Our students come from a variety of backgrounds and have different experiences. Below, we introduce you to a few of them!

Jason Roberts MBE

Jason is a Professional Footballer who has competed at all professional levels including European competition, spending a majority of his career in the Premier League and representing Grenada Internationally over 30 times. In 2007 Jason established and became Chairman of the Jason Roberts Foundation, which seeks to improve youngsters lives through sport.


Tina Swani

Tina brings experience of progression in education, private sector and charities, leading to her current role as Chief Executive of Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice. Under Tina’s leadership, the hospice has not only expanded it services with financial growth of 350%, it has also been responsible for education and development of expertise across local health and social care through the hospice’s education and research centre.

Through her non-executive and advisory board roles, Tina brings a wealth of experience of good governance practice having been instrumental in the transformation of board culture and performance. Appointed as Vice-Chair of Lench’s Trust she has shared accountability for the growth and development of new housing and care schemes.


Abigail Robson

Abigail is a committed and well regarded project manager and researcher in the fields of social housing and construction. She trained as a quantity surveyor and started her career in local government where she went on to manage multi-disciplinary design teams (Birmingham City Council). She then worked as a senior service manager dedicated to community engagement and service improvement in a public sector housing service (Birmingham City Council). Since then she has taken up a role as researcher (Birmingham City University) where she embeds policy solutions into her research.

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Avril Grant

Avril is a professional empowerment coach and the CEO of a promising community interest company. A Vision for Empowerment delivers motivational workshops to re-ignite the passion and self-belief of participants and help them to discover their desired career pathway.


Ranjit Bains

Ranjit is a consultant advocate and appears in County Courts across England and Wales. His practice involves representing a range of clients in a broad spectrum of civil disputes.


Johnathan Cairns-Terry

Johnathan is a qualified chartered accountant who is passionate about using his skills to help others. He is an active member of his local church and leads the church’s debt counselling service. Jonathan has a strong desire to see people from all walks of life realise their potential.

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Hilary Allen

Hilary is a Charted Surveyor and Director at global consultancy AECOM. In 2011, Hilary won the prestigious title of Birmingham Young Professional of the Year and has since set up the Birmingham Future Commission; an initiative to improve the attraction and retention of talent to the city.


Joel Graham-Blake

Joel is one of the UK’s up and coming young business leaders. He is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, public speaker, visiting lecturer and business consultant with a niche specialism of personal development within Diversity. He is also the Founder of the Diverse Entrepreneur Network (DEN), a mastermind club for entrepreneurs with businesses less than five years old and the UK’s first ever National Diversity Advisor for Golf.


Liz Muir

As a qualified Probation Officer with over six years experience, Liz Muir has specialised in resettlement work and is currently undertaking a secondment in Youth Justice. Liz is a member of the steering group for the Local Criminal Justice Board who advises on issues that affect BME employees and assist with the review and re-direction of policy. She was selected for this role after proving herself to be an outstanding mentee on the Step Forward programme, piloted by the same board. Such was the level of her performance she was fast tracked for the role that she is currently undertaking.


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Melissa Shervington

Melissa is the Director and lead consultant and trainer at E.ngage Consultancy. She specialises in Social Regeneration and has a range of experience in community engagement & consultation, with a strong background and foundation in social housing and regeneration where she began her professional career at the tender age of 19.


Charlotte Slater

Charlotte was one of the founding members of Moo Moo Youth Marketing in 2008 and was at the forefront of engaging with young people. Charlotte is passionate about breaking cycles that young people get caught up in, such as deprivation, self-esteem and self worth. For each year Moo Moo has existed, Charlotte’s determination to ensure that young people are given a voice in the services directed to them has increased as has her is commitment to Peer-led intervention.


Dr. Miles Weaver

Miles is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, with research interests in supply strategy and performance management; simulation conceptual modelling and greening the supply chain. He has both a doctorate and first class honours degree from Aston Business School in Birmingham. His interests were shaped from practical experience within the supply departments of GM-Fiat Worldwide Purchasing and Jaguar Cars. Empowering and providing opportunity for young people is at the heart of everything Miles does. As a teacher, Miles received a Vice Chancellor distinguished teaching award upon the recommendation of DMU students in 2009.


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