives Committee (SRC) provides a forum in which students can express their views on their learning experience at the College. The Student Representatives Committee reports to the Academic Board.

9. Student Access and Success Steering Group
The purpose of the Student Access and Success Steering Group (SASSG) is to monitor the implementation and evaluation of the College’s Access and Participation Plan, as approved by the Office for Students, and to make recommendations as it deems necessary. The SASSG reports to the Academic Board.

9a. Access and Participation Plan Steering Group
The purpose of the Access and Participation Plan Steering Group (APPSG) is to scrutinise the College’s Access and Participation Plan (APP) documentation and monitor the progress made against the targets and commitments made within it. The group is mandated to provide support and guidance to the teams working in Access, Success and Progression delivery. The APPSG will report to the Student Access and Success Steering Group. 

10. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
The purpose of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDC) is to ensure the College complies with the Equality Act 2010 and the College Equality and Diversity Policy, and to make recommendations as it deems necessary. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee reports to the Academic Board.

10a. Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Advisory Group
The Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Advisory Group has been established to advise the College on the type of support required for BAME students throughout the student lifecycle. The group where necessary will advise the College’s Equality and Diversity Committee which reports to the Academic Board. The Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Advisory Group reports to the Equality and Diversity Committee.

11. Employability & Progression Management Committee
The Employability & Progression Management Committee supports Employability and Skills development by operating a Career Advisory Service (CAS), and other related enterprise activities. The Employability & Progression Management Committee will be accountable to the Academic Board.

12. Student Engagement & Alumni Management Committee
The NCL Student Engagement & Alumni Management Committee is responsible to coordinate the planning and implementation of all activities under the Student Engagement Framework. The SEM Committee will have a say on key aspects of student life through various themes such as student events, student representation, student support, extra-curricular activities and Non-Curricular and Leisure Activities.


Profile of Members of the Board of Governance


Chair of Board of Governance



Aaron Porter
Aaron Porter, BA FRSA. He works extensively with universities and other higher education bodies across the UK with a number of consultancy and advisory roles primarily with Advance HE (leading on governance), with IDP Connect and with Wonkhe. He is also the non-executive chair of BPP University and on the council of Goldsmiths, University of London. He was previously President of the National Union of Students (2010-11) and has served in a non-executive capacity on the board of HEFCE, UCAS, Endsleigh Insurance and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

Role: Chair of Board of Governance

Main employment: Higher Education Consultant Director, Aaron Ross Porter Consultancy Ltd.

Outside Business Interest: Consultancy work with Advance HE| Council & Education Committee, General Chiropractic Council (Honorarium) | Council and Deputy Chair, Goldsmiths University of London| Governor, Whitgift School, Croydon| Non-Executive Chair, BPP University| Non-Executive Director, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries| Trustee, King's Head Theatre.

Immediate* family connections in NCL: None
 


Roger Bradburn

Roger Bradburn, BSc (Econ) MBA, FCIM FRSA. Has more than thirty years' experience in Higher Education management as Business School Dean and Academic Director. Worked in more than thirty countries. Prior to his education career served in senior corporate positions for a number of multinationals. Founded a successful start-up. Former COO of a professional body.


Role: Principal| Executive member Board of Governance| Chair of Academic Board| Chair of Principal’s Executive Group 

Main employment: Principal, NCL 


Outside Business Interest: External Examiner, University of Chichester/ European School of Economics| Examiner, Heriot Watt University| Examiner/ dissertation supervisor/course writer Arden University| Examiner, The Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH)| Auditream Holdings ltd, Shareholder| Klaspad PLC Shareholder.




David Douglas

David Douglas joined Nelson College London as Head of Programme Delivery, in April 2016. Having a wealth of teaching experience at both professional, postgraduate and undergraduate levels, David has also spent much of his previous career in Educational and Small Business Management.

Role: Executive member of Board of Governance – Observer| Member of Principal’s Executive Group| Chair: Student Representative Committee| Chair: Progression Board| Chair: APP Success Team| Chair: Scholarship and Research | Working Group (NDAPs | Chair: London Met Course Committees
Main employment: Head of Programme Delivery, Nelson College London


Outside Business Interest: Director, Nida Property Investments Ltd


Immediate* family connections in NCL: None
 


Athiqul Islam
Athiqul Islam has a postgraduate qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership. He has over 11 years’ experience of working at various levels in the Higher Education sector. Currently, he is a Director at Nelson College London.

