Dr Malcolm Butler is the Vice-President of Global Engagement at the University of Sheffield. He leads on the international aspect of the University’s strategy and is Director of the Department of Global Engagement (a team of 45 staff including staff based in Malaysia, China, India, Nigeria and USA). The Department is responsible for building strategic academic partnerships (across research and education), managing global opportunities for students, encouraging international mobility among staff and supporting innovation globally.

Having graduated with a physics degree from the University of Warwick, Dr Butler completed his PhD in the Department of Engineering Materials at the University of Sheffield. He then spent 11 years working across the UK and Europe in various research and development roles for British Steel/Corus, eventually becoming R&D Programme Manager for a £9 million per annum research programme. During this time, he completed an MSc in Ferrous Metallurgy from the University of Leeds and an MBA from the University of Warwick.

He returned to the University of Sheffield in 2003 where he joined the Polymer Centre as a manager, specialising in knowledge and technology transfer activities. During this time, he was also a founder and Managing Director of the spin-out company Farapack Polymers Ltd. In 2008, he became Faculty Director of Operations for the Faculty of Engineering during which time the faculty doubled student numbers to 5,400 and completed the £86 million Diamond building – a world class teaching facility. He began his current role in the Department of Global Engagement in April 2017. In 2018, he was elected as chair of the Russell Group International Forum. He is also currently a trustee and Chair of Board for the Northern Consortium educational charity and a Director for Sheffield Advisory Services Sdn Bhd (Malaysia). He is currently learning Mandarin.