Prof David Mba

Professor David Mba joined Birmingham City University in October 2023 as Vice-Chancellor. He was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise, at the University of the Arts London (UAL).

Prior to joining UAL, he was Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise, at De Montfort University. Whilst at DMU he also held the post of Pro Vice Chancellor/Dean for the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media. Other roles he has held include, Dean of Engineering at London South Bank University, and Associate Dean at Cranfield University’s School of Engineering.

David studied Aerospace Engineering (1st class honours) and completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Cranfield University, for which he was awarded the Lord King Norton Gold medal for the most outstanding doctoral thesis.

David is a Principal fellow of the HEA and is strongly committed to social Justice. He is a trustee of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, a member of Advance HE’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategic advisory group, a member of the advisory board of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers and more recently, a board member of the Hamilton Commission - set up to increase representation of Black people in UK motorsport.

Professor Mba’s research has been funded via numerous commercial, EU and EPSRC projects and he has published over 300 journal and conference papers.