Proactive Governance
A responsible AI governance framework built around five elements — values and ethics, use cases, organisational alignment, monitoring, and team development. Developed with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
Dr Swati Virmani
NTF · PhD · SFHEA
Head of Academic, De Montfort University, London Campus
National Teaching Fellow
I work at the intersection of AI, ethics, education and social impact.
My work helps universities, public bodies and professional organisations adopt technology in ways that are ethical, inclusive and operationally useful — protecting human agency, building trust and making sure the benefits of digital innovation are distributed fairly.
- National Teaching Fellow (2026)
- Senior Fellow, Advance HE
- PhD Economics, University of Manchester
- Economics Network Best Lecturer in the UK (2021)
- Member, CIPR AI in PR Panel
- Associate, the UK’s Economics Network
- Mentor & Assessor, Advance HE Fellowships
- Certified LEGO® Serious Play® Facilitator
- Carbon Literate Educator
Background
An educator, researcher and higher education leader
How can learning, technology and collaboration help build more inclusive, ethical and human‑centred futures?
I am Head of Academic at De Montfort University, London Campus, where I lead the academic, international support and partnerships workstream. I led the strategic launch of the campus — embedding inclusive education, sustainability, employer partnerships and AI‑driven initiatives such as the bespoke EDGE skills‑development programme and the London Career Development Service. My portfolio leadership includes the Global Cities MBA, designed for shared delivery across the London and Dubai campuses.
In 2026 I was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship, the UK’s national recognition for excellence in teaching and learning in higher education. I am also a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and hold a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Manchester.
Before my current role I was Senior Lecturer in Economics and Deputy Director of the DBA programme in De Montfort University’s Faculty of Business & Law, and have previously worked at the University of Huddersfield, Lancaster University Management School, the University of Manchester, and the Institute of Economic Growth in India — a path that has given me both a quantitative research background and a practical understanding of how institutions actually change.
What I lead on
My work spans eight connected areas of academic leadership:
- Academic strategy and portfolio leadership — campus launch, new programme development, cross‑sector collaboration and civic impact.
- Teaching excellence, quality and student success — curriculum design, assessment, academic standards and graduate outcomes; chairing academic quality and governance committees.
- People leadership and culture — coaching, mentoring and professional development across multidisciplinary teams.
- Strategic change and organisational development — translating strategy into deliverable plans and governance arrangements.
- Financial, resource and operational planning — business planning, staffing models, programme viability and budget management.
- Research and knowledge exchange — securing and managing funded projects, and turning research into practical frameworks and tools.
- Digital education and responsible AI — AI literacy, assessment redesign and responsible technology adoption.
- Inclusion, sustainability and civic impact — inclusive assessment, WCAG‑aligned digital accessibility, Carbon Literacy and community partnership.
Responsible AI in practice
My research focuses on the societal impact of artificial intelligence, particularly how AI can be designed, governed and used responsibly. I am interested in the practical questions that sit behind AI adoption: how do we protect human agency, build trust, reduce inequality, support wellbeing, and ensure that technological progress leads to genuine public and social good?
I specialise in the strategy and operations of Responsible AI — the work of turning principles into frameworks, decisions and everyday practice. I have authored three national reports for the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations on AI adoption, skills readiness and task penetration, and I advise public‑sector, professional and civic partners on responsible AI approaches that are ethical, inclusive and operationally useful.
Pedagogical innovation
Alongside my research, I am deeply committed to pedagogical innovation. I design creative, digital‑first and student‑centred learning environments, with a particular focus on responsible AI, employability, sustainability and inclusive practice. My work includes curriculum design, academic staff development, enterprise education, AI literacy, and the use of playful and participatory methods to support deeper learning. Pedagogical adaptability is my forte, along with creative approaches to instructional design.
Education
- Data Science and AI Educators’ Programme — The Alan Turing Institute, 2023
- PGCert Academic Practice — Lancaster University, 2016
- PhD Economics — University of Manchester, 2014
- MA Economics — Delhi School of Economics, 2009
- BA (Hons) Economics — Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, 2007
Research interests
Human‑centred AI, and what it takes to get there
- Human-Centred AIDesigning systems around lived experience, agency and inclusion rather than around the technology.
- Ethics-by-DesignBuilding responsibility into how AI is imagined, developed, implemented and evaluated.
- AI GovernancePractical frameworks that make ethics, accountability and oversight operational.
- Digital GoodEnsuring the benefits of technology reduce rather than widen social and economic inequality.
My research explores how AI and digital technologies can contribute to social good while remaining grounded in ethical, inclusive and human‑centred principles. I am particularly interested in how responsible AI can help address socio‑economic challenges, reduce inequalities and ensure that the benefits of technology are distributed more equitably.
A central focus of my current work is the development of culturally sensitive and human‑centred AI interventions in areas such as mental health, communication and digital media. This includes research on responsible AI governance, AI literacy, digital inclusion, and the role of ethical design in shaping trustworthy technological futures.
My work spans a range of applied and interdisciplinary projects — from engaging communities in the design of smart cities, to evaluating the impact of virtual GP consultations, to developing AI‑enabled tools for mental health literacy and civic engagement. Across these projects I take a bottom‑up and participatory approach that prioritises lived experience, inclusion and the needs of underserved communities.
At the heart of it is a commitment to ensuring that digital innovation supports human agency, strengthens communities and contributes to more inclusive, ethical and socially responsive futures.
Frameworks
Future‑focused designs
Principles only become useful when they are operational. These are the frameworks and programmes I have designed for universities, public‑sector teams and professional bodies.
The EDGE Programme
A six‑week skills‑development programme running alongside the academic schedule, structured around four tracks — Employability, Digital, Green and Enterprise — and built towards a capstone project, a certificate and a digital badge.
