Symeon Dagkas

As the Provost at St Mary’s, Symeon Dagkas is responsible for Academic Development matters, Research, Staff Workload and Performance.

Symeon joined St Mary’s in 2018 from Canterbury Christ Church University where he was the Head of the School of Human and Life Sciences. He has also served as Director of Research and Deputy Associate Dean, Research at the University of East London and Head of the Sport Pedagogy Department in the School of Education, at Birmingham University where he spent 13 years in various roles.

Symeon completed his Bachelor Degree at Democritus University of Thrace and graduated with first class honours. After achieving a scholarship from the Greek Ministry of Education he studied at Exeter University where he completed his PhD on enhancing cultural and religious inclusion within Physical Education and Sport.

Symeon is an active researcher and is passionate about Equality and Diversity issues and on promoting inclusion in sport, physical activity and health. His research is concentrated on examining the intersections of race, class, ethnicity and culture amongst young people, especially those with migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds, and how these influence their participation in sport and physical activity and access to health and health services. He is currently a member of the Advance HE London Higher working group on tackling racism in Higher Education.

Symeon has gained grants for his work from a range of funding bodies and has produced over 90 published research outputs. He has published three edited books for Routledge entitled Inclusion and Exclusion Through Youth Sport (2012) and Families, young people, physical activity and health: critical perspectives (2016). His latest book for Routledge entitled Race, youth sport, physical activity and health: Global perspectives with colleagues from Columbia University NY, and Leeds Beckett University UK, was published in 2019.