The UKTA is run by a committee of dedicated telecommunications professionals, with a significant level of combined experience across the world’s most advanced telecommunications companies and academic institutions. We operate globally and focus on reaching the corners of the world where training is hardest to come by, and where the need for these skills to support the economy is greatest.
Leadership Team
Professor David P Mellor, OBE led the UKTA for 20 years as Chairman and is currently the UKTA’s Honorary President. With some 50 years of industry experience across 130 countries, David has an unparalleled wealth of experience that he continues to contribute to UKTA. He was Chairman of the ITU’s Telecommunications Development Advisory Group from 2003-06, founding Chair of ITU’s Capacity Building initiative and was appointed as Special Envoy for Academia by the ITU Secretary General.
For the UKTA, David developed and delivered a number of online Masters Degree programmes and established partnerships to deliver courses with leading universities, including the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, the Universities of Cambridge, Strathclyde and Southampton. He was also responsible for establishing the partnerships with the ITU and University of Rwanda and AFRALTI and the Open University of Tanzania which is the current focus of the UKTA.
Under David’s leadership, the UKTA has educated and accredited many thousands of students and secured hundreds of scholarships. His work with the British Government in respect of innovative scholarship schemes was recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours in 2003 where he received the OBE. In 2012 he was recognised by the Open University in Tanzania when he received an Honorary Doctorate of Law.
David is currently a Visiting Professor of Telecommunications to the Open University of Tanzania and a Senior Research Fellow within Southampton Law School at the University of Southampton.
Gabriel Solomon, Chairman
Gabriel has more than 25 years international experience of communications led development. He spent the last decade working with the GSMA developing and promoting policies that support sustainable and affordable connectivity solutions. His experience spans management consulting, finance and business development for high growth ventures. Gabriel has a MBA from INSEAD.
Prof. Steven Capewell, Vice Chairman
Steve combines global operational experience where he has executed multiple telecoms and ICT projects with 20 years of teaching experience from beginners. to Master of Science level. In addition he has been responsible for Human Resource development work with the BT, Cable & Wireless and Royal Mail. Steve is responsible for marketing the UKTA’s global programmes.
Sarah Gaffney, Director
Sarah is the Senior Director for the GSMA’s Regulatory Capacity Building Programme, responsible for developing strategic, regional and global partnerships through which this specialised training is delivered. Sarah has over 10 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, holds a BSc in Sociology and Communications from Brunel University and is a Prince2 and APMP qualified Project Manager.
Prof. lan Lloyd, Director
lan is Senior Research Fellow within Southampton University Law School with 30 years experience in the field. He is widely published (recent books include Information Technology Law, Oxford University Press and Telecommunications Law, Sweet and Maxwell) and is the general editor of the International Journal of Law and IT and an appraiser for the Computer Law and Security Review.
Dr Carmel Capewell, Advisor
Carmel is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development (IPD) with twenty-five years teaching experience in industry and academia. She leads the HR Module on the UKTA’s E-MCM Masters’ programme. Carmel has a BSC in Psychology, MSC in Occupational Psychology and PhD from the University of Northampton.
UKTA Partners
Our training partners represent some of the leading organisations in the world in the delivery of telecommunications training. View our training courses.
African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRALTI) is an Inter-Governmental Organization legally established in 1991 to supplement and spearhead ICT development efforts mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Currently the member States are Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The mandate of AFRALTI is to develop human capacity in ICT (including herein is Training, Research, Innovation and Consultancy).
AFRALTI is one of the Global ITU Academy Training Centres (ATCs).
The vision of AFRALTI is to be the leading Global ICT Capacity Development Institute.
More details at https://www.afralti.org/
The University of Rwanda was established in 2013. It emerged from the Government of Rwanda’s bold vision to unify the country’s fragmented higher education system into a single, world-class university. This historic merger brought together 14 institutions, including 7 public higher learning institutions (notably, the former National University of Rwanda, established in 1963 and 6 other higher learning institutions. As a leader in research and innovation, UR collaborates globally to champion transformative solutions in fields such as public health, climate change, educations, business and technology. Its nine Centres of Excellence highlight its commitment to advancing knowledge and fostering sustainable development.
UR is dedicated to inclusivity, ensuring equitable access to education while aligning programs with labour market needs and emerging trends like Artificial Intelligence and Aviation.
The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation that is foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach.
This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today’s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world’s largest platform to convene the ecosystem through the MWC and M360 series of events. We invite you to find out more at gsma.com.
For more information about our Capacity Building training courses for policymakers and regulators, please visit www.gsmatraining.com
