We employ teams of students throughout the year, using a standard application process requiring cover letters and interviews with our academic team leads. Students are selected based on their energy and technical skills.
Each team is assigned an academic lead to guide them through value-based planning and agile practices, but the teams are encouraged to evaluate their own working methods to determine the most efficient methods for their project.
Academic and Professional Services Leads
Dr Suzanne M. Embury
Suzanne is a Reader in Software Engineering, in the Department of Computer Science. After a spell as a junior COBOL programmer, she transitioned to academia, working on a variety of practical and challenging problems in data and software quality. She has championed the inclusion of modern software engineering practices in Manchester’s undergraduate curriculum, and has devised several coaching games for agile techniques. She is the co-creator of Data Journey Modelling and of the Git Workflows Warehouse.
Noriko Griffiths
Noriko is our Chief Operating Officer. After working at the Fukui Prefectural Government as an Administrative Officer, Noriko joined the University in 2008. Started as a Project Assistant for EMAS (European Male Aging Study) II project in the School of Translational Medicines, now she works for Imago as well as supporting the Autonomy and Verification Group and Software Security Group in the Computer Science. Noriko makes sure our students are paid on time and handles new projects and post set up. She also makes sure we take time off for social events.
Jan Macháček
Jan is our Chief Industry Advisor and a visiting professor at the University of Manchester. As CTO of Cake Solutions and later a senior engineer at Disney Streaming Services, Jan has led the development of high performance event-based software. He is co-founder of Dream on a Stick, an indie game studio that develops fun, cooperative games. An energetic technical communicator, Jan mentors Imago students throughout their projects, covering both technical and career based topics. Jan is also leading the new Open Source Software Club for the University.
Ben Possible
Ben is our Chief Talent Advisor. Ben is an experienced software engineer and coach, and part-time research assistant. He graduated from the University of Manchester with a BSc in Computer Science, and has maintained his ties to the Department ever since. Ben was a key part of Project Malawi and advises on flexible learning techniques for software engineering. Ben helps Imago with recruitment and marketing, as well as supporting our training for new teams.
Wayne Ferris
Wayne is our Chief Finance Officer. A Senior Finance Officer in the Faculty of Science of Engineering, Wayne is experienced at supporting the finances of a variety of University projects. Wayne makes sure we don’t overspend our budget and helps us navigate the University finance system.
Former Academic Partners
Dr Gareth Henshall
Gareth is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester. With Suzanne, Gareth is a founding director of Imago, helping to get the project up and running in 2018. Gareth is a key member of teaching staff in the Department of Computer Science, and (with Stewart Blakeway) teaches our new undergraduate students how to program and design software that lasts.
Dr Stewart Blakeway
Stewart is a Lecturer at the University of Manchester. He joined the Imago team in 2019, helping us expand to take on new projects. With Gareth, Stewart is a lynchpin of our undergraduate teaching on 1st year Python programming and 2nd year databases, and has collaborated with him in developing fun and innovative approaches to teaching.
Current/Recent Projects
FuseBMC Custom GitHub Action
Julius Vander Arend / Varun Shankar
MelonTech Phase 4
Aditya Agarwal / Nazariy Soloviy / Pei Yee Lee / Reuben Cruise
See the full list of our student teams for all the students who have worked for Imago.