My name is Dawn Austwick, and I was Chair of the SKETCH Advisory Board.
I am an alumna of Queen Mary — I studied English and Drama way back in the 1980s, and a couple of years ago I was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University. It was just after that that I became involved in . It’s been great getting to know Queen Mary again. One of my first jobs after university was working as the Theatre Manager at the Half Moon Theatre, which was just down the road from the University — although it subsequently became a pub. Some of you have probably had a drink there, but my memories of it are as a fringe theatre!
From the Half Moon, I went to work as a management consultant at KPMG. That was quite a big switch! And then spent time in the cultural sector as the Project Director for the development of Tate Modern and as the Deputy Director of the British Museum. The last part of my career has been as the Chief Executive of two funders. Firstly, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and latterly, at the National Lottery Community Fund (Big Lottery Fund). Now I sit on a range of different Board and advisory groups including the London Marathon Charitable Trust, the European Advisory Board of the Rand Foundation, and the Food Farming and Countryside Commission.
I think we have all been impressed by how the programme and activities have developed. I would highlight the scale of the team’s vision and ambition, which has been matched by their speed and agility in developing deliverable activity.
The SKETCH Advisory Board met a couple of times a year. Our job was to support the great work that the staff and student teams do, and to offer ideas and insights from our own experience. The Board was made up of people from all sectors, particularly members of the business community — for example from the East London Business Alliance and from City firms like Mazars, and from the non-profit sector such as Tower Hamlets Voluntary Sector and national charities like the Scouts.
Another key area for the Board was contributing to the programme and activities themselves. At each meeting, the team updated us on their progress (always excellent!) and on their plans for the future (always exciting!). We responded with comments and ideas for the team to take away and think about, or we suggested alternative possibilities. We’ve spent quite a lot of time over the last year talking about impact and evaluation, and marketing, both internally and externally.
I think we have all been impressed by how the programme and activities have developed. I would highlight the scale of the team’s vision and ambition, which has been matched by their speed and agility in developing deliverable activity. And of course, by the creativity and professionalism of the students who have become involved. Some of the business ventures have been truly ground-breaking and it’s been fabulous to see some of them get the funding they have needed. A key aspect of the programme has been the desire to work cross-discipline, which is not always easy in academic institutions, but in SKETCH we have really reaped the benefit of this. I was particularly pleased to see a project utilising the skills of the drama students!
I think as a Board we take our hats off to the students and staff for what they have achieved in just a couple of years. It’s great to see a university so committed to working cross-community locally, looking to develop deep links, and to involve and engage the student body by putting the students’ learning at the heart of the process.
We’ve been operating as an Advisory Board for a couple of years now so it’s a good time to take a look at whether we should be differently configured for the next stage of SKETCH’s development. Do we need a different focus? Are there skills or networks that we need round the table but don’t have? How can we add most value and best support the core University team? So, the future may not look like the past but that seems like a good thing. SKETCH is a dynamic and developing programme, as is the University’s public engagement strategy; we should be adaptable too!
Docklands and East London has changed almost beyond recognition from when I worked just down the Mile End Road — and I would never have dreamt that nearly forty years later I would be involved with such a talented bunch developing the social entrepreneurs of the future from around the world in this little patch of London.
It’s great to see a university so committed to working cross-community locally, looking to develop deep links, and to involve and engage the student body by putting the students’ learning at the heart of the process.