Jan Bennett is Deputy Director, Research and Innovation at the University of Plymouth.
After graduation in 1989 he was engaged as a researcher on (what was then) a SERC ACME-funded electronics design project. In 1992, whilst still in the throes of writing up his PhD, he was recruited into the fledgling Plymouth Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) Centre. The Centre grew and, over the next 10 years, absorbed a number of the University’s business-facing organisations. By 2002 it had become University of Plymouth Enterprise and employed 100+ staff. In October 2002 he left Enterprise to set up and run his own consultancy business which he did successfully for 3 years. Among others, he specialised in helping clients to tender for Public Sector contracts and in writing EU and RDA grant funding applications.
In October 2005 he was recruited back into the University as Operations Manager for the Social Research & Regeneration Unit. He joined the Research & Innovation team in his current capacity of Deputy Director in August 2006.
Bennett has a BSc (Hons) First Class degree in Computing and Informatics (from Plymouth Polytechnic) and a PhD in the management of the electronics product design process in small and medium-size businesses (from the University of Plymouth).
