Dean of School / Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology
Allan says “Judging the Create Student Awards is one of the great highlights of my year as Dean. Now in its sixth edition, year-on-year the achievements are stunning, perhaps more so this year, given the challenges everyone has faced. Create Student Awards, as always, provide a wonderful opportunity to spotlight and showcase our students and I’m delighted we’re able to celebrate the talent which has been displayed over the last year. I was immensely impressed by the stories and academic journeys behind all 92 nominations we received. With increasing numbers of finalists, selecting the shortlist and winners was very difficult.
“I want to congratulate each and every one of this year’s graduating cohort. Whether you are a finalist for Create Student Awards or not, I am proud that you are leaving the University as qualified graduates and ambassadors for our School. The pandemic has been testing for the higher education sector and we have adapted our teaching which, for much of the year, has been delivered online. As expected, however, all staff and students have responded and used lockdowns and online methods as opportunities to discover highly creative ways of working. Our students have excelled in external awards and continued to impress both staff and industry peers, as you’ll see in many of the video summaries in this year’s ceremony. I wish all our 32 finalists every success in the next stages of your careers as University of Salford graduates. You are all exceptional individuals and I believe your futures are brighter than ever.”
Professor Allan Walker is Dean of the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology at the University of Salford. He has led the School since its formation in 2012, ensuring close connection with the creative industries and with the regeneration of Salford as a city of culture. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Glasgow School of Art and Vice Principal of Wimbledon School of Art in London. Allan is a senior academic with extensive experience of research, enterprise and academic development at national and international levels. He is a trustee of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Art and Protected (Student Safety and Protection) Community Interest Company.
Internationally, Allan is a Visiting Professor at the China Academy of Arts and a member of the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority. Currently, he is responsible for partnerships in China, including Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and Zhejiang Fashion Institute of Technology. Recently, he has lectured or delivered conference papers at Nankai University, China Academy of Art, Shanghai University, Sichuan Institute of Fine Art and Tianjin University.
Educated at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities, Allan qualified as a Landscape Architect and initially specialised in moorland conservation in the National Parks. As a print media artist and researcher, he co-founded Eyecon and for ten years was a Strategic Reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. He has work in collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York and the Machida Museum of Art, Japan.