Gloucestershire College appoints new director to lead DigiTech programme
Summary
Gloucestershire College has appointed Dan Smale as director of Digitech. The appointment marks a milestone, as the college builds on its reputation as one of only five Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) in the UK specialising in digital and technologies.
Details
Secured in April 2026, with backing from £175 million in government funding, the TEC programme aims to equip learners across the UK with the high-level technical skills needed to access well-paid, high-skilled careers in one of Britain’s fastest-growing industries.
With more than 20 years’ experience spanning central government, higher education and the private sector, Dan brings extensive cross-sector expertise in technology leadership, digital transformation and operational delivery. He began his career as a civil servant in Cheltenham, progressing from software engineering into operational leadership roles, supporting missions across the UK and internationally.
During this time, he was responsible for service ownership and accountability, while collaborating with government departments and international partners. Dan later moved into higher education as head of IT at University of Gloucestershire, where he led the IT team, with responsibility for infrastructure, business systems, service desk operations and data.
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He was instrumental in delivering the university’s IT strategy and supporting the institution to become one of the first universities in the UK to achieve Cyber Essentials Plus certification. More recently, at Fasthosts, Dan led external partnerships, campaigns and community initiatives, while also overseeing the relocation of the company’s UK headquarters to the Forum in Gloucester city centre.
Dan is committed to continuous professional development and holds an MSc with distinction in computing from The Open University, where his research focused on applying artificial intelligence (AI) to network compromise detection. He also holds a first-class BSc in computing informatics from University of Plymouth.
Dan has previously delivered specialist lectures to Gloucestershire College learners on areas including cloud computing, containers and AI, while helping to bridge the gap between academic theory and industry-standard DevOps practices.
Dan Smale said: “I am delighted to be joining Gloucestershire College as director of DigiTech and am excited to play a key role in delivering the college’s Technical Excellence College programme for digital and technologies. The opportunity to work with learners, colleagues and employer partners to develop the high-level technical skills needed for the future workforce is incredibly exciting.
Report source: Punchline Gloucester