Three‑Point Digital Strategy
How a university embeds AI literacy across a whole academic portfolio — designed at programme level, embedded at module level, transferable across campuses.
Scaffolded AI Integration
A faculty‑wide approach across four pathways, each with a defined objective, purpose and resource set — from staff training to assessment guidance.
Current work
Research and innovation projects
Applied work with partners in healthcare, charities, professional bodies, local government and higher education.
SCOPE‑AI: Listening Differently
An intelligent survey agent that reimagines data collection as a two‑way adaptive dialogue rather than a static form. Piloting with RAFT, a Leicestershire charity supporting parents and carers of care‑experienced children.
Read about SCOPE‑AIResponsible AI Governance with UHL NHS Trust
A proactive governance framework for the Communications and Engagement Directorate at University Hospitals of Leicester, positioning governance as the ethical and strategic spine of AI adoption.
Read about the frameworkDigital Strategy for Education
Embedding AI literacy and digital capability coherently across an entire academic portfolio — through curriculum design, assessment, staff development and student learning.
Read about the strategyMindfulConnect
A co‑developed, online, interactive CPD programme building mental health literacy among health and social care professionals, grounded in research and designed for accessibility.
Read about MindfulConnectLeicester Smart City
Alan Turing Institute‑funded public engagement work training a new generation of community reporters to hold informed, inclusive discussion about smart cities, data and AI.
Read about the projectEvaluating digital healthcare
Measuring the impact of MedicSpot technology in GP consultations, and assessing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic for Leicester.
See the reportsFunded projects and grants
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2025 · £8,200
Project Lead · DMU Higher Education Innovation Fund
An interactive, online professional development programme on mental health literacies for social and health care workers.
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2025 · £2,200
Project Lead · DMU Mary Seacole Research Centre
SCOPE‑AI — advancing mental health literacy with a culturally sensitive AI agent that evaluates social stigma and addresses inclusivity gaps.
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2024 · £52,797
Project Lead · Knowledge exchange with Residential Management Group
A bespoke, client‑focused MSc Property Management & Investment programme.
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2024 · £1,000
Principal Investigator · ESRC Accelerator Scheme
Leveraging a customised GPT to address barriers to mental healthcare and wellbeing among young adults.
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2023 · £3,708
Co‑Investigator · Higher Education Innovation Funding
With East Midlands Chambers of Commerce, the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and Leicester City Council — investigating how users interact with data tools and draw correct inferences.
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2022 · £9,880
Co‑Investigator · The Alan Turing Institute
Engaging the Community in Designing a Smart City.
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2021 · £10,000
Co‑Investigator · Willows Medical Centre, Leicester
Measuring the impact of Medicspot virtual GP consultations.
Collaborations
Partners I work with
My work is built around partnership — with health services, charities, professional bodies, industry, local government and universities.
Public sector & charities
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Leicester City Council
- RAFT
- Kindled Spirit
- Kshamata, India
Industry & professional bodies
- IBM
- Chartered Institute of Public Relations
- London Higher
- BusinessLDN
- East Midlands Chambers of Commerce
Education & research
- The Alan Turing Institute
- Economics Network
- UKRI MeHeLP India Consortium
- Symbiosis International University, India
- Rangsit University, Thailand
Selected publications
Recent writing and national reports
- 2026 The Contribution of Public Relations to Shaping AI’s Role
- 2026 AI’s Penetration into Public Relations Practice and the Implications for Training and Higher Education
- 2025 Staying Human in a Smart Machine World
- 2023 Humans needed, more than ever: an analysis of the use of AI in public relations and the impact on public relations work
- 2021 The AI and Big Data Readiness: assessing the public relations profession’s preparedness for an AI future
- 2020 The Effects of Artificial Intelligence on the Professions: A Literature Repository
Speaking
Recent talks and panels
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September 2026
Beyond Media: measuring influence in the age of search and LLMs
Invited speaker · CIPR & CISION
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June 2026
Risks and the Professional Advisory Opportunity
Panel · AI for PR Conference 2026, Communicate Magazine, supported by CIPR and PRCA
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June 2025
AI & Economics: rethinking assessments for the future
Workshop · UCL and the Royal Economic Society
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June 2024
How AI is reshaping the economics profession
Seminar · Government Economic Service, HM Treasury
Delivered to a membership of more than 3,500 economists across UK government departments.
Collaboration
Working with me
I collaborate with three kinds of partner. If your work sits in any of these areas, I would be glad to hear from you.
Universities and higher education
For institutions embedding AI literacy and digital capability without losing academic coherence. I chair academic quality and governance committees and mentor colleagues towards Advance HE Fellowship.
- Curriculum and assessment design for the GenAI era
- Programme‑ and portfolio‑level digital strategy
- Academic staff development and AI literacy
- Inclusive, playful and participatory pedagogy
Organisations and professional bodies
For teams that need AI adoption to be innovative and efficient while remaining transparent and accountable. Recent work includes national CIPR reports and a seminar for the Government Economic Service at HM Treasury.
- Responsible AI governance frameworks
- Digital upskilling and workforce readiness
- Use‑case identification, risk and oversight routes
- Sector research and evidence reports
Local authorities and public bodies
For leaders building smart and digital places that residents actually trust and use. Delivered with Leicester City Council, the Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and the Alan Turing Institute.
- Inclusive smart city and digital place strategy
- Community engagement and participatory research
- Reaching underserved and seldom‑heard groups
- Evaluation of digital and health interventions
Get in touch
Let’s talk about your AI, digital or education challenge
I am open to research collaborations, advisory and governance work, keynote and panel invitations, and staff development partnerships.