Light and Lighting MSc’s industry connections
UCL’s Light and Lighting MSc is guided by the contributions of our expert industry advisory board to enrich your learning experience and prepare you for a career in the lighting industry.
The Light and Lighting MSc is guided by an industry advisory board comprised of leading design practitioners, manufacturers, and researchers within the lighting industry. This board plays a crucial role in ensuring the course content remains relevant and up to date with advances in industry, providing invaluable insights and feedback that enhance the learning experience. Our Faculty and Institute are built on a foundation of enterprise, with strong links to industry and policy through a wide range of partnerships and projects, further demonstrated by the expertise and collaboration of our advisory board.
Industry views on the future of lighting industry and education
Florence Lam - Arup Fellow, Visiting Professor in Lighting Design and Engineering
“Light has the power to transform. Beyond mere aesthetics and engineering for illumination, good lighting design creates meaningful experiences, shapes communities, and leaves a positive impact on our world. To drive a paradigm shift towards a regenerative future, informed choices in lighting design and engineering are crucial. This relies on research-backed insights, evidence-based practices, and data-enabled approaches.
This course offers a forward-looking research-led academic foundation for the next generation of lighting professionals. Through transdisciplinary exploration, healthy debate, and experimentation across multiple domains, it aims to develop a cohort of professionals who will champion excellence and drive innovation in creating lit environments that are safe, inclusive, sustainable and safeguard the planetary health for all.”
“In the past 10 years the lighting industry has seen huge improvements in energy efficiency following the introduction of reliable, low-cost LED arrays. It is now the responsibility of those involved in the industry to ensure electric light is employed wisely and not wasted. We must continue to improve the education of the general public about the benefits of lighting and also to highlight the problems of light pollution and to provide realistic solutions. Similarly, the industry must engage fully with the circular economy for all of the components and products it releases onto the market.
Extending the provision of low cost electric light to those who do not have access to reliable mains electricity will bring enormous advantages to those living in areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa. We can all play a part by supporting charities working in these areas.”
Industry advisory board members
Our industry advisory board members not only bring their professional expertise as leading design practitioners, manufacturers, and researchers within the lighting industry to the degree. They also hold roles in influential professional and research networks in the field including the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), Society of Light and Lighting, Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, IEEE Smart Lighting Initiative Steering Committee and more. Many of our advisory board completed UCL’s Light and Lighting MSc, joining our global alumni network spanning over 40 years of Light and Lighting education at UCL.
Read their bios to find out more about their professional expertise.
Richard Caple is Marketing and Lighting Applications Director at Thorlux Lighting and completed UCL’s Light and Lighting MSc in 2011. Thorlux is well known throughout the world and provides a comprehensive range of professional lighting and control systems for architectural, commercial, floodlighting, industrial, hazardous area and tunnel applications.
Carolina has working in many well-known lighting and built environment organisations throughout her career, including Solatube UK, Atkins, GIA Equation and Buro Happold. In her over 18 year career in Lighting, Carolina Florian has led the lighting design of numerous award-winning projects, from large-scale urban lighting masterplanning for entire regions through to the implementation of daylighting, electric interior and exterior lighting design strategies improving wellbeing, energy efficiency, and the overall placemaking of urban areas.
Carolina is currently Vice-President of The Society of Light and Lighting, Associate lecturer at UCL, and a Guest Lecturer at Universidad Nacional de Colombia. At UCL she runs tailored masterclasses and workshops, as well as giving guest lectures.
Florence is a lighting designer by training and has built a stellar career portfolio at Arup, where she co-founded their global lighting design practice and held number of senior corporate positions. These include serving on their Region Board, Excellence Exec and as Arup University Director, overseeing the firm’s strategic foresight capability, applied research and innovation programmes, as well as their ventures operations in the UK, India, Middle East and South Africa.
She is a multi-award-winning lighting designer with over 15 international and national awards to her name, including Lighting Designer of the Year in 2013. She was awarded the CIBSE Society of Light and Lighting President’s Medal in 2020 and SLL Honorary Fellowship in 2024.
Her projects of significance include the V&A Dundee, London’s Millennium Bridge, British Museum World Conservation Centre, and the ArcelorMittal Orbit for the London Olympic 20212; The Acropolis in Athens, Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Dongdaemun World Design Park in Seoul, Taipei Taoyuan International Airport T3, Hong Kong’s Stonecutters Bridge, Tai Kwun Centre of Heritage and Arts, and the Kai Tak Sports Park lighting masterplan.
Stuart spent his career in the lighting industry with Thorn Lighting, GE Lighting and Ceravision. He is now a Honorary Research Fellow with Professor George Zissis at LAPLACE, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier.
He specialised in the chemistry and thermodynamics of high temperature light sources and was extensively involved with the transfer of laboratory lamp designs to manufacturing and commercial reality. This required
process development, knowledge and practical application of environmental, health & safety regulations and quality systems.
He is an active member of CIE and a member of the IEEE Smart Lighting Initiative Steering Committee. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers and a former chair of the Company’s Education Committee.
Lightinspace is headed by Alkestie Skarlatou who has over fifteen years of experience in the architectural and lighting design practice. Alkestie has initially trained and practiced as an architect. Completing a masters degree MSc Light and Lighting at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London marked a turn in her career and the initiation to the lighting design world. After working with a leading UK lighting consultancy she decided to further pursue the subject of lighting on a theoretical base by successfully supporting a PhD thesis in the Bartlett School.
Alkestie has put theory into practice by working with some of the most prestigious lighting practices in London and in personal projects worldwide including Switzerland, Bahrain, United Kingdom, Greece, India, Russia, Belgium and Mauritius. Collaborating with large and reputable architectural firms she has collected awards as part of these teams. Her portfolio includes a variety of projects ranging from residential, commercial, retail, hotels, spas, transport and exterior and landscape.
Highly motivated and enthusiastic, she remains passionate and engaged in every project researching thoroughly before continuing to proposals. Her architectural and research background has significantly benefited her reasoning and overall work as a lighting designer. This has been acknowledged by the clients, colleagues and the architects or interior designers she has collaborated with.
Alkestie is a professional member of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), a member of the professional bodies of architects in both Greece and UK, the Technical Chamber of Greece and Architects' Registration Board respectively. She has received grants and awards for both her academic performance and lighting design practice and has lectured and attended various steering and judging committees. In 2015 she was awarded the prestigious IALD Award of Merit for Knightsbrigde project and in 2017, she was awarded the 40under40 personal award for Lighting Designers.
Simm Steel is a Senior Lighting Designer at Steensen Varming. Simm has been the Senior Lighting Technician at the Art Gallery of NSW since 2004 and a consultant to public museums and private galleries. He brings with him a wealth of experience in lighting design and on-site focussing and commissioning, the ability to understand and meet the needs of the client, and to balance technical requirements with the creation of the best possible visual experience. Simm also hold associations at the Society of Light and Lighting and IESANZ - The Lighting Society.
Mark Sutton Vane founded Sutton-Vane Associates, an independent lighting design consultancy Sutton Vane Associates covers all areas of commercial and residential architectural lighting design, from lighting masterplans for cities to schemes for museums and leisure attractions, exhibitions and specially-commissioned light art. Mark is regularly invited to give talks and lectures on the role of lighting in all spheres and he has written the Society for Light and Lighting’s Guide to museum and art gallery lighting.
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