Sir Timothy Michael Martin O'Shea (born 28 March 1949,
Hamburg, Germany
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
)
is a British
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
and academic. He was the
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
and
Principal of the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
from 2002 to 2018.
Biography
O'Shea grew up in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, attended the
Royal Liberty School
The Royal Liberty School is a secondary school for boys aged 11 to 16, located in Gidea Park in the London Borough of Havering, England.
The school is situated on Upper Brentwood Road about 400 metres north of Gidea Park railway station, and ...
, in
Romford
Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. A computer scientist, he was Master of
Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...
from 1998 to 2002 and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
from 2001.
A graduate of the Universities of
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
and
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, he has worked in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and for the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
where he founded the Computer Assisted Learning Research Group and worked on a range of educational technology research and development projects, later becoming Pro-Vice-Chancellor there.
He was a Research Fellow at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, Department of Artificial Intelligence, from 1974 to 1978.
The most translated of his ten books is ''Learning and Teaching with Computers'', co-authored with John Self and his most recent 2007 book, ''In Order to Learn'', published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, was co-edited with Frank Ritter, Josef Nerb and Erno Lehtinen.
O'Shea became Principal of the University of Edinburgh in October 2002. Since his appointment he has sat on various boards including the Boards of
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...
, the
Intermediary Technology Institute Scotland
An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...
Ltd, the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
, the Governing Body of the
Roslin Institute
The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
It is best known for creati ...
and has been Convenor of the Research and Commercialisation Committee of
Universities Scotland
Universities Scotland was formed in 1992 as the Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals (COSHEP) adopting its current name in 2000, when Universities UK was also formed. It represents 19 autonomous higher education institutions, 16 of ...
and Acting Convener of Universities Scotland.
In 2004 he was elected Fellow of The
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
.
He was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in the
2008 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008.
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...
.
O'Shea received an Honorary Doctorate from
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
in 2008
On 21 June 2016, it was announced that O'Shea would step down from his position as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the university in September 2017.
Boards and Committees
Since January 2008, O’Shea has been Chair of
Jisc
Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit company that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education institutions and research as well as not-for-profits and the public sector.
History
T ...
(formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee). He is also Chair of the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, the Board of Directors of the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, and the Board of Newbattle Abbey College Trust. He sits on the Council of the
Confucius Institute
Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged currently by the , a government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGO) under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic o ...
Headquarters, and is currently a member of the German Initiative for Excellence, or 'Excellenzinitiative'.
He has served two terms both as a Trustee of the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
and as a member of the main Board of
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...
. Between 2009 and 2012 he was the Convener of
Universities Scotland
Universities Scotland was formed in 1992 as the Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals (COSHEP) adopting its current name in 2000, when Universities UK was also formed. It represents 19 autonomous higher education institutions, 16 of ...
. He was also served as Deputy President of the French Government's Initiatives d’ Excellence en Formations Innovantes
Academic Board and Advisory Positions
University of the People (Member of President's Council)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Timothy
Principals of the University of Edinburgh
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of Sussex
Alumni of the University of Leeds
Edinburgh Festival Fringe staff
1949 births
Living people
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Jisc
Knights Bachelor
Masters of Birkbeck, University of London
People educated at the Royal Liberty Grammar School
University of the People people