FEW leaders in British higher education speak with the authority – or candour – of Shitij Kapur, who has served as vice-chancellor and president of King’s College London since June 2021.
A psychiatrist by training and an academic leader by instinct, Kapur sits at the intersection of several debates reshaping universities: access and equity, funding pressures, global competition and the role of research in economic growth.
His willingness to challenge comfortable assumptions has become a defining feature of his leadership. At a time when nearly half of young people in the UK enter higher education, Kapur has argued that universities must be honest about what degrees can and cannot deliver.
“The old equation of the university as a passport to social mobility… has now become a visa,” he recently observed, warning that outcomes increasingly depend on institution, subject and wider economic forces.
Yet Kapur’s perspective is rooted not in scepticism about higher education but in a lifetime shaped by it. Born and educated initially in India, he studied medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi before moving to North America to specialise in psychiatry. Residency training at the University of Pittsburgh was followed by a fellowship in schizophrenia and a PhD in neuroscience at the University of Toronto, launching a research career that would make him internationally recognised for his work on psychosis and antipsychotic treatment.
King’s first became central to that journey in 2007. Over the following decade, Kapur held a succession of senior roles as he helped steer the university’s global reputation in mental health research. He also led NEWMEDS, a major academic–industry consortium involving 19 institutions across nine European countries focused on developing new treatments for psychiatric disorders.
After more than four years in Australia as dean and assistant vice-chancellor (health) at the University of Melbourne, Kapur returned to London to lead King’s. His tenure has coincided with intense pressures on the sector, from funding constraints to changing student expectations.
He has also sought to expand the university’s global reach. In 2025, during a visit to his alma mater in New Delhi, Kapur announced the continuation of a postgraduate scholarship scheme for students domiciled in India. Reflecting on his own journey abroad, he said: “Having left India myself to pursue post-graduate studies, I am delighted that King’s can offer the same opportunity to others through the Vice-Chancellor’s awards.”
In February, King’s announced a third year of the scholarship scheme, offering £5,000 in fee reductions for up to 40 students from India.
Under his leadership the university has strengthened its standing in sustainability metrics, rising sharply in global rankings and placing among the top institutions worldwide for social and environmental impact.
In June 2025, the governing council unanimously reappointed Kapur for a second five-year term, endorsing a leadership style that combines scientific rigour with a readiness to confront uncomfortable questions about the future of higher education.