Featured Post from Aston University

Aston University appoints new Vice-Chancellor

Mar 11, 2022

3 min



Aston University is delighted to announce that Professor Aleks Subic has been appointed as its next Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive.


He succeeds Professor Alec Cameron, who stepped down after five years in December 2021. He will take up the post in August 2022, until which time Saskia Loer Hansen will continue in her role as Interim Vice-Chancellor.


Dame Yve Buckland, Pro-Chancellor of Aston University, said “I am absolutely delighted at Professor Aleks Subic’s appointment. He joins the University at an exciting time and his wide experience of leadership across both academia and industry makes him a perfect fit for Aston University’s needs and ambitions.”


Professor Subic said “I feel privileged at being given the opportunity to lead Aston University at this time. The University is renowned for its commitment to graduate employability, translational research and its engagement with business.


“I look forward to continuing the momentum built up by Professor Alec Cameron and Saskia Loer Hansen, and I am ambitious to see Aston University continue to build on its reputation for high quality teaching, research and business engagement locally, nationally and internationally.”


Saskia Loer Hansen, Interim Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, said

“I should like to congratulate Professor Subic warmly on his appointment. His credentials as a leader, both in industry and in higher education, equip him for guiding Aston University to even greater success.


“I am sure he will work rigorously to build on our achievements, promote the University worldwide and further strengthen our reputation as a leading university for business and enterprise.”


Professor Subic is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (STEM) and Vice President (Digital Innovation) at RMIT University, where he is responsible for leading the STEM College and Digital Innovation portfolio in Australia and globally.


Prior to this appointment he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) at Swinburne University of Technology, responsible for research, graduate studies, engagement and partnerships, advancement, innovation, enterprise, and commercialisation, leading the research transformation of the university towards top 2% in the world.


Before that, he was the Executive Dean of Engineering at RMIT University, one of the largest engineering faculties in Australia, ranked in top 1% in the world and renowned for industry-partnered education and research.


Concurrent with his academic appointments, Professor Subic has held notable appointments on the Australian Prime Minister's Industry 4.0 Taskforce and the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council Leaders Group (Australian Industry Group).


Previously he was the Director and Deputy Chair of the Australian Association of Aviation and Aerospace Industries, Director of Oceania Cybersecurity Centre Governing Board, Director of the Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia Board, Director of National Imaging Facility Governing Board, Director of Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Governing Board, and Director of the Victorian Centre for New Energy Technologies Governing Board.


He has served on a number of national and international research committees and expert panels, including as Chair of the European Research Council Expert Panel for Physical Sciences and Engineering, Technology Group of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, Forbes Technology Council, Defence Materials Technology Centre, Editor and Associate Editor of international scholarly journals.

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Professor Sangeeta Khorana made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Professor Sangeeta Khorana, professor of international trade policy at Aston University, has been made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Fellows are elected for their contributions to social science, including in economic development, human rights and welfare reform The 2025 cohort of 63 Fellows will join a 1,700-strong Fellowship with members from academia, the public, private and third sectors. Professor Sangeeta Khorana, professor of international trade policy at Aston University, has been made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences as part of the Autumn 2025 cohort. The 63 new Fellows have been elected from 39 UK organisations, comprising 29 higher education institutions, as well as think tanks, non-profits, business, and from countries beyond the UK including Australia and China. The Academy of Social Science’s Fellowship comprises 1,700 leading social scientists from academia, the public, private and third sectors. Selection is through an independent peer review which recognises their excellence and impact. Professor Khorana has more than 25 years of academic, government and management consulting experience in international trade. She has worked for the Indian government as a civil servant and on secondment to the UK Department for Business and Trade. Her expertise includes free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and World Trade Organization (WTO) issues. As well as sitting on various expert committees, Professor Khorana is an advisor on gender and trade to the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network in London and serves on Foreign Investment Committee of the PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, India. The Autumn 2025 cohort of Fellows have expertise in a range of areas including educational inequalities, place-based economic development, human rights protection, the regulation of new technologies, and welfare reform, highlighting the importance, breadth and relevance of the social sciences to tackling the varied challenges facing society today. As well as excellence in research and professional applications of social science, the new Fellows have also made significant contributions beyond the academy, including to industry, policy and higher education. Professor Khorana said: “I am deeply honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. This recognition underscores not only the importance of international trade policy as a driver of inclusive and sustainable growth, but also the role of social sciences in shaping fairer and more resilient societies. At Aston University, my research seeks to bridge academia, government and industry to inform evidence-based trade policy for global cooperation. I am proud to contribute to the Academy’s mission of demonstrating how social science knowledge and practice can address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.” President of the Academy, Will Hutton FAcSS, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome these 63 leading social scientists to the Academy’s Fellowship. Their research and practical applications have made substantial contributions to social science and wider society in a range of areas from international trade policy and inclusive planning systems through to innovative entrepreneurship and governing digital technologies. We look forward to working with them to promote further the vital role the social sciences play in all areas of our lives.”

