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Darius Pocha, a British/Indian entrepreneur, adviser to the UK Government and an alumnus of the University has been appointed as an independent governor at the University.

Darius is CEO of consultancy Create/Change and advises the Government on the use of digital in education, health, justice and environment.

He graduated from the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ in 1997 with First Class Honours in Art & Design with Psychology.

“Since graduating, I’ve started three successful design and technology companies, been a senior policy adviser to Department for Education on the use of digital and worked internationally with the UN and charities like Amnesty & War Child,” he said. “But a future like this seemed out of my reach when I applied to Worcester College (as it was then). I had a very challenging time at Secondary school, was often in trouble and didn’t do well academically. Like a lot of students in that situation, I'd convinced myself that I had no talent for learning, so no-one was more surprised find myself three years later with a First Class degree and on the way to doing an MA. In fact, my time at Worcester gave me something more valuable than just an academic credential: it also gave me self-belief, aspirations and the ability to express myself.”

He said he was delighted to now be joining the Board of Governors.

“Educational access is one of the fundamental obligations of any society and in my opinion the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ is showing how it should be done,” he said. “Worcester is an exemplar of inclusivity and widening access, which is why I'm so passionate about playing a role in its future. The reality is that the University is making big investments in a very challenging political and funding environment - to maintain our trajectory as both a high-quality and accessible destination for students will take real management skill. I'm here to do whatever I can to help.”

From 2017-2020, Darius worked closely with policy teams in DfE on FE/HE and adult skills policy, including the design of T-Levels and the National Skills Fund. He is a CAPE adviser to UCL on the application of artificial intelligence in public policy. Darius also sits on the Board of Centre for Digital Public services, the arms-length body responsible for driving digital transformation in Wales.

“Through my work at Department for Education, I’ve had the chance to speak to hundreds of students from disadvantaged backgrounds including students and families with protected characteristics,” Darius said. “I'm very interested in understanding the needs of our students and helping the Board continue to make good decisions about how to meet them. I'm also on the finance and development committee and I'm excited to be involved in decisions around the University's capital programme, which I think has been very innovative.”

Darius is one of a number of new independent Governors appointed at the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ recently.

John Bateman, Chair of Governors, said: “At Worcester, we have been delighted to have received a very large number of applications from individuals, representing a wide cross section of society. This is particularly positive at a time when many organisations and institutions are finding it difficult to recruit volunteers to governance positions. As a result, we have been able to appoint a number of new Governors who will bring both a wealth of relevant experience and passion for education to the Board.”