Ashmita Randhawa is the Director of R&D  Sunderland Software City, an is a Visiting Professor at the National Innovation Centre for Data, Newcastle University.

Previously, Ashmita was a SKOPE Research Officer and gained a DPhil at the Department of Education. Her research interests include: : STEM and digital skills and the labour market; education policy; innovative models of secondary and higher education; innovation and skills policy; regional development; tech adoption policy.

Ashmita holds a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University and an MEd in Education Policy and Leadership Studies from Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. Prior to starting her Master’s degree, she worked as a formulator and  manager at Procter & Gamble, where she was involved in multiple outreach projects for the development of STEM skills in young people.

Alongside her PhD, she worked on multiple projects examining the impact of policy on innovation in education and assessment, and on a community outreach programme that sought to empower highly marginalised young women to transition them into education, employment or training through the development of digital skills.