4 min

Play, Learn, Lead: How Aston’s Gamification-Driven MBA Is Redefining Business Learning

Professor Helen Higson OBE of Aston Business School, discusses why gamification is embedded in all of the School's postgraduate portfolio of degrees Give the students something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results. (attributed to John Dewey, US educational psychologist (1859-1952) Imagine you’re the CEO of a cutting-edge robotics firm in 2031, making high-stakes decisions on R&D, marketing and finance; one misstep and your virtual company could collapse. You win, lose, adapt, and grow. This isn’t a case study, it’s your classroom experience at Aston Business School in Birmingham. Imagine you’re participating in Europe’s biggest MBA tournament, the University Business Challenge, where your strategic flair and financial acumen will be tested against the continent’s sharpest minds. Then you’re solving real-world sustainability crises in the Accounting for Sustainability Case Competition, crafting solutions that could be showcased in Canada. What if you could do all this from your classroom seat, armed with only your MBA learnings, teamwork and the thrill of gamified learning. At Aston, we believe the best way to master business is by doing business. That’s why we’ve embedded active learning through games, simulations, and competitions across all our postgraduate programs. The results? Higher engagement, deeper learning, and students who graduate with confidence and real-world skills. Research says gamified learning boosts motivation, lowers stress, and helps students adopt new habits for lifelong success. As educational researchers Kirillov et al. (2016) found, “Gamification creates the right conditions for student motivation, reduces stress, and promotes the adoption of learning material—shaping new habits and behaviours.” This has led to what Wiggins (2016), calls the “repackaging of traditional instructional strategies”. In Aston Business Sschool we have long embraced this approach as a way of increasing student outcomes and stimulating more student engagement in their learning. Our Centre for Gamification in Education (A-GamE), launched in 2018, is dedicated to advancing innovative teaching methods. We run regular seminars with internal and external speakers showcasing gamification adoption, design and research and we use these techniques across the ABS in a wide range of disciplines. (We have included two examples of this work in our list of references.) Furthermore, in 2021 we published a book which outlines the diverse ways in which we use these methods (Elliott et al. 2021). Subsequently, during 2024 we redesigned all our postgraduate portfolio of degrees, and as part of this initiative games and simulations were embedded across all programmes. Why Gamification Works Through simulations like BISSIM, students step into executive roles, steering futuristic companies through the twists and turns of a dynamic marketplace. A flagship programme running since 1981, BISSIM was developed in collaboration between academics from ABS and Warwick Business School, and every decision on R&D, marketing, or HR has real consequences as teams battle each other for the top spot. After each year of trading the results are input into the computer model. The results are then generated for each company in the form of financial reports, KPIs and other non-financial results and messages. Each team’s results are affected by their own decisions and the competitive actions of the other teams, as well as the market that they all influence. This year one of our academics, Matt Davies, has been awarded an Innovation Fellowship further to commercialise the game. Competitions with Global Impact We also encourage students to take part in national and international competitions which have the same effect of developing their engagement with real-life business problems on a global scale. Beyond the classroom, Aston students represent the university in major competitions like the University Business Challenge (in which ABS had the highest number of UK teams this year) and the Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Case Competition, for which we are an “anchor business school”. Here, theory gets stress-tested against real-world scenarios and top talent from around the globe. The result? Award-winning teams, global experience, and friendships built under pressure. At the heart of this approach is Aston’s Centre for Gamification (A-GamE), dedicated to making learning interactive, motivating, and fun. Regular seminars, fresh research, and close ties to industry keep the curriculum evolving and relevant, so students graduate ready to lead, adapt, and thrive in any business environment. Why does it matter? In a volatile, fast-paced economy, employers appreciate agility, teamwork and decisiveness. At Aston, every simulation and competition is geared towards sharpening these skills. Graduates emerge not only knowledgeable, but prepared for the job market. Engagement Our students have been embracing these opportunities. Six MBA/Msc teams developed their A4S videos, hoping to reach the final in Canada early in 2025, and three teams out of nine reached the national UBC finals. Additionally, the BISSEM simulation has just finished inspiring another group of MBA students (particularly as the prize for the winning team was tickets to a game at our local Aston Villa premiership football (soccer) club, currently riding high in the league!). Typical feedback from non-Finance specialists is that they suddenly surprised themselves during their participation in the simulation and were reconsidering the options of taking a career in Finance. It seems that our original purposes have been met – increased confidence, passion, deep learning and engagement have been achieved. To interivew Professor Higson, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk Elliott, C., Guest, J. and Vettraino, E. (editors) (2021), Games, Simulations and Playful Learning in Business Education, Edward Elgar. Kirillov, A. V., Vinichenko, M. V., Melnichuk, A. V., Melnichuk, Y. A., and Vinogradova, M. V. (2016), ‘Improvement in the Learning Environment through Gamification of the Educational Process’, International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 11(7), pp. 2071-2085. Olczak, M, Guest, J. and Riegler, R. (2022), ‘The Use of Robotic Players in Online Games’, in Conference Proceedings, Chartered Association of Business Schools, LTSE Conference, Belfast, 24 May 2022, p. 79-81. Wiggins, B. E. (2016), ‘An Overview and Study on the Use of Games, Simulations, and Gamification in Higher Education’, International Journal of Game-Based Learning (IJGBL), 6(1), 18-29. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGBL.2016010102

