Core PPS Functions:
Gareth Giles, Head of Public Policy|Southampton
Giles (as he is known to all) brings more than a decade’s worth of experience working between central and local government and the higher education sector. In his current role, he is responsible for the strategic direction of PPS, financial sustainability of the team and internal and external stakeholder management. Giles is currently working on policy engagement culture change within the University specifically focusing on developing mechanisms that support and celebrate the successes of our diverse range of world leading Early Career Researchers.
Most likely to say: ‘Go do good things...’
Biggest fan of: the (home) office plants
+44 (0)23 8059 8981
+44 (0)7557663644
Yaryna Basystyuk, Policy Engagement Manager
Yaryna brings extensive experience of knowledge exchange between HEIs and the private sector, State government and the United Nations from her time in the United States. In her current role within PPS, she oversees our Policy|Placement programme with national and local government, manages Cambridge Science and Policy (CSaP) fellowship scheme, and leads on engagement with Universities COP26 Network. Yaryna is currently developing and implementing our Policy|Associate Pool programme to offer enhanced insight to principle investigators and exposure to policy for PhD and post-doctoral researchers at the University.
Most likely to say: ‘so we shall see…’.
Biggest fan of: the coast, and everything in and around the water.
+44 (0)23 8059 5466
Miya Small, Policy and Evaluation Officer
Miya is a graduate of the University of Southampton, holding a BSc in Politics. Her academic journey
culminated in a final research project on ''The Political Ambition of Ethnic Minorities in the UK.'' With a foundation in the Public Sector, Miya has immersed herself in roles within Local Government and the NHS. Currently, she is dedicated to evaluating and showcasing PPS' influence and role in policy engagement and is committed to contributing to the evolution of their work in the future.
Most likely to say : ‘I’ll figure it out’
Biggest fan of : Books and bad PC games
Elisabetta Calamelli (Betty), Policy and Communications Officer
Betty has a background in Languages Education and Studies of the Middle East, and holds a Ma in Arabic at the University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari. Once in the UK she has obtained a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education, University of Southampton) and Celta (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults, University of Cambridge), and has worked for five years teaching Modern Foreign Languages and English in local secondary schools, as well as language schools for adults. She is now applying her skills and expertise leading the comms department of PPS and coordinating the work of the Digital Communications Officer. At the same time, she is committed to support UoS researchers in growing their impact on the Policy World getting actively involved in some projects with the Faculty of Social Sciences. She is also starting a PhD project in October 2024 looking at the impact of GenAI on the language education of UK secondary school pupils, hoping to be able to inform policy in the wider area of AI&Education.
Biggest fan of: Lindy Hop, swing music and mountains.
Awele Emili, Digital Communications Officer
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Awele is an MA student in Communication Design at the University of Southampton. With a background in Public Health, pharmacology and a passion for simplifying complex information, she uses strategic design to make content more accessible and understandable for diverse audiences. She is part of the Public Policy | Southampton communications team, where she creates digital content, and manages social media platforms, email memberships, and podcasts. She also oversees updates to the PPS website and handles promotional activities for Public Policy | Southampton, collaborating with academics and stakeholders from the University of Southampton
Most likely to say: 'Yeah, that makes sense.'
Biggest fan of: Travel, culture, puppies and Game of Thrones
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Furkan Uzan, Digital Communications Officer
Furkan is a doctoral researcher at the University of Southampton's School of Education. His research focuses on the relationship between higher education and work, with specific attention to doctoral education and future employment. Furkan has experience in research, having worked on various projects covering PGR students' voices and experiences. He has also taught different modules across various departments at the University of Southampton, ranging from Engineering to Human Geography, as well as the School of Education. Additionally, Furkan worked as a career support assistant at the Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise Service at the University of Southampton. He is keen to develop a deeper understanding of the role and function of higher education in the transition to work and social mobility, in order to provide in-depth, data-driven insights that can guide policy-making efforts to best address the challenges that universities and graduates have recently faced.
Most likely to say: 'Apologies for any inconvenience'
Biggest fan of: Galatasaray
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Helen Ballem, Departmental Administrator
Helen’s extensive experience of being a Departmental Administrator at the University of Southampton for more than 15 years, has given her a great insight on how the mechanisms work and how she can best provide assistance to colleagues. In addition to her other responsibilities within RIS, Helen is currently assisting PPS in keeping the Policy Projects Database up to date and producing monthly analytics which allows PPS to plan ahead and manage their work more efficiently. Her remit includes to get in contact with the principal investigators of each policy project and get the latest update, to liaise with the other members of the PPS team in finding suitable times for meetings with academics and to alert the team whenever a research project ‘s proposal becomes successful.
Most likely to say: ‘OK, cool’
Biggest fan of: F.R.I.E.N.D.S (TV series)
Specialist Policy Officers:
Chandni Maria Jacob, Specialist Policy Officer (Environment and Life Sciences)
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With a background in clinical medicine and public health, Chandni has worked with multiple international organisations to support the development of health policy and clinical guidelines. Her PhD and research have focused on the implementation of a life-course approach in policy and adopting a person-centred approach in clinical care. She has vast experience in the science-policy interface and evidence-informed policymaking having led multiple projects to develop recommendations for international organisations that support policymakers. These include writing policy analyses, reviews and white papers for the World Health Organisation, International Federation of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians, UNICEF and Royal Colleges. She has also supported policy engagement activities for advocacy networks such as the Preconception Partnership and delivered workshops on knowledge translation for researchers. In her current role, she has a keen interest in connecting researchers with policy audiences and providing support for identifying and developing policy-relevant outputs (policy briefs, written and oral evidence etc.) for principal investigators.
