Professor Paul Noon OBE

Professor Paul Noon OBE

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise and Innovation)
Paul.Noon@coventry.ac.uk
@PaulN_CovUni
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Paul leads Coventry University’s enterprise and innovation work following a successful career spanning over a quarter of a century with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), representing and promoting the best of British industry and technology across the globe, Paul knows what graduates need and what industry needs from graduates.

Paul's aim in his role as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Innovation is to push forward the University’s ambitious strategy for world-wide growth by building on current success and extending the reach of Coventry’s business-focused research and commercial activities. Current projects include developing services for the health sector in Yorkshire, the automotive and utilities sector in Coventry and London, aviation and manufacturing in Indonesia and Brazil and industry-university links in China and India. Paul believes that creating the translational bridge between industry and academia supports better students, better research and faster more sustainable growth in the economy.

Paul sits on the boards of Coventry University Enterprises, CyberOwl (an award winning cyber security spinout) and Inocardia (a novel human-cell based assay for assessment of cardiovascular liability). Paul also sits on the West Midlands Regional Council for the CBI and stakeholder panel for Cadent.

Paul’s experience, honed far and wide, from New Zealand to Damascus and Kinshasa to Bonn, has covered a vast range of social and economic policy areas, from agriculture to education.   His diplomatic service career largely focused on developing the economic prosperity of the UK and working closely with a range of businesses of all sizes.

Before joining the University, Paul was Regional Director of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) West Midlands, where his main role was to support local businesses to grow and develop their export markets, as well as attracting inward investment to the region. Paul is a champion of devolution, working collaboratively with the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Midlands Engine to drive growth and prosperity in these important regions.