SSE Launches New Professors of Practice Scheme
Professors of Practice at the School of Society and Environment connects high profile professionals from all industries and areas of public life with our student body. Each year we select three individuals to join our cohort of Professors of Practice.
The Professors of Practice are distinguished professionals who have demonstrated leadership and innovation in a range of sectors including industry, politics and government, the media, the heritage sector and the arts.
Our Professors of Practice have expertise and connections that enhances our students’ experience, bolsters our research and public engagement and helps us to connect with new partners and develop new development and employment opportunities for our students.
As part of our mission to give our students the knowledge and skills to navigate and shape a rapidly changing world, the School of Society and Environment has launched its “Professors of Practice” scheme for the 2026-27 academic year.
Lord Clement-Jones:
Lord Clement-Jones is a Liberal Democrat peer and spokesperson for AI and Digital. He is an expert in the digital economy and one of Parliament’s leading authorities on the creative industries, AI and emerging technologies.
He chaired the first House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence in 2016 and has served as Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI and the OECD Parliamentary Group on AI. He is the author of Living with the Algorithm: Servant Or Master? AI Governance and Policy for the Future, which considers how politicians and policymakers should regulate such a fast-changing technology.
He has held governance positions at several institutions including UCL, Haileybury and Queen Mary (as Chair of Council from 2016 to 2025) and is the current Chair of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society.
Jaspreet Kaur:
Jaspreet Kaur is a spoken word artist and writer from East London, who studied History at Queen Mary University of London from 2010 to 2013.
Jaspreet has published and performed widely on gender discrimination, the post-colonial immigrant experience and the South Asian community in Britain. Jaspreet’s first book, Brown Girl Like Me, - “part toolkit, part call-to-arms” for South Asian women, which was published in 2022 – was an Amazon #1 bestseller and was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in July 2022.
She is a regular commentator on BBC Sunday Morning Live, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 2 and has received a number of awards including the Asian Women of Achievement Award for Arts and Culture, the ‘We Are the City’ Rising Star Award in Education, and she was also voted one of the Top 10 Inspirational Sikh Women in the UK.
Dr Peter Downs:
Dr Peter Downs is a Principal Consultant at CBEC Eco-Engineering, who became the UK’s first chartered geomorphologist in 2005.
Dr Downs is the author of over 75 academic papers and book chapters applying geomorphology to river restoration and sustainable environmental management and has served on numerous public bodies including the former National Rivers Authority, the South West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and California’s Environmental Water Program.
He has directed projects in the UK, Ireland and the USA that have restored historic river channels, reconnected river channels with their historic floodplains, managed flood risks, improved fisheries and restored riparian habitats.