Alastair Revell Awarded Honorary Doctorate

Pictured, from left to right: Professor Bogdan Ghita   |   IAP Director General & Trustee Alastair Revell   |   Chancellor of The University of Plymouth Lord Jonathan Andrew Kestenbaum

The IAP is delighted to announce that its Director General, Alastair Revell, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Plymouth for “his outstanding contribution to Computer Science Education and the IT profession”. The University conferred the degree of Doctor of Science at a graduation ceremony held on Thursday, 23rd October 2025 in Plymouth.

Alastair Revell has been influencing public policy and the development of professional standards in IT, digital and computing for well over a decade since his appointment as IAP Director General in 2011.

He said: “It is a tremendous honour to be recognised by the University of Plymouth, especially for my advocacy of professionalism in IT. Software underpins much of modern society, which is why I believe so ardently in the Institution’s mission of improving software for society.”

Graham Fenton, IAP President, said: “Alastair Revell has provided strong leadership to the Institution as Director General. He led the work to rewrite our constitution and our conversion to a registered charity. He has also represented the IAP in developing standards on trustworthy software and in forming the Cyber Security Council in the UK.”

Alastair Revell was instrumental in establishing the Institution of Analysts and Programmers Prize for the Best Software Project at Plymouth in 2008, which led to the Institution’s wider academic prize programme. The Institution has awarded the prize annually at the University of Plymouth ever since.

Mr Revell is active across the wider profession and was President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT in 2024/25. He holds board appointments with BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, the Trustworthy Software Foundation and the UK Engineering Council.Fancy a deep dive into AGI? Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is one of the most important scientific developments of our time and so is exploring its potential to reshape our world and future.

University of Plymouth Honorary Doctorates

The University of Plymouth award honorary doctorates to individuals in recognition of achievement in their field. Alastair is in good company with Honorary Doctorate awards going to Professor Sir Chris Whitty CB DSc FRCP FFPH FMedSci, Doctor of Medicine, in 2021, Maggie Steed, Doctor of Arts, in 2017 and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Doctor of Business, in 2014. To see the full list of honorary awards go to www.plymouth.ac.uk/honorary-doctorates.