Our professional services are an essential part of the University of Portsmouth – their work deals with every aspect of our organisation, from how we manage our student's wellbeing, to how we maintain and expand our campus, and communicate our work to the wider world.
The heads of our professional service and the key people listed below also oversee the quality of our teaching, ensure that we hire the right people and develop the skills of our current staff, and keep us up-to-date with our legal and ethical commitments. Find out more about their roles and responsibilities below.
Mark Cooper – Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor
Mark is responsible for the strategic development of UK education partnerships. He works with schools, further education and sixth form colleges to establish meaningful, deep relationships that are mutually beneficial.
Mark's knowledge of the college sector, where he previously worked as a senior leader, means he is very well placed to support the University's strategic UK partnerships’ vision. He also has oversight of the strategic direction of the University's apprenticeship provision.
Mark is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and a Fellow of the Royal; Society of Arts. He is currently in the final phase of achieving his doctorate in education (EdD).
Bobby Mehta – Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement)
Bobby was appointed at the University in April 2017 to lead on the strategic direction and management of the University’s Global Office. This includes global marketing and recruitment, international student support, student mobility, partnership and global business development.
Bobby has worked in higher education since August 1999 when he began working in the Access and Admission Department at the University of Luton (now University of Bedfordshire). He moved to the International Office at Luton in December 2000 and remained there until August 2002 when he moved to Wales as an International Recruitment Officer at the University of Glamorgan, now the University of South Wales. He held a number of positions including Deputy Head of International Recruitment, Head of International & Business Development in the Faculty of Business and Society, Acting Director of the International Office, Head of Student Recruitment and Head of Enquiries & Admissions.
Fiona Loughran – Director of Planning
Fiona coordinates the University’s strategic planning and performance monitoring processes. In collaboration with the University Executive Board (UEB), she develops the University’s Access and Participation Plan and our response to the Teaching Excellence Framework.
Sarah Duckering – Director of Research & Innovation Services
Sarah leads a team which supports our research and innovation activities, and helps to drive our key strategic priorities. This includes responsibility for Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Knowledge Exchange Frameworks (KEF) submissions, as well as operating a suite of Innovation Centres.
Sarah has worked in a number of management roles within the University and has an MBA from Henley Management College.
Paul Tilley – Head of Sport and Recreation
Paul is responsible for the strategic direction of the department and the delivery of all University sport and physical activity programmes, partnerships and facility provision.
Paul has worked at Portsmouth since 2008 – initially as Assistant Head of Sport, before becoming Head of Sport in 2010.
His previous experience includes work in the Sports Development teams at the University of Leeds and Havant Borough Council. An alumni of the University of Portsmouth, Paul completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies here.
Marc Lintern - Director of Student Employability and Employment
Marc manages the University Careers Service and is responsible for ensuring that staff across the University and Students’ Union collaborate with external organisations and alumni in helping our students secure successful graduate outcomes in work, study and starting their own businesses.
An important part of Marc’s role is helping our students gain work experience as a part of their Portsmouth experience, whether in the private, public or voluntary sector, and ranging from short to year-long experiences.
Prior to joining the University in December 2022, Marc led the Careers Services at Newcastle and Plymouth Universities, and he was also elected President of AGCAS (the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services) from 2020 to 2022, a role which involved representing the UKs higher education Careers Services.
Darren Van Laar – Director of Graduate School
Darren has been the Director of the Graduate School since its inception in 2011. He is also a Reader in Applied Psychology in the Department of Psychology, where he investigates the quality of working life of employees and lectures in statistics and research methods.
Professor Ale Armellini - Dean of Digital and Distributed Learning
Ale is Professor and Dean of Digital and Distributed Learning. He leads digital learning and pedagogic innovation, including on-campus and online provision, across all Faculties. He wrote and embedded the Digital Success Plan for Learning and Teaching, which became the centrepiece of the University’s Education Strategy in 2023. Before joining Portsmouth, he was Dean of Learning and Teaching at the University of Northampton, where he was the strategic lead for the redesign of all programmes for active blended learning (ABL). Ale is a National Teaching Fellow, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in the UK.