People

Biography

Amelia joined the University of Surrey in January 2019 as Head of the Department of Politics, and Chair in European and International Affairs. Previously she worked as Director of the Centre for European Studies (CEFEUS), a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Canterbury Christ Church Uni (2013-2018), after positions in Brussels at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and the Institute for European Studies, where she directed the Euromaster degree, as well as the Educational Development (EDU). Amelia is a long-standing Jean Monnet Chair in European Foreign Affairs, allowing her to successfully obtain Erasmus+ funding for the University of Surrey’s Centre for Britain and Europe (based in the Department of Politics), establishing it in 2020 as a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. Amelia’s researching, teaching, consulting & postgrad supervising covers a wide range of areas on EU foreign and security policy, as well as new forms of EU-UK relations. These include Common Foreign and Security Policy, Common Security and Defence Policy, EU-US and EU-Canada relations,  EU-Russia relations, EU Neighbourhood Policy, EU Development policy (with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa), as well as Arctic & northern governance issues. Additional areas of interest include foreign policy analysis, international and diplomatic history, the role of sovereignty in political history, International Relations theory, international political economy, public policy analysis, the Commonwealth and EU education policy. Amelia is regularly called upon as a guest speaker, external supervisor, research partner, consultant and media pundit on areas of EU foreign affairs, and of late, EU-UK relations.  In January 2021, Amelia was appointed Dean International of the University of Surrey, leading the International Engagement Office in supporting the strategic goals of the university on partnership with other universities and networks world-wide, enhanced cutting-edge research cooperation, as well as staff/student mobility. From October 2023, Amelia was appointed Associate Vice-President of External Engagement, helping to deliver the University of Surrey’s international strategies, alongside community engagement, public affairs, and developing new partnerships at local, regional, national and international level. 

In December 2024, as a result of her work with UNITAR, the UN’s research and capacity building agency, and  complementing her role as Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Centre of Excellence on Ageing (April 2023), Amelia was appointed inaugural Director of the CIFAL Surrey Centre, a knowledge exchange hub based within the Institute for Sustainability, dedicated to training and capacity building climate literacy, climate leadership and sustainability more broadly. 

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Biography

Roberta Discetti is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of business ethics and sustainability. Roberta's research interests lie at the intersection of socio-ecological transitions, sustainable food systems, ethical consumption, and market-based activism. 

Background. Roberta has a background in philosophy (BA and MA), environmental communication (MA), and business ethics (PhD). She has conducted her doctoral studies on food activism and fair trade at the University of Portsmouth. She then covered a post-doc position at Newcastle University working on food sustainability. Prior to joining the University of Surrey, Roberta was a lecturer in business ethics and management at Bournemouth University, with experience in teaching business ethics on the MBA and Senior Leaders Apprenticeship programmes. At the University of Surrey, Roberta is the Research and Training Manager at UNITAR CIFAL Surrey Centre and the Programme Leader for the MSc Sustainable Development in Practice within Surrey Online Learning.

EU research projects. Roberta has worked on multiple EU-funded projects on sustainable food systems, such as Strength2Food (Strengthening European food chain sustainability by quality and procurement policy), FoodMapp (Local Food supply communicated through a transactional searchable Map-based Application), and GISmart (Geographical Indications’ contribution to smart territorial development and sustainability). She has also worked on British Council-funded SUNRISE project (Supporting University Network for Research in Sustainability Engagement). Her recent work in the field has been published in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Rural Studies, Urban Studies, and Journal of Business Research. 

Engagement. Roberta is co-founder and co-lead of SETS seminars (Socio-ecological Transition Seminars) in collaboration with the Research Group on Collective Action, Change, and Transition at the University of Trento (Italy) and the Environmental Sociology Section at the University of Orebro (Sweden). Being keen on academia-practice synergies, Roberta collaborates with several NGOs in the UK and abroad, including the Fairtrade Foundation (UK), the Fairtrade Society (UK) and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (Belgium). Since 2017, she has been an active member of the International Fair Trade Symposium Steering Committee and has contributed to the organisation of the symposium in 2018, 2021, 2023, and upcoming in 2026.

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Biography

Nayanee Silva is an Associate Lecturer in Corporate Sustainability at the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey, UK. She is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Innovation Management at Surrey Business School and a Sustainability Fellow at the Institute for Sustainability at Surrey. She also serves as Senior Adviser in Corporate Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships at CIFAL/UNITAR (UN Institute for Training and Research) Surrey, where she is a member of the faculty for UN-certified courses on sustainability.

Nayanee completed her doctorate in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Surrey, where she developed a holistic new framework for measuring, and managing organisational sustainability. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Reading, and Fellowships with the Institute of Chartered Accountants (UK), the Chartered Management Institute (UK), and the Royal Society of Arts. With over 30 years of varied experience in finance, consultancy and business management—including extensive engagement with stakeholders across both private and nonprofit sectors, Nayanee made the transition from a global corporate finance career 25 years ago to establish her own business consultancy, where she is Managing Partner. She has provided education consulting services for students, strategy and sustainability consultancy to companies and startups for UK and international clients.

Her research, published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences and to business audiences, examines corporate sustainability management, corporate social responsibility (CSR), employee engagement, the energy transition, and approaches to sustainable development. She founded The Sustainable Business Project, a platform to share sustainability research, best practices, and strategic insights. Through research and data-driven insights, she provides strategic consultancy and training for business. Beyond academia, Nayanee serves on the steering group of the Surrey Women’s Entrepreneurship Network and leads development initiatives as President of a nonprofit organisation she founded, focused on capacity building, women's empowerment through enterprise, development and education projects in Sri Lanka. She is a mentor and accredited coach for various organisations including the King’s Trust. Nayanee is deeply committed to advancing sustainability education, supporting responsible business, and conducting research at the nexus of corporate sustainability, innovation, and collaborative social impact. She is passionate about supporting young people into careers and education, through her volunteering work at Surrey, UK-based charities and in Sri Lanka.

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