Dr William Darler

Will Darler (2013 cohort) is an Associate Professor at the University of Leicester, where he leads enterprise strategy across nine schools within the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities (CSSAH). Since completing his PhD with the Horizon CDT, Will has built a successful academic career rooted in professional practice. His work focuses on close collaboration with industry partners, combining research with executive education, coaching, and consultancy.

Will is a corporate member of the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR), a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and a qualified professional coach. He contributes to regional innovation and economic development through roles on the Midlands Engine Observatory’s Digital Steering Group and the Creative and Digital East Midlands University Forum.

Within the University of Leicester, Will serves on multiple strategic boards and committees, including the Innovation Board, the Research Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Committee, and the Institute for Digital Culture’s Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Group. His efforts have contributed to a rewrite of the university’s IP and spinout policies, increased research funding, and launched new executive education initiatives.

Research, Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange:

Since joining the University of Leicester, Will has led and co-led research, enterprise and knowledge exchange projects worth over £20 million, including:

• Programme Lead for Help to Grow Management at the University of Leicester School of Business (a government-funded leadership programme run by universities across the UK. Will was responsible for 50% of this £2 million project through the management of 20 members of staff and delivery of leadership training to 500 businesses). Please visit www.le.ac.uk/helptogrow for more information.
• Co-Investigator for the Leverhulme Centre for Space and Humanity (A £10 million Leverhulme funded project to increase the understanding of how humans engage with and experience space).
• Academic lead for ULSB at Leicester Innovation Hub (a £5.1 million European Regional Development Fund project to accelerate the growth of businesses in the UK. Will was responsible for delivering 15% of this project).
• Principal Investigator for a Fintech project with financial software company, Draycir (a £185,000 Innovate UK funded project where Will managed the development of AI software for a credit-chasing tool). Draycir website: https://draycir.com
• Principal Investigator for a Customer Intelligence software project with The Audience Agency (a £200,000 Innovate UK funded project where Will managed the development of AI software for customer segmentation). The Audience Agency website: https://www.theaudienceagency.org

What the future holds:

The career path Will is following leads to a role as a Professor of Practice, or as a Pro Vice Chancellor of Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise. Although Will also has an entrepreneurial streak, so his unconventional route through academia could eventually result in roles running, advising or investing in spin-outs or participating in other initiatives to help growing businesses.