Professor Robert Mokaya, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement, will leave the university in June to take up the role of Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield.  

In his new role, Prof Mokaya will work closely with the President and Vice-Chancellor, and have oversight of the effective delivery of Sheffield’s Vision and Strategy. He will hold line management responsibility for the academic Vice Presidents and those with cross-cutting portfolios.  

Professor Mokaya has been at Nottingham for 23 years, taking up the role of PVC for Global Engagement in 2019. His role is responsible for the university’s global strategy, covering all areas of the world and including oversight of the international campuses in Malaysia (UNM) and China (UNNC). He has worked closely with the Provosts of UNMC and UNNC, the Office of Global Engagement and all academic schools to develop and sustain purposeful global partnerships that will enrich student experience and enhance research excellence.  

Robert received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Nairobi in 1988 after which he spent a year working for Unilever in Kenya. He was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1992. In 1992, he was elected to a Research Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge and in 1996 was awarded an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship.   

He joined the School of Chemistry in Nottingham as a lecturer in Materials Chemistry in 2000, was promoted to Reader in 2005, and to Professor of Materials Chemistry in 2008. He is a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder (2017-2022) and in 2016 to 2018 was Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement.  

Robert’s research interest are on the design, synthesis and characterisation of new forms of sustainable porous materials and the study of their structure-property relations. The research involves exploring fundamentally new synthesis methods that are simpler, cheaper, and more efficient and offer valorisation routes to materials with optimised properties for targeted sustainable energy applications. He was appointed OBE in 2022 for services to the Chemical Sciences and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2023.  

Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West said: “Robert has been a great advocate for our international agenda, building strong and varied partnerships across the world.  

“We are sorry to see Robert leave, but I know that he will be a great asset as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Sheffield, and we wish him all the best in this exciting opportunity.”  

Professor Mokaya said: “I am looking forward to joining the University of Sheffield and the new responsibilities and challenges my role will bring. Of course, having worked at Nottingham for more than two decades, it is sad to be leaving. I will especially miss the many friends and colleagues who have been part of my journey and to whom I am very grateful.  

“We can be proud of what we have achieved at Nottingham in our international outlook and activities. Over the past five years, I have had the support of a great team here, with drive and ambition. I look forward to seeing how things progress over the months and years ahead and know that Nottingham has a bright future in this area.”  

Prof Mokaya will start at Sheffield on Monday 17 June.