Ruth Cochraine is currently the Head of Future Skills at The Glasgow School of Art, where she is leading the institution’s Knowledge Exchange and Innovation strategy. With a career that bridges the creative industries and higher education, Ruth brings a distinctive perspective to design-led leadership, combining deep expertise in product and service design with a strong track record in strategic academic development.

 

Ruth was previously Innovation Lead for the School of Arts and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University where she led enterprise, CPD, and upskilling initiatives across diverse academic communities. She has designed and delivered nationally recognised pedagogic innovations including the award-winning Bloody Big Project and the INTER interdisciplinary challenge programme. Her work has received multiple accolades, including the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.