Vice-Chancellor

Professor Bob Cryan CBE was appointed to his first Professorial Chair at the age of 30 and at the time he was the youngest Professor of Engineering in the UK. He then went on to become the youngest Vice-Chancellor in the UK when he took up his post at his hometown University, the University of Huddersfield, in January 2007, a University that now has over 22,000 students from over 120 countries. Bob holds two first class honours degrees (Engineering, Mathematics), an MBA and two doctorates (PhD, DSc) and he is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering Technology and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Bob is a Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire and in 2013 he was awarded The Guardian Inspiring Leader Award. In 2014 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours and made a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. In 2015 he received The Daily Telegraph Educate North Inspiring Leader Award and was included in the group of 50 World leading Engineers appointed as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has just completed his tenure as President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the largest professional engineering body in Europe.

Bob is proud to be a graduate of the University and to have had first-hand experience of the life-changing potential and the tremendous support that Huddersfield offers its students. After graduating with a first class honours in engineering from Huddersfield, Bob went on to complete a British Telecom-sponsored part-time PhD programme, whilst working as a lecturer at Huddersfield.

In 1992 he was appointed Director of the Centre for Communications Systems Research at Manchester Metropolitan University. He was appointed to a Personal Chair, and Head of the Department of Electrical, Electronic Engineering & Physics at Northumbria University in 1994.

In 1996 he was appointed Head of the School of Engineering at Northumbria University. He moved to the University of Wales, Swansea in 1999 to be Chair of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He also held the Siemens Chair of Communications and the post of Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

In 2002 he returned to Northumbria University as Pro Vice-Chancellor, becoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2005, with responsibilities including both teaching and research.

Bob believes that teaching should be underpinned by research and he is an active researcher who has co-authored over 200 publications.

Bob is tremendously proud of the University and has ambitious plans for it, particularly around research, postgraduate provision and internationalisation. With the support of his senior team, Bob has built the University’s future strategy around being an inspiring, innovative University of international renown.

Bob is delighted that the hard work of the University’s staff and students is being recognised through many awards including: Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) Gold, Ofsted Outstanding for apprenticeship provision in 2023, the Higher Education Academy’s first ever Global Teaching Excellence award in 2017, a Queen's Anniversary Prize (2015, 2019 & 2021); The Daily Telegraph Educate North New University of the Year 2015/16; the Times Higher University of the Year 2013/14; the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (International Trade) 2013 and 2022; and the Times Higher Entrepreneurial University of the Year 2012/13.