The University of Birmingham is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Robin Mason as its new Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International.

Professor Mason joins from the University of Exeter where he is currently Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Business School.

This is a significant new post for the University, reflecting the success of its pioneering global strategy and its ambitions to develop its international research, partnerships, and to enrich the international experience for students.

Commenting on the appointment, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Professor Sir David Eastwood said, “I am delighted that Professor Robin Mason is joining us and bringing his wealth of international expertise to help cement our success and further our international agenda at a time when our global research activity is becoming ever more intense and diverse.

“At Birmingham, the development of our international strategy and its implementation has always been academically-led, giving it a real depth and enabling us to work with our global partners to understand and address some of the most pressing global challenges.”

Robin Mason’s previous roles include Professor of Economics at the University of Exeter and Eric Roll Professor of Economics and Head of Economics at the University of Southampton. Professor Mason gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the CEPR and a Reporting Panel Member and a Specialist Member on the Communications Act Panel of the Competition and Markets Authority. He has acted as advisor to a number of regulators, in both the UK and internationally, to the Prime Minister of Mauritius on competition policy, and a number of private-sector companies.

Professor Mason will join the University of Birmingham on 28th March 2016.

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For more information please contact the University of Birmingham press office on +44 (0) 121 414 6681 or email pressoffice@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

• The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Our work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers, and more than 5,000 international students from more than 150 countries.

• The University collaborates with partners across the world and has identified China, India, Brazil and North America as key strategic regions for more focused engagement.

• North America: In 2013 Birmingham and Chicago celebrated the 20th anniversary of our Sister City relationship. Through our strategic partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign we have developed wide-ranging research links and delivered a number of key research and teaching outcomes.

• China: We have a unique partnership with the Guangzhou Municipal Government which continues to break new ground for a UK institution working in China. The University has also established a centre in Guangzhou and a China Institute at the University of Birmingham, to co-ordinate our wide-ranging research and engagement with China.

• India: Our engagement with India spans more than a century and our ever growing research links are supported by a dedicated office in the heart of New Delhi.

• Brazil: We have established joint research investment funds with FAPESP, FAPERJ and the University of Nottingham and offer PhD scholarships and Visiting Fellowships.