Christopher Roberts

Biography

A personable and highly experienced educator with over 25 years in the further and higher education sector, specialising in leadership and change management for senior academic teams. Currently serving as Head of Curriculum in the UAL School of Pre-Degree Studies at the University of the Arts London, he leads large academic teams through significant structural and locational change. His leadership focuses on relationship building, developing dynamic internal and external partnerships, and fostering barrier-breaking creative work that enhances both staff and student experience.

Renowned as an inclusive and future-focused leader, he has a proven track record in future-proofing pre-degree education. This builds on his decade-long tenure as Programme Director for Access and Progression at Central Saint Martins, where he led the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design course.

His work plays a key role in UAL’s strategic development — from identifying gaps in provision to overseeing number planning, student recruitment, contextual admissions, and complex resource management across people and space. Recognised for his excellence in teaching, he also provides advisory guidance as a senior external moderator and quality assurer for the University of the Arts Awarding Body, supporting colleagues and institutions across the sector.

Recent achievements include a funded partnership and knowledge exchange project with Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, and the Drawing Matter Architectural Archive — with a paper on this work presented at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in February 2025.