NICD Appoints Ashmita Randhawa as First Director of Policy and Skills

The National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) has appointed Ashmita Randhawa as its first director of policy and skills. Ashmita, who also holds a professorship at Newcastle University, brings two decades of experience in product development, academic research, and technology adoption.

Ashmita's career spans six years in corporate R&D at Procter & Gamble and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. She later moved to the North East to join Sunderland Software City, where she developed innovation and skills programmes for the region's tech sector.

In her new role, Ashmita will support NICD's work in data and AI innovation, focusing on policy and skills development. The centre, established in 2017 with funding from Newcastle University and central government, helps organisations use data science and AI to improve performance and build capabilities.