Profile of the new College Secretary and Registrar John Neilson

Imperial’s new College Secretary and Registrar, John Neilson, took up his post in May after 30 years working in government, including six as Director of the Research Base in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. John spoke to Reporter about how he has settled into life at the College.

How would you describe the role of College Secretary and Registrar?

My role has a number of parts. First, I am concerned with the effective governance of the College. At the same time, I have direct management responsibility for some of the underpinning areas of the College – from the research reactor to the Registry and the school outreach work. I also share responsibility for developing Imperial’s strategic direction, thinking through the challenges on the horizon over the next five to 20 years, and am involved in nurturing external relations for the College, in particular with government and funding bodies.

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

So much of what Imperial does is at the cutting edge of research and teaching. It’s great being part of that, and being able to hear firsthand what people are working on. I’ve been fascinated by some of the research I’ve heard about through attending inaugural lectures. I also have a personal link to Imperial; my father was a Master’s student here in the 1950s, studying aeronautical engineering.

Are you looking forward to the start of term?

Yes, it has particular resonance because in the week Imperial welcomes its new students, I’ll be dropping my daughter off at Oxford to study Geography. Both my children followed in their mother’s footsteps in their choice of degree. As a mathematician, I did however lure them into A Level Further Maths!

What are your interests outside work?

Apart from acting as the family taxi driver, I play golf and have a season ticket to support Harlequins. I like going to concerts, and enjoyed hearing the College choir perform in St Stephen’s Gloucester Road earlier in the summer.

What personality traits are useful in your role?

I think boundless enthusiasm is helpful! I hope colleagues find I’m approachable, make myself available, and that I enjoy meeting people. So many interesting things happen in College – there’s a lot to communicate, outside Imperial as well as within.

Do you wear any other hats within the College?

I’m also the Disability Champion, chairing the Disability Action Committee. We have a responsibility as a world class institution to support all our staff, and that means we’re as helpful as possible to anyone with a disability. It’s particularly important to be aware of mental health issues, which often fall beneath the radar becasue they are less visible. I was impressed by an excellent series of articles called Unseen Imperial in Felix recently, which explored some of these issues.

What are your upcoming challenges?

We need to keep focused on our strategy for the College’s future – how we can develop partnerships with others and mitigate sensibly the risks we might face. Continuing the excellent efforts to enhance the student experience remains a top priority. I am particularly keen to support further collaboration across Imperial, so we remain at the forefront of multidisciplinary working in research, teaching and translation, which is already one of the greatest strengths of the College.