Simone Buitendijk

Professor Simone Buitendijk became Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at the University of Salford in February 2024, having come from her position as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leeds. Prior to this she was Vice-Provost (Education) and Professor of Maternal and Child Health at Imperial College London. Before her role at Imperial, Simone was responsible for education, student affairs, and diversity at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She previously led a large research group in Pediatrics and Child Health at TNO Institute for Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.  

In her capacity as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, Simone developed and implemented a new strategy focused on curriculum innovation, closer collaboration with business and industry, EDI, digital innovation and reducing local and global inequality.  At Salford, she is leading on the curriculum redesign and development of the research culture, with a specific focus on EDI. She is also working with the Tutor Trust to incorporate volunteering to support school pupils into the Salford curriculum, as well as holding numerous EDI-focused symposiums and leading on the university’s declaration to join the Knowledge Equity Network (KEN). in spring 2026. She has previously authored papers on EDI at universities for the League of European Research Universities (LERU).