Oxfordshire County Council's Partnerships and Delivery Programme Director joins 'Science Cities'

Above: Oxfordshire County Council's Programme Director (Partnerships and Delivery) Robin Rogers (courtesy Oxfordshire County Council)

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Robin Rogers Programme Director (Partnerships and Delivery) will be joining our Oxford 'Science Cities' event at St John's College, Oxford, this September.

He will be joining CEO of ARC Group, Stuart Grant, Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council and Dr Suki Balendra, Head of Strategy at Paddington Life Sciences / Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, among other contributors.

This forum will ask questions around investment and development in the science campuses in the city and region, the cultural attractions that tempt international talent to work in Oxford and the current economic challenges and opportunities for such a diverse population.

How can the city encourage young people to take up training in areas that will benefit their career prospects but also serve Oxford's science development? How can Oxford attract international talent too and enhance its science facilities?

Oxford is developing new lab space in the Clarendon Centre in Cornmarket Street, which was originally created as a covered shopping centre with offices above. It is part of an international race to create the best research and development facilities and attract investment. Part of that is the creation of modern, well-designed science R&D centres. There has been much debate about whether laboratories should be based outside the city centre but vacant retail has opened up an opportunity for scientists to work closer to urban amenities.

Robin is a senior local government officer with 18 years-experience of strategy, transformation and delivery in Southampton, the London Borough of Southwark and Oxfordshire.

He has a commitment to public service and community empowerment. In his current role with Oxfordshire County Council, he leads on complex partnership issues and new priorities, including financial inequality and migration.

Previous roles have included Head of Strategy and as the Programme Director for the county’s COVID Response. No stranger to science, his undergraduate studies were in chemistry at the University of Oxford.

Robin is a school governor and trustee of a local homelessness charity and in 2010 was a Churchill Fellow. He lives in Oxford with his wife and their three sons and in a bit of a late start, is a newly minted rower.