Role: Company Director | Executive member Board of Governance | Member of Principal's Executive Group
Main employment: Head of Administration, Finance and HR, Nelson College London


Outside Business Interest: Director of Clements Management Company Limited, Shareholder (20%) of An Nakhlah Ltd.


Immediate* family connections in NCL: None
 


Shiraj Islam

Shirajul Islam, BA (Hons) Business Management, BTEC National (Business), is a Director of Nelson College London. He was the Marketing and Admissions Manager for six years and has been the Head of Marketing since 2012. Currently he is working with local schools; colleges and the Council to provide practical work experience. He also helps youths locally and nationally via the BEP group and Scouts.

Role: Company Director | Executive member Board of Governance | Member of Principal's Executive Group
Main employment: Head of Marketing, Nelson College London


Outside Business Interest: Properties, Shareholder (20%) of An Nakhlah Ltd., 50% of Bangla Kuryz Takeaway Ltd., 15% share in Nelson Edu Care.


Immediate* family connections in NCL: Dr. Shorful Islam - Brother
 


Aleksandra Osiniagova

Aleksandra Osiniagova has been the Head of Academic Services at Nelson College London since 2011. She has very diverse leadership and management experience. She completed BSc (Hons) Criminology with Psychology (with Distinction) from London South Bank University, and her MBA in Business and Administration (with Distinction) from Bolton University. Aleksandra has been promoted to Vice Principal in 2022. And finally, she is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.


Role: Executive member of Board of Governance | Member of Principal's Executive Group | Deputy Chair of Academic Board
Main employment: Vice Principal and Head of Academic Services, Nelson College London


Outside Business Interest: None


Immediate* family connections in NCL: None
 


Nazim Uddin

Nazim Uddin [FCCA, MBA, BSc, BBM, PGDE (University of Cambridge)] is a Director of Nelson College London. He is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Higher Education Academy. Nazim has spent just over five years as a lecturer at University of East London and four years as an external examiner for Newcastle University. Nazim has co-authored a book and several articles on widening access for mature students and is committed to improving employability and enterprising skills among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He received a gold medal from the president of Bangladesh in 2002 in recognition of his excellent academic achievement in the MBA programme.


Role: Company director| Executive member Board of Governance | Chair of Quality Assurance and Enhancement Management Committee (QAEC) | Member of Principal's Executive Group 
Main employment: Head of Quality Assurance at Nelson College London


Outside Business Interest: 


Shares owned in:

  • London Churchill College Ltd; No. 05995926; [24.07%]
  • Uddins Nagar UK Ltd; No- 09488936 [100%] (Status –Dormant)
  • Nelson London Ventures Limited; No. 08815651 [20%]
  • C4chatga LTD. (No.14893751) [3.50%]
  • London Training Centre LTD. (No. 07608410) [60%]


Directorships in:

  • Uddins Nagar UK Ltd; No- 09488936 [100%] (Status –Dormant)
  • Nelson College London Ltd.
  • LCC Investments Ltd. (No-10485043)
  • Nelson College London Investment Ltd. (No-10878195)
  • Nelson London Ventures Limited; No. 08815651 [20%]
  • Company Secretary, London Churchill College Ltd; No. 05995926
  • C4chatga LTD. (No.14893751)
  • London Training Centre LTD. (No. 07608410)

Trustee in:

  • Al Noor Masjid and Education Trust.


Immediate* family connections in NCL: Farhana Uddin, wife of Nazim Uddin, is a non-executive Director of London Churchill College.

 


Dr Shorful Islam

Dr Shorful Islam is CEO of Be Data Solutions, a data strategy, data engineering and data science/analytics company. He is also Founder of Subatomic Analytics, a data analytics and data science consultancy and serves as the Chief Data Scientist at Tribal Worldwide.

He has over 20 years of industry experience in data analytics, having used machine learning during his PhD before the term data science was popularised. With knowledge of advanced analytical and statistical techniques, and data science technologies, he has helped some of the world’s largest companies with their data strategies and built predictive, prescriptive, and operational models that answer fundamental business questions.

His previous roles included, Chief Product and Data Officer at OutThink, Co-founder and Managing Director at Stream Intelligence, Managing Partner, Data and Insights at Wunderman, Head of Data at DDB, and Head of Business Information and Customer Data Strategy at ITV. He has also worked across the NHS and local government and started his career as a lecturer.

