Dr Claire Nadaf | Health Sciences University

Dr Claire Nadaf

Head of Engagement and Partnerships & Staff Governor

Claire is Head of Engagement and Partnerships at Health Sciences University. Her role involves driving the identification, development and management of innovative and profitable enterprise opportunities. Her focus is on developing and nurturing stakeholder engagement, alongside the development of new partnerships and enterprising activities. Claire joined the Board of Governors as a Staff Governor in March 2025.

Biography

As Head of Engagement and Partnerships at Health Sciences University, Claire is the strategic lead for our engagement work, ensuring we serve as an anchor institution that supports economic growth, social wellbeing, and cultural enrichment in the communities where we operate. Claire drives and oversees the identification, development, and management of innovative engagement, and is a primary point of contact for external partners, identifying opportunities for business development, knowledge exchange, and innovation.

Claire actively seeks out and secures new partnerships with regional, national, and international stakeholders that align with and add value to HSU’s strategic goals. Claire leads in shaping our responsive academic portfolio that meets sector needs and anticipates emerging trends. Strategic leadership of the university’s apprenticeship and workforce development portfolios. As the lead for our  Centre for Workforce and Systems Innovation (CWSI), Claires role includes strategic leadership of the university’s apprenticeship and workforce development portfolios. overseeing staff and directing engagement efforts that generate new initiatives.

In all aspects of her role, Claire aims to build purposeful, values-driven partnerships that enhance HSU’s impact through education, research, and innovation—ultimately supporting greater social mobility, global engagement, and inclusive economic development.

Claire has an extensive background as a nurse and nurse academic with 20+ years’ experience of working in Higher Education, at London South Bank University and Bournemouth University before coming to HSU. Claire completed her professional doctorate in 2023 with a thesis entitled ‘Registered Nurses’ use of a National Early Warning Score: An interpretative hermeneutic phenomenological study’. Claire is the co-author of the elearning for healthcare resource on the ABCDE approach to identifying patient deterioration which is widely used throughout the NHS.

Claire joined the Board of Governors as a Staff Governor in March 2025.

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