A strong advocate for enterprise, an influencer, a philanthropist, and ambassador for Bradford, meet Professor Zahir Irani, an evolution supreme.
Professor Zahir Irani, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bradford is known for his enterprising connections and community service. He is an active member of the community and former Chair of the Bradford Council Economic Recovery Board that developed the Council’s Economic response to Covid, resulting in a District-wide Economic Recovery Plan (2021-2026).
His scholarly efforts, hard work and achievements have ranked him as the fifth best in the UK and the 31st best in the world for his research achievements, and many claim he has been instrumental in shaping the recent growth and successes of the University of Bradford.
Former graduate and now Student Feedback Co-Ordinator, Faiz Ilyas recalls Professor Irani’s early years at the University of Bradford.
“As a university, we have always been ranked and known for our MBA courses, but at the time Professor Irani joined us our MBA courses were on the decline and we were going through challenging times.” Faiz Ilyas explained
“I clearly recall that Professor Irani, didn’t hesitate once on taking on the task of turning around our MBA and postgraduate courses in the Faculty of Management and Law. He enrolled the help of advisors from Harvard Business School and across Industry, to make our courses more relevant to the 21st century and distinctly different. As I result, I am sure you can now see student numbers increasing and we are getting more international students in than ever before that are making a tremendous contribution to student life and, the local economy.
That’s thanks to the unwavering commitment from Professor Irani” said Faiz.
Before setting foot into the Deputy Vice-Chancellor position at the University of Bradford, the Ugandan refugee used to head the faculty of management and law at the old Emm Lane University campus site. Although spending most of his professional life in London, he has strong links with the North, starting off as a project engineer in Bolton, after completing a Manufacturing Systems Engineering degree at the University of Salford.
After receiving a scholarship from Brunel University London, he pursued and finished a PhD in Investment Decision Making. He was always drawn to leadership and management and completed his leadership development at Harvard Business School.
He began his academic career at Brunel University London’s Department of Computer Science. Five years later, he was named the youngest professor in the UK. This was followed by a stint as department head, during which he promoted collaborations between business and academia. He also spent time in central Government, where he was a Senior Policy advisor in the Cabinet Office.
Faiz believes the reason for Professor Irani’s success and growth is that he is a passionate leader and is action led, taking people with him and uniting around a common vision. “He wants to fix issues and won’t leave things for tomorrow” added the former student.
Earlier this year, Professor Irani caught up with Rishi Sunak and presented the then Chancellor with the Bradford Economic Recovery Plan (2021-2026) and re-affirmed a district wide commitment to supporting the city’s new Rail Station bid. His speech was one of three delivered as a part of a delegation led by Bradford Breakthrough that not only impressed Rishi Sunak but also persuaded him to revisit the proven case.
In a conversation with the University of Bradford’s press team Professor Irani said, “I think it’s important to demonstrate that, as senior academic leaders, we can remain active in terms of our research, which is ultimately motivated by intellectual curiosity. I went into academia for the space to convert my ideas into impact, and even though I have significant leadership and management responsibilities, I think it’s important for people in my position to set examples to motivate and inspire others.
“The University of Bradford cultivates an ambitious research-intense environment where scholarly research is very much integrated into the curriculum and informs the content of many other institutions across the world. We also ensure that our research has a pathway to impact local businesses and, the broader Bradford community”
Further to his achievements, Professor Irani was named the district’s main influencer by the Sunday Times in 2020. Through years of hard work, he has successfully contributed towards the city’s economic, cultural and social development.
Professor Irani has high ambitions for the University of Bradford and very much see’s himself as an integral member of the senior management team, supporting Professor Shirley Congdon, Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Shirley Congdon testifies on Professor Irani’s commitment. She told Asian Standard: “Zahir is enthusiastic and motivated by success, he is committed to supporting myself and the University’s Executive Team to achieve our ambitious strategic objectives and in doing so drive up our performance and impact locally, regionally, and internationally.
“The University of Braford is proud, pioneering, and productive. The vision I have laid out is a world of equality of opportunity where people want to and can make a difference, we want to be the place to make that difference. Working together, we will make significant strides to achieve our vision over the next two years.“
Some of that vision has already become a reality, because as part of Professor Irani’s growth ambition for the University, he recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mevlut Ceylan, Education Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in London to support Government Scholarships to study at the University of Bradford. A great initiative by the professor himself that will help Turkish students to study at the university, and further enhance the International credentials of our City’s only University. Professor Irani goes onto say: ‘The University is delighted to become a destination of choice for so many students in Turkey’