Dr Shorful Islam has a PhD in Psychology, specialising in Health Psychology and his dissertation focused on predicting accidental injuries in children, taking into account the individual, societal and environmental impacts on well-being and health outcomes.

Role: Non-executive member of Board of Governance
Main employment: Managing Director, Stream Intelligence. A Data and Analytics Consultancy


Outside Business Interest: Founder/ Owner/ Managing Director of Subatomic Analytics Limited.

Advisor to Startups (with shares held in some):

  • Data Ravens
  • Beam
  • Fit For Work
  • Wedvisa
  • OutThink


Immediate* family connections in NCL: NCL Director, Shirajul Islam (Brother).
 


Carl Stychin

Carl Stychin, BA (Alberta), JD (Toronto), LLM (Columbia), LLD (Reading), is Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and Professor of Law in the School of Advanced Study, University of London. He began his academic career at Keele University (Lecturer, 1992-96; Senior Lecturer, 1996-98) before moving to the University of Reading as a Professor of Law in 1998. During fourteen years at Reading, he served as Head of the School of Law, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise). He then served as Dean of The City Law School, City, University of London (2012-18). Professor Stychin is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and Editor of Social & Legal Studies: An International Journal. He is a former Chair of the Committee of Heads of University Law Schools (CHULS).

Role: Non-executive member of Board of Governance
Main employment: Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and Professor of Law School of Advanced Study, University of London

Outside Business Interest: Lay Member of the Governance Board, Patent Examination Board, Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys /Non-Executive Director, NCUK (Northern Consortium) Ltd /Independent Education Advisor, Costs Lawyer Standards Board /Editor: Social and Legal Studies /Lay Member of Education Visitors Panels, General Optical Council /Member, Irish Research Council Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Research Scholarship Inner /Assessment Board /External Examiner, University of Bristol, School of Law /Lead Assessor, Office for Students /Accreditation and Recognition Panel Lay Member, General Pharmaceutical Council /Trustee, British and Irish Legal Information Institute.


Immediate* family connections in NCL: None
 

Sarah Ryan
Sarah Ryan has over 20 years’ experience in mergers & acquisitions, investment banking and corporate strategy and has worked in dozens of countries around the world. She has a BA in Economics from Duke University and an MBA with honours in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Role: Non-executive member of Board of Governance
Main employment: Managing Director, M&A, Sedgwick


Outside Business Interest: External Career Coach, London Business School.


Immediate* family connections in NCL: None

Archived:
- First Board meeting was held on 09/07/2014
- Second Board meeting was held on 22/10/2014
- Third Board meeting was held on 11/02/2015
- Fourth Board meeting was held on 08/04/2015
- Fifth Board meeting was held on 15/06/2015
- Sixth Board meeting was held on 15/10/2015
- Seventh Board meeting was held on 23/03/2016
- Eighth Board meeting was held on 13/07/2016
- Ninth Board meeting was held on 16/11/2016
- Tenth Board meeting was held on 19/01/2017
- Eleventh Board meeting was held on 04/04/2017
- Twelfth Board meeting was held on 07/12/2017

- Twenty-second Board meeting was held on 15/04/2021

- Twenty-third Board meeting was held on 21/07/2021

Twenty-fourth Board meeting was held on 24/11/2021

Twenty-fifth Board meeting was held on 13/04/2022

Twenty-sixth Board meeting was held on 27/07/2022

Twenty-seventh Board meeting was held on 23/11/2022

Team Members

  • Roger Bradburn

    Roger Bradburn

    Principal | Executive member Board of Governance | Chair of Academic Board | Chair of Principal's Executive Group

  • Aleksandra Osiniagova

    Aleksandra Osiniagova

    Vice Principal / Head of Academic Services / Safeguarding Officer for Students / Executive Member of Board of Governance

  • Athiqul Islam

    Athiqul Islam

    Director / Executive Member of Board of Governance / Head of Administration/Finance/HR/ Safeguarding Officer for Staff

  • Shiraj Islam

    Shiraj Islam

    Director / Executive Member of Board of Governance / Head of Marketing and Work Based Learning

  • Nazim Uddin

    Nazim Uddin

    Director / Executive Member of Board of Governance / Head of Quality Assurance