Pro-Vice-Chancellor - International

Professor Rebecca Hughes

Professor Rebecca Hughes was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield in March 2011 with responsibility for the University's International Strategy.  She also leads its distinctive mission to be a 21st Century Civic University, closely engaged with the challenges facing communities both locally and internationally.

Rebecca is committed to the development of the University's reputation for research and teaching of the highest international quality, working in partnership with leading universities and companies around the world in areas of shared interest.  Rebecca also supports the development of internationalisation within the University, instigating further opportunities for staff and students to share and develop their own international experience and perspectives.

Rebecca joined the University of Sheffield from the University of Nottingham where she was the Chair in Applied Linguistics. There, Rebecca has helped set up campuses in Malaysia and China and led the creation of the first department delivering UK degrees wholly in China.

Professor Hughes has published widely on her personal research interest of spoken language and given presentations on this topic at a number of international conferences.  She regularly contributes to debates surrounding the globalised Higher Education system in forums such as the OECD and the British Council where she brings the combination of a 20 year career working in University internationalisation and Applied Linguistics expertise to issues of language policy.  Rebecca holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Oxford.  Her interest in applied linguistics began when she was a child, partly due to her father who was a writer himself.  She says "the way you see the world is very often coloured by language and that was something I became fascinated by".

Rebecca is Chair of the White Rose Advisory Group on East Asian Studies, Chair of the Worldwide Universities Network (W.U.N) Global Challenge on Higher Education and Research, member of the board of governors of the Institute for Managers in Higher Education, Higher Education and Skills Division at the OECD.  Locally, Rebecca represents the University on the citywide Sheffield Executive Board, the Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre Local Governance Steering Group, and the Cultural Consortium.

Rebecca is also leading the University's work to develop its role as a 21st Century Civic University, translating the institution's founding values to make a difference in applications in the areas of policy, education, health and well-being, enterprise and business relationships and cultural engagement.  She was a keynote speaker at the first collaborative festival between a University and the City, the 'Festival of the Mind' held in Sheffield, September 2012 which attracted 16,000 people to over 70 events showcasing innovative collaboration between the University's scholarship and the city.  The Festival received widespread national and international coverage and planning is underway to develop the international focus of the next Festival, including the use of multi-national venues.

As part of a progressive view of public engagement which demands new models of teaching and interaction, Rebecca is leading the re-launch of the University's Institute for Lifelong Learning', with a strong focus on flexibility and innovation.  She is a member of the University's Executive Board and also Chairs a number of University committees including International Affairs, External Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility.