University leader named chief digital officer of the Year
A Staffordshire University leader has won a top industry award which recognises his commitment to making Staffordshire the UK’s foremost digital university.
Andrew Proctor has held the post of Pro-Vice Chancellor (Digital) since 2019 and is the driver of Staffordshire University’s ambition to be the foremost digital institution.
Andrew has now been named Chief Digital Officer of the Year at the Computing Digital Technology Leaders Awards.
The awards recognise the achievements of the individuals and companies who are really making it happen at the coal face of the digital technology stack: from website design and coding to UX and project management, from scrum masters and product managers, all the way up to the Chief Digital Officer (CDO).
During a virtual ceremony, Andrew was named CDO of the Year in a category which also included David Ivell, of Enginuity.org; Darren Curry, NHS Business Services Authority and Constantin Singureanu, Pufferr.
Judges described Andrew as “a truly impressive digital leader.”
He said: “It’s an honour to be named Chief Digital Officer of the Year and it’s a very encouraging sign that Staffordshire University is making waves on the road to becoming the UK’s foremost digital university.
“At Staffordshire University, we pride ourselves on a number of digital firsts – we were the first university in Europe to migrate to the cloud, the first in Europe to launch an AI-driven coach for students and the first in the world to launch a dedicated undergraduate Esports degree.
“Good digital infrastructure means also having the support in place for students and staff to continue to work no matter what their circumstances.”
The accolade follows Andrew’s success in being included in the Digital Leaders 100 Awards – which celebrated the individuals and organisations from the public, private and non-profit sectors who are demonstrating a pioneering and sustainable approach to digital transformation in the UK.
Andrew was one of just four leaders working in academia to be included in the independent list and the only higher education representative to be shortlisted in the ‘Digital Leader’ category – which was ultimately won by Lucy Watts MBE, a leader in digital spaces for people with disabilities and life-shortening illnesses.
