* Ralph Seymour-Jackson, former IT director of Abbey National and head of UK operations at Scottish Provident, has been appointed chief executive of the Student Loans Company.
* Richard Tait, former editor-in-chief of ITN and editor of Channel 4 News 1987-95, has been appointed professor of journalism and director of the Centre for Journalism Studies at Cardiff University. He is a fellow of the Society of Editors and the Royal Television Society.
* Robert Smith, chairman of the Weir Group, a BBC governor and chairman of the Broadcasting Council for Scotland, has been appointed chancellor of the University of Paisley from October.
* Colin McInnes has been elected one of the youngest fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is professor of space systems engineering at the University of Glasgow.
* Loveday Alexander, professor of biblical studies at the University of Sheffield, has been appointed a canon of Chester Cathedral.
* Ewart Carson, professor of systems science at City University, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Electronic Engineers board of directors from January 2004.
* Andrew Pettigrew, professor of strategy and organisation and associate dean at the University of Warwick, has been appointed dean of the University of Bath's School of Management.
* Harinder Bahra has been made marketing director at the University of Brunel. He is a former dean for external development at Southampton Business School, and he was responsible for external development of funding from non-Higher Education Funding Council for England sources.