Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Professor Sir Ian Diamond, FBA FRSE FAcSS, is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, an appointment he has held since 1 April 2010. He was previously Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council. He was also Chair of the Research Councils UK Executive Group (2004–2009) the umbrella body that represents all seven UK Research Councils. Before joining the ESRC, Sir Ian was Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton, where he had been for most of his career. Sir Ian is Chair of British Universities and Colleges Sport, Chair of the Universities UK Research Policy Network Committee, Chair of the Universities UK Group on Efficiency and Chair, for the Welsh Assembly Government, of the Higher Education Review for Wales. Sir Ian was elected to the UK Academy of Social Sciences in 1999, is a Fellow of the British Academy (2005), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2009) and holds honorary degrees from the universities of Cardiff and Glasgow.