Professor Patrick Leman

Patrick has held senior executive positions in universities in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He was previously Pro Vice-Chancellor (PVC) at University of Waikato, New Zealand leading the largest division in the university including two New Zealand National Research Institutes. He also acted as PVC for the Division of Education he led teams on two campuses in New Zealand (Hamilton and Tauranga) and the university’s China campus teams (Hangzhou and Shanghai).

Prior to that, he was Professor of Psychology and Dean of Education at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), Kings College London, where he served also as Executive Dean. At King’s, IoPPN is an integral member one of the world’s largest medical education and research hubs (including dentistry, and King’s Health Partners), as a core part of the King’s Medical School and King’s Health Partners (including Guy’s, St Thomas’s, King’s College Hospital and SLaM). At King’s he set up undergraduate programmes in psychology and neuroscience, and with King’s Online and University of London developed postgraduate and undergraduate programmes.

Prior to his roles at King’s, he was Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean for Science and Head of Department at Royal Holloway, University of London, and before that lecturer at Goldsmiths College London and the University of Cambridge. Professor Leman’s work to enhance and develop curriculum, teaching delivery and student experience at Waikato, King’s and Royal Holloway has led to excellent student satisfaction ratings and associated league table positions for the institutions, schools and subject areas involved. He has led teams from the arts to sciences, medicine to law, and has generated large and productive interdisciplinary research projects and external and civic collaborations. He has a track record of success and delivering change and measurable improvement, with experience in developing high quality digital learning across international settings. His commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is evidenced by his initiation of projects in student retention, outreach, student mental health support, and curriculum change.

Professor Leman has an international reputation for his research in developmental psychology, particularly cognitive and social development. He also has interests in positive youth development, psychological ageing, and psychological aspects of productive interdisciplinary collaboration. He co-organised the 2017 Arts in Mind Festival (www.kcl.ac.uk/events/series/arts-in-mind-festival). He was the Editor of the British Journal of Developmental Psychology (2013-2018) and chair of the British Psychological Society’s Editorial Advisory Board (2019-2021). Patrick is co-author, with Andy Bremner (Birmingham University) of the leading international textbook Developmental Psychology (McGraw Hill) and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and Higher Education Academy.