Army veteran appointed to head research hub

Armed Forces veteran Alex Cooper, who worked on Lord Ashcroft’s Veterans’ Transition Review, has been appointed to the role of Project Director for the establishment of the Veterans’ Research Hub (VRH) at Anglia Ruskin University.

 

The Veterans’ Transition Review, published in February 2014, was commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron to look at what could be done to improve the experience of service personnel when they leave the Armed Forces and return to civilian life, and to improve understanding amongst the public, employers and policy makers about their transitions and what veterans can offer.

The VRH was established by Anglia Ruskin University's Veterans and Families Institute (VFI) following recommendations in the review and was jointly funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC.

Alex Cooper (pictured), who was in the Army for 23 years, takes up his new post this month and will lead the project, which will collate research on issues facing the Armed Forces, veterans and their families, and make it accessible to policy makers, service deliverers and the wider public.

During his time in the Army, Cooper served in several locations across the world including Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan and, on leaving in 2013, he became involved with the Veterans’ Transition Review.

He has worked subsequently as a consultant and columnist on transition, and has been employed in emergency planning in the nuclear industry. He is also a member of Serve On, a voluntary resilience organisation with a strong veteran membership.

Cooper said: “It is an honour to have been appointed as Project Director of the VRH. Since leaving the Army I have maintained a strong interest in the wellbeing of veterans and this is an opportunity to support understanding, policy and provision to improve the lives of our former military personnel.

“Enhancing research on military veterans is a challenging but exciting task and I am looking forward to building links with other organisations to get the job done.”

 
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For more press information please contact:
Jon Green on t: 01245 684717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk
Jamie Forsyth on t: 01245 684716, e: jamie.forsyth@anglia.ac.uk
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