Royal Holloway, University of London have appointed Professor James Bennett as Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Creative Industries).

Professor Bennett has been the Director of StoryFutures for the past five years. In his new role, he will work in close partnership with Professor Ruth Livesey, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) and colleagues in the Research and Innovation team.

Currently, Professor Bennett is leading on the new CoSTAR National Lab, part of the UK Research and Development (R&D) network for creative technology and will also lead on embedding Royal Holloway’s creative industry strengths into research-led education across the University.

As Director of StoryFutures, Professor Bennett has successfully led on more than £60m of research, including: StoryTrails: the UK’s largest ever immersive storytelling project as part of UnBoxed and Co-Directing StoryFutures Academy: UK’s National Centre for Immersive Storytelling with the National Film & Television School (NFTS).

He was previously Head of Media Arts at Royal Holloway between 2014 and 2017, as well as a Professor in Digital Culture in the Department of Media Arts.

Professor Bennett said: “This role is a real honour and demonstrates the University’s deep commitment to creative industries research, education, and partnerships.

“Over the past five years, we have pioneered impactful R&D for the creative sector through StoryFutures and in this new role, I will ensure more of the University community can benefit from the opportunities for R&D and creative collaboration.

“By establishing the role as part of the new StoryFutures strategic business unit, we are building a home for interdisciplinary research and education that will help all schools and researchers achieve more than can be done alone.

“Within the new CoSTAR National Lab for creative industries R&D, we will drive inclusive, sustainable innovation and establish Royal Holloway as the leading creative industries university in the UK.”