Business leader receives honorary doctorate

Westcountry based business leader 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.

He is a distinguished IT professional, an ardent advocate of chartered professionalism and a strategic leader working at a national level in governance and various advisory roles. He has been influencing public policy and the development of professional standards in IT, digital and computing for well over a decade.

He said: “It is a tremendous honour to be recognised by the University of Plymouth, especially for my advocacy of chartered professionalism in the IT, computing and digital sectors. In the wake of the Post Office Scandal, increasing cyber-attacks and the inexorable rise of AI, it is critical that Society can readily identify highly competent and ethical practitioners in these sectors because so much of modern life now depends on them.”

He is the Chairman and Managing Consultant of Revell Research Systems, a management and technology consulting practice based in Exeter that he established in 1985, which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. The firm provides impartial IT and digital consultancy to businesses across the United Kingdom and further afield.

He is the Immediate Past President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and holds further board appointments with the Institution of Analysts and Programmers, the Trustworthy Software Foundation and the UK Engineering Council.

Mr Revell is also the driving force behind the national awareness campaign ‘Chartered Week’, held in the last week of February each year, which celebrates the important contributions made to Society by chartered professionals across all disciplines. Last year saw more than 40 professional bodies highlight the work of chartered professionals from almost every conceivable discipline, all of whom share high standards of competence and ethics, and a commitment to working in the public interest.

He was also instrumental in establishing the Institution of Analysts and Programmers Prize for the Best Software Project (in 2008) and the Revell Research Systems Prize for the Top Graduate in Computing (in 2006) at the University, which have both been awarded annually ever since. He has also supported the teaching of computing by the University in various capacities for almost three decades.