Maria Norton

María’s main purpose is to drive the internationalisation of the University of Southampton and this includes promoting global citizenship through international engagement activities. She leads a team of 4 on the international partnerships portfolio, including scholarships and research networks and is the University of Southampton Coordinator for the Worldwide Universities Network and RENKEI. In 2019 María won the British Council Universities for the World award for an innovative programme of online and distance learning with a valued partner in Brazil. 

This is the latest chapter in María’s international education career, having spent over 16 years with the British Council, the UK’s organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. With postings in Belgium, Italy, Portugal, South Korea and Tunisia, María secured exemplary results in international change programmes and partnerships. In Tunisia after the Jasmine Revolution she achieved the best IPSOS Mori Annual Impact Survey results for a partnership employability scheme, establishing a new cadre of trainers for 150,000 students to access language training, successfully refreshing the English Language Reform Project in partnership with the Ministry of Education, with £millions assigned project activities for subsequent years. María has a special interest in multilingualism and intercultural competence, with a webinar and a thought piece in Languages After Brexit (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) & the Salzburg Global Statement for a Multilingual World, available in 50+ languages.