Monica Dearden

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Monica has been with EI for eight years and is a Consultancy Manager, she is passionate about making a social impact through the consultancy projects she manages with her team. Consultancy is one of the ways through which the University transfers knowledge to businesses and organisations and can help address the challenges we face.

Ten questions with Monica Dearden

When did you start at Edinburgh Innovations (EI)?

I started in 2016.

How would you explain your job to an alien? 

I support external organisations to access University expertise.

What did you do before EI?

I worked as a Senior Advisor at the International Law and Policy Institute in Oslo. As a fee-earning consultant, I was responsible for bidding and leading assignments for clients including the World Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and CARE Norway.

What’s the best thing about working at EI/the University of Edinburgh?

It’s a privilege to work with so many inspiring academics within the University. Every day feels like a school day.  EI also has a fantastic working culture – the finance, marketing, business development and contracts teams which we work closely with are just brilliant.  

What's your favourite project that you’ve worked on?

I really enjoy working with the Future Leader Fellows Network delivery team. EI have been supporting them to deliver the network for UKRI since before the pandemic. It's complex with many delivery partners. The team don’t ever let the high volume of work and challenges phase them, and they have a wonderful sense of humour which helps.

What are you most proud of from your time at EI?

There are so many projects and partnerships which have been set up via consultancy, which I believe are having real social impact from health outcomes, to climate related outcomes or child protection – that’s the motivation.

What does innovation mean to you? 

Helping clients to solve complex issues, through the application of expertise and new ideas.

If you had one more hour in the day how would you spend it?

Being more sociable!

What piece of advice has stuck with you?

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Kindness and respect are key.

What would you really like to work on at EI/UoE

I would like to support some of the growing commercially focused hubs and groups in CAHSS to bring in funding to build sustainability and realise their ambitions!

Monica and her team provide a comprehensive level of support to all University staff considering undertaking consultancy and service work.