The Big Education Debate

Dr Suze Kundu is a nanochemist – literally and professionally – and an award-winning science communicator. She is currently Community Engagement Consultant for NASA’s Science Explorer (SciX) platform, helping connect space science and research communities with the wider world. Suze is also a freelance science communicator, continuing her mission to make science more accessible, inclusive, and engaging for all, and a Trustee of the Royal Institution.

Previously, Suze was Director of Researcher and Community Engagement at Digital Science, a research technology company supporting innovations that make research more open, efficient, and impactful. There, she helped identify and dismantle barriers to diversity and inclusion within the global research ecosystem and created and hosted a number of on-camera interview series, such as the Digital Science Speaker Series, and in-person research community engagement events.

Before making the leap into research infrastructure and data science, Suze was an academic for six years, teaching at Imperial College London and the University of Surrey, having completed her undergraduate degree, first Masters and PhD in Chemistry at University College London. She also completed a second Masters at Imperial, focusing on outreach initiatives and how they affect the retention of women in engineering.

Suze is a familiar face and voice across Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and Curiosity Stream, and a regular science expert on TV, radio, and in print, including her writing for Forbes. A passionate advocate for equity in STEM, Suze uses every platform she can to champion underrepresented voices in science.

Suze is a devoted catmamma to tuxedo siblings Bellatrix and Faraday, and a lifelong fan of all things Disney, dance, and musical theatre.

Following a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, Yvonne worked as an engineer in manufacturing before moving into management consultancy and studying for an MBA. In 2002, Yvonne moved into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector to establish the Science and Engineering (now STEM) Ambassadors volunteering programme. She joined STEM Learning as Chief Executive in 2010, significantly growing the organisation’s reach and impact to become the UK’s largest provider of STEM support.

An Engineering Council Trustee from 2010 to 2016, Yvonne also previously served as Co-Chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Education and Skills Panel.

Yvonne was privileged to give the Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) Distinguished Lecture at the University of Birmingham in 2020 and was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the late Queen’s New Year 2022 Honours List for services to STEM education.

Justine Fosh is Chief Executive Officer of Cogent Skills. A passionate advocate for the employer-led skills agenda, she joined Cogent in 2020, following a successful career in the food and drink industry, during which she created the skills body for the food and drink industry (NSAFD) and acquired and developed its awarding organisation subsidiary.

As CEO, Justine oversees the charitable organisation and the family of commercial businesses that make up the Cogent Skills Group, which was recognised as one of the UK’s Best Places to Work by the Sunday Times in 2024.

With a background covering policy, standard setting, vocational training and assessment, Justine has a broad skills base and leads Cogent Skills in its mission to develop ‘Skills to Better Our World’ by supporting the science-based industries which are critical to the UK (including life sciences, nuclear, hydrogen, chemicals, fuels and process manufacturing).

She is also a regular speaker on low carbon skills and other areas at a range of industry events and forums.