Most likely to say : 'Sure, why not'
Biggest fan of : Dogs, travel and baking
Alistair Sackley, Specialist Policy Officer (Web Science Institute)
Alistair is a specialist policy officer within the Web Science Institute and consultant to UK and International crime and criminal justice agencies. He is a criminologist, philosopher and knowledge broker who specialises in policing, crime and epistemology of technology. His interests are in serious organised crime, artificial intelligence, trust, privacy and ethics. In his current role he works on digital, AI and data-driven assignments, bringing commercial, financial, regulatory and policy knowledge to service the needs of researchers and stakeholders to maximize its impact for reinvestment at scale.
Most likely to say: ‘no worries…’
Biggest fan of: black mirror, sport and all things outside.
Contact Alistair
Jaskiran Kaur Gill, Specialist Policy Officer (Medicine)
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Jaskiran's professional journey has been firmly grounded in the realm of public health. It began with her career as a Public Health Inspector in Canada where she worked within communicable disease control and environmental policies. Upon relocating to the UK, she channelled her expertise into the non-profit sector, specifically working on advancing maternal and early childhood development policies. These experiences reinforced her dedication to the formulation of impactful policies and research with the potential to bring about concrete and positive changes in public health.
In her current role, she is fully committed to bridging the gap between researchers and policy-makers, ensuring that their work effectively informs government and healthcare policies.
Most likely to say: ‘Sounds good’
Biggest fan of: Travel, fashion and maple syrup
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Grace Compton, Specialist Policy Officer (Sustainability and Resilience Institute (SRI))
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Graces works to enhance the impact of the SRI's interdisciplinary research on the socioeconomic impacts of the transition to a more sustainable future.
She has first-hand experience in design and delivery of Climate Response and Energy Transition policies, working with central government clients in climate change and sustainability. She graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in Human Geography and went on to complete a Masters in Transformational Leadership. On graduating, she completed the TeachFirst Leadership Development programme gaining a PGDE Secondary Teaching Qualification, teaching Maths and Geography.
Most likely to say: 'I recently heard on a podcast…'
Biggest fan of: Mountain biking, women's sport
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Alice Booth, Specialist Policy Officer
Alice is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Southampton, in the final year of her PhD in Climate and Earth Science where she is exploring climate sensitivity and Earth System dynamics. Following her degree in Environmental Earth Sciences at the University of St Andrews, Alice graduated from the University of Leeds with an MSc. in Climate Change and Environmental Policy in 2020. She is particularly passionate about ensuring evidence-informed climate and environmental policy and has worked to engage with the policy process throughout her PhD. She joined PPS as a Policy Associate in 2021 working with the Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics as they supported the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) with the implementation of the new Code of Practice for the safety of small fishing vessels. Since then, she has worked with PPS on a number of projects such as the iPACT (Infrastructure for Port cities And Coastal Towns) Network, and the Southampton City Council's local evidence catapult fellowship where she researched the challenge of achieving Net Zero in the Port of Southampton. In 2023, Alice also undertook a 4 month fellowship at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology where she produced a POSTnote briefing on the use of biomass for UK energy generation. In her new role as a Specialist Policy Officer for the Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute (SMMI), Alice will be supporting SMMI researchers to boost their policy impact and building effective working relationships with SMMI's key strategic partners.
Most Likely to Say: 'I need a cup of tea'
Biggest Fan of: Taekwon-Do, wellbeing walks, and big cosy blankets
Fatima Ozcan, Senior Policy Associate
Fatima is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Southampton, specialising in maritime law and currently continuing her PhD on Cyber Coverage of Autonomous Ships in the Context of Marine Insurance Law. Beyond her academic pursuits, Fatima is also passionate about policy and evidence informed decision-making process.
She entered the policy world as a Policy Associate in 2021 at Public Policy|Southampton with a project on Solid Bulk Cargo Liquefaction: Strategies for Effective Control. She supported the project team with a stakeholder analysis by engaging the project partners and external stakeholders and producing a policy synthesis report that brings together relevant grey literature and other project findings. A few months into the role, she has been offered to manage the consultation activity, supporting university academics in responding to calls for evidence by the UK Parliament and Government. Recently Fatima has been selected for the PPS Local Evidence Catapult Programme where she focuses on investigating health inequalities in Southampton.
Most likely to say: 'Wanna grab a coffee?'
Biggest fan of: Blogging and cycling
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Joseph Owen, Research Fellow
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Joseph is a research fellow at the University of Southampton, working on several projects in the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities (SIAH), including 'Poetry and Place', 'Neighbouring Data', 'Pathways to Health', and 'Feeling Towns', the last of which explores pride, place attachment and civic engagement in UK towns and cities. He liaises with Public Policy | Southampton, researchers, communities and organisations on policy impact. Joseph completed his doctorate in English literature, and is currently publishing research on Carl Schmitt, sovereignty and modernism. He is Co-Director of the Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing (CMCW) and writes arts, film, and literary criticism.
Most likely to say: 'What does any of this actually mean?'
Biggest fan of : Meaning
