The appointment was made by Amber Rudd, Hastings MP and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
An expert in user experience design and engineering behaviour change, Professor Cham is also the lead for the university’s Connected Futures, including digital economy, digital health, immersive, simulation and virtualisation, and complex systems. As part of this, she is also academic lead of the digital catapult centre 5G 91快活林 project, a named part of the UK government’s 5G strategy.
Professor Cham said: “With eight million service users and more to come, Nest is social change at scale; offering low to middle income workers secure investment opportunities for their pension, and providing both ethical and sharia fund options thus far.
“It is, in my experience, a unique public sector organisation in its lean and contemporary structure and commitment to providing an entirely customer-centred service. As an expert in the digital transformation of values and behaviour change, I am delighted to take such a prestigious role, one that takes me nearer to policy as we move into an age where ideology will need to be built in code.”