Nee-Joo Teh

I am Head of Global Alliance, Innovate UK Business Connect’s flagship international initiative, which I founded in 2020. Working in close partnerships with key UK government departments and international organisations, I lead Innovate UK Business Connect’s international strategy and a Global Alliance team located in the UK and Africa delivering activities across all sectors to achieve the strategic objectives of:

• Building bilateral innovation collaboration with major economies to grow international partnerships and investment for UK businesses and innovators;
• Strengthening the UK’s relationship with Europe through the Horizon Europe programme and wider research and innovation partnership mechanisms;
• Helping to tackle socioeconomic development challenges and UN Sustainable Development Goals through UK science and innovation.

I am also the Project Director for Global Alliance Africa and Global Expert Mission programmes, and previously created the Innovation Exchange (iX) programme.

With over 20 years of experience in engineering, innovation and strategic programmes across energy, manufacturing, health, transport, digital and electronic sectors, I have worked with more than 25 countries across the world. I was also a Chartered Engineer and briefly worked in investment banking.

Grounded by my modest formative years in Malaysia, I am passionate about delivering socioeconomic impacts through equitable partnerships, sustainable change and social inclusion.