Donna Heddle is Director of the Institute for Northern Studies and currently Head of Research Environment and Culture at UHI at the University of the Highlands and Islands. She has won awards for cultural heritage course development and design. Her research interests are Scottish and Northern Isles cultural history, Norse and Renaissance language and literature, and cultural heritage tourism and she has led and is currently leading several national and international research and training projects involving cultural heritage tourism, including a project in Vanuatu and Fiji. She led the very successful Research Excellence Framework 2014 submission from UHI in Area Studies, which was placed first in Scotland for research impact (particularly in heritage tourism) and 5th equal with the University of Oxford for research environment for the whole UK. She was awarded a Personal Chair by UHI in June 2013 and became Chair of the UHI Tourism Group in August 2017. She is a trustee of the Scottish International Education Trust and a Board member of Museums Galleries Scotland (she was the first person ever asked to undertake a third term). She has a wealth of expertise, enthusiasm, and experience to bring to this exciting role, which she looks to very much enjoy.