Industry and academia should increasingly work in partnership to foster a spirit of entrepreneurialism and unleash potential, a leading STEM expert at the University of Leeds has urged.
Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris, of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, outlined the need for closer higher education and industry partnerships during her inaugural professorial lecture on 2 October.
She said that harnessing capability – skills, knowledge, and attributes – while committing to equality will provide wide-ranging benefits to society.
Caring about human capability matters, especially when unleashing potential."
An advocate for working creatively to understand individual, community and organisational capability, Professor Morris called for the creation of more HE start-up businesses and commercialisation of academic expertise.
"I always set out to achieve capability. I have done this to unleash potential and bring out adaptability in people," she said.
"We all need to flourish, and to achieve this, we need to work with a non-deficit model that builds on strengths and possibilities.
"Capability-driven design is based on advocacy and activism: these attributes have helped me to drive capability in academia and business."
This drive was fostered at an early age, she said at her lecture, which was attended by colleagues, family and Leeds' Lord Mayor, Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung.
"My mum taught me to be culturally aware – the basis of humanity, the principles of advocacy and activism, and to be good company," said Professor Morris.
"These key principles are embedded in me. Capability has sat with me from day one and my mum has been my driver behind my capability."
She added: "Caring about human capability matters, especially when unleashing potential. We need to help businesses demonstrate their commitment to equality and prevent discriminatory practices in product, system and service design.
"My position is to establish fairness. I look specifically at preventing discrimination of products, services and business teams. I love and enjoy sustainable data and co-creating together."
Professor Morris is an accomplished design engineer and academic leader with more than 30 years of industry consultancy experience and more than 20 years in global academic relationships across Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America.
Her achievements also include founding the AKTO Virtual Centre of Excellence for Frugal Innovation and Design, and directing GEMS Executive Coaching Limited.
And having become one of the first successful applicants from Leeds to progress from the 100 Black Women Professors Now! programme in 2022, she went on to create the Black Female Academics' Network (BFAN) the following year.
A worldwide organisation, BFAN supports Black female academics to help remove barriers that can prevent members of the global majority from achieving their career goals.
L-R: Miss Shardae Morris, Booker-Jahvar Morris, Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris, Lord Mayor Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung, Victoria Morris, Mrs Jolene Varlow.
Leeds alum Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung, Lord Mayor of Leeds, said: "I have lived in Leeds 25 years now - this is where my home started. To sit and listen to another sister that looks like me makes a huge difference. You make us so proud.
"We can all learn from and aim to emulate Professor Morris. For the young girls here today, this is the definition of who you can be in whatever area you choose. Leadership isn't easy, but we can do it when we set our minds to it.
"The theme for Black History Month 2024 is reclaiming narratives: Professor Morris has told her story in under an hour. It is our responsibility to reclaim our stories and to share them."
Professor Morris is also a national champion of the newly formed EDI Hub+, which is led by Leeds and includes seven other UK universities.
The hub will bring together the research and innovation community to leverage collective knowledge and expertise to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) across engineering, physical, and mathematical sciences.
Since becoming Leeds' first Professor in Public and Industry Understanding of Capability Driven Design, Professor Morris' work has also included setting up international strategic partnership projects, including working with the University of the West Indies, University of Cape Town, and Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico on a 12-month Virtual Global Security Perspective Fellowship, which enables young researchers and new academics from the global majority to engage in research activities.
