Tom Collins is a multi-award winning journalist and writer. He is a senior lecture and programme director for Journalism Studies at The University of Stirling. For 16 years he was a daily newspaper journalist in Northern Ireland, working as a reporter, critic, commentator and editor. He also worked in corporate communications – heading up the marketing and communications operations for two of the UK’s leading universities. He has extensive experience in the arts as a former chairman of the Ulster Orchestra and Imagine Belfast 2008, and was a board member of the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland, and Opera Northern Ireland. He was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to music in Northern Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He lives in Scotland