Alison Kelly

While initially embarking on a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Southampton University, Alison underwent a pivotal shift in her career trajectory. Opting to move from teaching to Higher Education Administration, she accepted a role at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In this capacity, she worked as a course administrator for Less Widely Taught Languages, providing support for evening classes and private tuition, specifically tailored for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Ministry of Defence (MOD).

During her time at SOAS, an opportunity arose within the Linguistics Department with a new 'Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project.' This initiative, funded by Lisbet Rausing ran for five years, and aimed to establish an archive of endangered languages. It also sought to support a Ph.D. programme, enabling students to study dictionary writing during field trips to remote global regions. Alison's responsibilities in this role involved executive support to the Director, assistance with the Ph.D. programme, coordination of the annual conference, facilitation of the production and printing of the annual funder report, and overseeing the annual publication of papers in a book series. Additionally, she played a role in budget forecasting and reporting and she completed courses in HTML/XHTML and Dreamweaver, assisting her to develop the project website.

With the conclusion of funding for the Rausing project, and armed with some new skills!,  Alison started to look outside SOAS for work.  She accepted a similar role at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) before ultimately joining University College London (UCL) in 2014. At UCL, she initially served as a Personal Assistant/Administrator for the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, and after eight years, she moved into the position of Executive Assistant within the Division of Medicine.

In her current capacity, Alison provides support to the Director and the Divisional Manager in addition to overseeing event administration. Summing up her experiences, Alison feels that her work in Higher Education has not only facilitated continuous learning but has also provided ample opportunities to acquire new skills, fostering a work environment rich in diversity and motivation.