Meet Our team
Dr Alka Swanson
CEO
Alka has a 25+ year career in technology companies holding roles including VP of Sales and Marketing, COO, CFO, and CEO. She has a stellar record of growing startups to multi-million-dollar revenue, and SMEs to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue in companies across Europe and the US and has served on the boards of various non-profit organisations including an education foundation in Zambia.
Irina Preda
CTO
Irina is a graduate of the Computer Science MSc from the University of Glasgow, and Artificial Intelligence MSc from the University of Edinburgh. For the last five years, Irina has been a programming and data analytics consultant and Data Scientist. She is working with Open Development & Education to improve a platform used for exploring global education research. This work is part of a larger project called EdTechHub
Ross Martin
Chair
Ross advises local, regional, and national Governments and agencies, helping make the most of new economic initiatives. Previously, Ross was CEO of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), and Advisor to the Commission on School Reform. He has a long track record of delivering innovation with experience from working with businesses, Government, schools, local authorities, colleges, and universities
Khaled ABDULGHAFFAR
Full Stack Developer
Khaled has a First Class BSc (Hons) in Cyber Security & Networks from Glasgow Caledonian University and is a Full Stack Software Developer, specialising in Frontend Development including JavaScript and Mobile and Progressive Web App UI/UX. He is experienced in graphic design, and working in agile development environments, and is a former Frontend Angular Developer for a Utility Company
Dr Cristian Urlea
System Architect
Cristian has a PhD in Computing Science from the University of Glasgow. He is a Senior Security Developer, and functional programming language compiler writer. He has worked in a variety of roles including developing a digital exam board management system ensuring examination and progression outcomes are traceable and correct, and as a high-availability, low-latency engineer for a leading Investment bank
Anthony Gerrard FRSA
Business Director
Anthony is a serial entrepreneur. He was highly commended for Social Entrepreneur of the Year, awarded for Outstanding Contribution by a Young Business Leader, and recognised by the European Commission for demonstrating best practice in developing enterprising curriculums. He has worked with Mozilla on new methods of digitally assessing skills in learners and is certified by the Institute of Leadership and Management
kevin mcguckien FCCA
CFO
Kevin is a Chartered Accountant, Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and a Director of Finance. He specialises in helping startup companies by taking the compliance strain away and advising entrepreneurs on tax and administrative efficiency. Over the last 15 years he has supported startups to grow all the way through to successful exits
dr jillian ney
Digital Anthropologist
Jillian is the UK’s first Doctor of social media. She is an author, speaker, and trainer. She was voted one of the 10 most influential women in digital marketing under the age of 30 by The Drum and shortlisted as the Most Inspiring Young Business Leader by the People Make Glasgow Inspiring Cities Awards. Jillian was also voted as a data influencer in the Hottopics.ht Global Data Influencers list in 2020, and DataIQ top 100 list in 2021
Professor Vic Lally
Learning Design
Vic has a 35+ year career as an expert in Education. He is a writer, researcher and academic whose main interest is human learning: its ‘design’, philosophy, and ethics, as well as the cultural and political contexts of learning. His focus is on collaborative learning; specialising in the fields of Technology Enhanced Learning, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, and learning in 3D and mobile environments