West Highland Local Advisory Committee

Robert holds a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from Strathclyde University (2000) and a MA in Political Science from Carleton University, Ottawa (1974). After working as Tour Manager for rock band Jethro Tull he completed a Diploma in Fish Farming at Barony College and moved to Skye with his family to enter the salmon farming industry in 1980. He was Managing Director of salmon farming company Strathaird Farms Ltd until 1997 and has been an independent consultant working in aquaculture since then. Most of his current work is related to auditing fish and shellfish farms against ISO accredited standards.   

Alastair Nicolson is area manager for Highlands and Islands Enterprise in Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross. A native of Fort William, he has worked for HIE for over 25 years in a variety of roles including running the Lochaber LEADER Programme in the late 1990’s, three years with the Community Land Unit and 15 years in strategic planning roles, working closely with Scottish Government and other key stakeholders.

Derek Lewis’ career has included roles as chair, chief executive, director or trustee of organisations in fields such as education, training, television, prisons, healthcare, technology and social care. He has served as Pro-Chancellor and Treasurer of the University of Essex, a school governor, advisory board member of the London Business School and chair of companies providing apprenticeships, employment services and teaching staff.

He is currently chair of Community Alcohol Partnerships, an alcohol harm reduction charity, and retired last year as chair of Royal Mencap Society.  He runs his own farming, forestry and tourism business in Morvern, which is also home to the new Nc’nean Distillery, of which he is a founder director. His earlier career included CEO roles at Granada Group and HM Prison Service in Engand and Wales.

Before taking up the role of Chair of the Board, Derek was Chair of UHI West Highland Board of Management. He is also a member of the UHI Court.

Committee Membership - Finance and General Purposes, Human Resources, Remuneration, Nomination.

Lydia Rohmer was appointed Principal of UHI North, West and Hebrides in November 2022.

Lydia, the former principal of UHI West Highland, is a talented executive leader with more than 25 years’ experience working in the Scottish education sector and a passionate advocate of our rural and island communities.

She has extensive experience of creating successful colleges through merger having joined UHI West Highland as Principal in February 2012, shortly after the merger of Lochaber College and Skye and Wester Ross College. Before that, she held the position of Curriculum Director at City of Glasgow College, a role she assumed following the merger of Glasgow’s city centre colleges.

Lydia has also held substantive roles within UHI, taking on the role of Vice-Principal (Tertiary) between 2017 and 2022, a position she undertook in addition to her duties as Principal of UHI West Highland. She currently leads on several sector-wide and tertiary education groups in Scotland including access, school-college partnerships, articulation and poverty, and is a current member of the Colleges Scotland Board.

Committee Membership - Finance and General Purposes, Learning, Teaching and Research, and Human Resources. Attends Remuneration and Audit and Risk Management by invitation.

Neil is currently joint Chair of  the Board of Management at UHI West Highland and was previously Vice Chair and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee.

He lives on the Isle of Skye, where he ran a successful guest house business for a number of years and currently chairs his local communtiy council.

His working background is in the finance and banking, primarily in risk management and compliance.

Serving as an independent board member at UHI West Highland has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience and one which I wish to continue after the merger.

I am passionate about providing learning opportunities in the Highlands and in ensuring that the college is pivotal in providing growth in our communities.

Committee Membership - Chair Audit and Risk Management, Human Resources

Fiona is Senior Responsible Officer for campus operations in West Highland. She continues in her role as Director of Academic Affairs (West Highland).  

Fiona has 25 years of experience in the tertiary education sector. She started her career in the maritime sector, and went on to set up her own training and data management company.  Fiona was one of the founder leadership team involved in the creation of UHI West Highland in 2010. 

Fiona is driven by the positive impact and change that learning can bring to individuals, to businesses and to rural and island communities. Her ambition has always been about enabling access to high quality education for everyone and leading the innovations in digital learning at UHI West Highland.  This inspired her to recently complete a Masters in Digital Pedagogy. 

Fiona said: “I am excited about our new college and the opportunities and benefits that we will bring to people across the expansive and diverse area of the Hebrides, and the North and West Highlands.”  

A keen cyclist, Fiona is looking forward to planning a trip around the campuses in her spare time.