2 min

Are GCSEs delivering for students and society?

Ahead of the GCSEs results being released on Thursday 21 August Aston University work psychologist, Dr Paul Jones, discusses whether the exams are fit for purpose. He believes that our exam system narrows thinking, and GCSEs emphasise “right answers” and rote recall, creating risk-averse learners who are afraid to fail or think differently. Exams are harming wellbeing GCSEs were designed in the 1980s, when many left education at 16. Today, almost all young people continue to 18, yet they still face a stressful halfway checkpoint that often does more harm than good. Research shows GCSEs are linked to anxiety, sleeplessness and even self-harm. This isn’t about students being “less resilient”, t’s about a system that has prioritised bureaucracy, league tables, and exam statistics over wellbeing. GCSEs don’t prepare students for life Exams reward the ability to memorise and recall under pressure, but the world beyond school demands much more. Employers and universities want young people who can think critically, manage their own learning, collaborate, and adapt. By the time many reach university, students are burnt out from years of high-stakes testing. They often struggle with independence, risk-taking, and curiosity, the very qualities they need to succeed. Over-assessment stifles innovation Our exam system narrows thinking. GCSEs emphasise “right answers” and rote recall, creating risk-averse learners who are afraid to fail or think differently. Innovation, however, requires psychological safety: the freedom to explore, experiment, and make mistakes. In a world where AI can already handle routine tasks like recall and pattern analysis, the human edge lies in breaking moulds, challenging assumptions, and combining knowledge in new ways. Our current system suppresses exactly those skills. Moving GCSEs into the future We need fewer, smarter assessments and a curriculum that builds creativity, resilience, and innovation. Other countries use project-based learning, portfolios, and sampling tests to capture what young people can really do. Wales is already embedding wellbeing and digital skills into its new curriculum. England risks being left behind if it continues to cling to an exam-heavy model designed for a different era. The bottom line Our young people deserve an education that prepares them for life, not just for exams. We should be measuring what really matters: wellbeing, creativity, and the ability to thrive in a fast-changing, AI-driven world. To speak to Dr Jones or for any media inquiries in relation to this please contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, Aston University on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk

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