Sarmad Mushtaq is a distinguished academic leader and IT professional with over 25 years of combined experience in higher education, further education and corporate digital transformation. He leads the development, delivery and quality assurance of computing programmes across multiple campuses. His remit spans Levels 3 to 5, encompassing both vocational and higher education qualifications. He brings particular expertise in designing and managing academic delivery models that align with national regulatory frameworks, support progression, and meet the evolving demands of the digital and technology sectors.

Sarmad’s academic expertise is grounded in over a decade of senior leadership across UK transnational higher education. He has successfully directed collaborative programmes validated by institutions such as Liverpool John Moores University, Pearson, University of Portsmouth, London School of Economics and Goldsmiths, University of London. His work has involved programme approval, curriculum alignment, assessment design and academic governance across multi-campus, awarding body and university-validated provision. He brings a reflective and values-led approach to academic leadership, with a strong focus on quality, inclusion and student success.

Alongside his academic work, Sarmad, a qualified Software Engineer, has held senior leadership roles in the corporate IT and public sectors, including serving as General Manager Technologies at The City School Network and as Director of Software Development for the Ministry of Defence in Pakistan. In these roles, he led the design and national implementation of large-scale digital systems across education, defence and healthcare. His achievements include rolling out a unified hospital management system nationwide across 43 hospitals and developing a vertically aligned STEM curriculum and innovation labs across an international school network. His contributions have been formally recognised with the Presidential Medal of Excellence for their national impact and innovation.

Sarmad holds an MSc in Computing with Distinction from Cardiff University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His scholarly interests include immersive learning, inclusive pedagogy, AI-supported assessment and curriculum innovation in computing education. His recent work includes the implementation of virtual reality to help alleviate dental fear in adults, a project supported by the British Dental Association, reflecting his commitment to applied digital solutions that address real-world health and wellbeing challenges.

Through his leadership at BAJ, Sarmad is committed to advancing high-quality, industry-relevant computing education that is academically rigorous and accessible to learners from all backgrounds.