Professor Gerry McKenna MRIA is a former Dean of Science, Pro Vice Chancellor (Research), and Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Ulster. He was the key architect in the transformation of the University from a largely teaching-only institution in the 1980s into one with a strong reputation for research and knowledge transfer. He internationalised the University through collaborative research and teaching linkages with leading universities in the United States, Hong Kong, China, India, Malaysia and Australia.
McKenna has been centrally involved in developing many national and international initiatives including the establishment of Universities Ireland (as founding chair), and being co-founder of the Heads of University Centres of Biomedical Sciences (HUCBMS), the US-Ireland R&D Partnership and the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA).
Locally, he has been a pioneer of knowledge transfer. He was co-founder of the Northern Ireland Science Park and developed incubator facilities for start-up companies across each of the University of Ulster’s campuses. He chaired the Northern Ireland Foresight: Life and Health Technologies Report.
He is currently President Emeritus and Hon. Executive Secretary of HUCBMS.
www.gerrymckenna.co.uk
