Susie Kitchens

Susie is on secondment to Imperial College London from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, where she is working across the international strategy and public affairs. Her interest in industrial innovation policy and international partnerships fits well with this work.  Susie is also a non-executive Director of UKCEH, a world-leading independent research institute for environmental science.

Previously, Susie was Deputy Director, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, leading DSIT’s work in supporting the UK research ecosystem through managing >£1bn ODA and non ODA funded global collaborations, representing DSIT in multilateral forums (G7, G20), and bilateral science diplomacy including leading the 140-strong global Science and Innovation Network, and science policy including open science, research security and equitable partnerships.

As a Foreign Office diplomat, Susie served as Deputy Head of the UK Mission in Nairobi, and of the UK Mission in Dar es Salaam, and as Consul General in Boston, Massachusetts.

Susie’s qualifications include an undergraduate degree in Human Sciences from Oxford University and an MSc in Health Promotion from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She completed the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme as part of Team London, 2014-2016.