TEDxHeriot Watt University

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Dr Suzanne Lampert

  Dr Suzanne Lampert is an Assistant Professor of Economics and the Global Head of Learning and Teaching for Accountancy, Economics and Finance, at Heriot-Watt University. She has worked at Heriot-Watt for the last five years and is based at the Edinburgh Campus. Suzanne is a Year Coordinator, Course Leader and Personal Tutor for the Graduate Apprenticeship programmes in Business Management; the Global Course Leader for one of the largest taught courses at Heriot-Watt, with over 850 students registered in 2024-25; the Global Course Leader for the MBA course ‘Economics for Business'; and a member of the University Senate. She has recently completed her role as a Programme Redesign Lead for the Edinburgh Business School Learning and Teaching Transformation Project. She has a passion for interactive, creative and practice-oriented education. Suzanne is also a partner in the family business and a qualified tennis coach.

• Jil Sheth

  Jil Sheth is a researcher and partnerships professional with over seven years’ experience at the intersection of technology, urban planning, and net-zero innovation. As Partnerships and Engagement Manager at the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), she manages collaborations with over 1,000 organisations and 243 industry partners, supporting the UK’s industrial transition to net zero. An avid user of technology, Jil frequently delivers lectures on AI and digital transformation in sustainable development. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Urban Studies at Heriot-Watt University, focusing on policy transfer in land-use planning, and has been recognised with the British Council Anniversary and James Watt Scholarships. Jil is an active advocate for sustainability, volunteering in various roles with the United Nations and global initiatives. She is a member of over 35 professional organisations and is dedicated to mentoring students and promoting diversity in STEM.

• KRISTEN MARSHALL

  Kristen Marshall is a Digital Marketing Lecturer at Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh campus. Her research broadly focuses on the impact of social media, the interplay between online and offline habits and how consumers engage with social media around their values and identities. She has a wide range of experience teaching across marketing related courses – most recently Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Marketing Metrics, Digital Customer Experience, Contemporary Issues in Marketing and the Marketing Dissertation. She is passionate about embedding real-world, industry-led experience into Higher Education while creating extra-curricular opportunities for students. She grew up in Canada and lives in Scotland with her husband, three children and labradoodle.

• Luciana Blaha

  Luciana is an Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University, where she leads the Intelligent Automation Systems (IAS) Lab. She has worked in the public, private and third sector for 12 years before moving to academia. She is a committee member of the BCS Chartered Institute for IT in Edinburgh, and a contributor to the Scottish AI Playbook. Her research investigates Intelligent Automation systems (including AI, RPA and chatbots) and their impact on organisational behaviour, reuniting findings from science and technology studies, business management and computing science

• Poggy Murray Whitham

  Poggy Murray Whitham is a professionally accredited engineer, Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and multi award-winning DEI professional and researcher. Formerly a senior manager in automation engineering, Poggy was named one of the UK’s Top 100 Manufacturing Professionals – an honour that came only after being forced to leave the industry – alongside being nominated for a National Diversity Award as a positive LGBT role model. Now Programme Manager and part of the leadership team at EqualEngineers, and Co-Chair of InterEngineering, Poggy combines lived experience as a Black, Queer, Disabled, Neurodivergent professional with technical, strategic insight to drive inclusive change across the engineering industry, working with companies across the country and speaking regularly at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Government and Public Policy, and Imperial College London. Poggy is also pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration in DEI in Engineering at Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh Business School.