iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Hello to all that don't know me and ALSO HELLO to all that do! I'm Kieran I'm a writer, performer and Professor of Civic Imagination. As I hit midlife, I decided to completely turn my career upside down, leave academia and get back to my passion for creativity.

Picture of me smiling and standing on a beach with the sea in the distance. I'm wearing a denim shirt, aviation style glasses and have a brown mop of curly hair.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Judging from the latest socials, everyone has gone up in the university league tables again... Congratulations to all.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Feeling quite sad about the passing of Dolly Parton. She was a true inspiration, beautiful musician, and a canny businesswoman. Glad to have had the privilege to see her perform a few years ago..

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Today I go on holiday. Not finished packing, but I'm making a great playlist.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

There is a certain person that likes the absolutely chaos that is the 2019 Cats movie. And it's me.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Inevitably, I'm trying to pack for our holiday and the six year old has instead got me dancing to Faithless, Shakira and Crab Rave.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The biggest lie you have even been told is that the aim of a to-do list is for it to be completed, when in fact it's to help you prioritise the neverending list of things you would like to do, have to do, and wish you didn't have to do.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

As tradition would have it, on the last day of school, the husband and I take the day off to mentally prepare for the next 46 days. We don't know what today has in store.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I’ll be honest. On this incredibly warm day in the UK, I’ve just gone for lunch to a local converted mill and had homemade corned beef pie and chips - and then had trifle for dessert. It’s Wednesday and I have zero self-employment regrets. No photos as I was hungry.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

When I left academia to start my consultancy, I found myself playing it safe. Standard brand, familiar language. But after a year, I realised I’m not hired for conventional consulting. I’m hired to create a deliberate, vibrant glitch in the day-to-day.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Reading poetry and listening to birds in the garden, all before 7am. (And yes, how did you guess? The six year old was with me - though less interested in Alice, much very much enjoying the birds.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

The youngest wanted to snuggle with a blanket and a film so introducing him to this classic. #FathersDay

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

"Sometimes a more radical solution is what's needed" says Stephanie Bales at #ARMA2026. I nearly stood up and cheered.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

This is such a beautiful moment of space for a Sunday and sung beautifully by the wonderful @danielledenieseofficial Handel: Giulio Cesare / Act 3: "Piangerò la sorte mia" by Danielle de Niese, Les Arts Florissants & William Christie on Amazon Music music.amazon.co.uk/albums/B001Q...

music.amazon.co.uk

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

On my way back from Hull after a fun session yesterday in collaboration, connection and shared purpose that involved pretty things, Polari, and chess...

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Beautiful Scarborough...and now on the train through the East Riding to Hull #BeautifulSlowTrains

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Reposted by Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse

Postcard From The Past @pastpostcard.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Joy is in Great Yarmouth this week.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Now all of that sounds great and I can see would make a huge difference. But what are you going to stop doing to make space for that?

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

You don't have to be at your best today. In fact, you don't have to be at your best most days. But on the days you are, shine bright. Endless optimisation, productivity, and the avoidance of rest and self compassion only takes away from your unforgettable shimmer.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

My latest bit of writing Life Out of Balance: Reclaiming Imagination in a World of Relentless Churn (and When More is Less) open.substack.com/pub/kieranfe...

open.substack.com

Life Out of Balance

Reclaiming Imagination in a World of Relentless Churn (and when More is Less)

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Just upsetting the relentless productivity algorithm with a moment of rest and lavender tea. Time to steep into the weekend

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Today I decided to get away from the desk and headed to Seaham and what is known as Chemical Beach and Blast Beach to fire my imagination (and to mentally prepare for half term).

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Yesterday, I led a reflective workshop on research strategy and futures thinking that implicitly posed the question of how do we move from surviving the tyranny of now to building new worlds.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Eating Shepherd's Pie to Leo Sayer is quite the sensory experience to be offered by Bath Spa this evening. I hadn't quite connected disco and gravy until this very moment.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Returning to the north after a few days in the Midlands. Was great to facilitate an imaginative strategy day for Loughborough University, always interesting to hear about could be and think about how we direct focus and energy to a shared future.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I'm travelling by train. So, tell me, how the devil are you and how you are thriving in all *waves hands* this?

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I just sung the six year old the question: Why do birds suddenly appear, everytime you are near? The reply: because I've got chips. Carpenters missed a trick there.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Having kids is... driving an hour to Brighton when on holiday and spending your time there hunting for kids shoes as the youngest somehow lobbies his shoe so it falls under the tracks of the Volks Electric Railway. The leadership lesson? Be prepared to adapt and respond positively to emergence.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Happy New Year Tax Year for those celebrating.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

6y/o: can we watch star wars? Me: absolutely! 6y/o: the one with jaja? Me: oh.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The main difference between the husband and I is that he will have a full conversation with the window cleaner, whereas I will, at best, do a nod of acknowledgment through frosted glass.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

I spoke with someone the other week that was intrigued with my work at One Little Spark, but wasn't sure exactly how we could work together. It’s the challenge, I guess, of offering an imaginative mindset over a shelf-stable product.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

I'm heading down from the sunny (and a little chilly) Redcar coast today for the Connected Places Catapult 2026 Summit, which starts tomorrow. Looking forward to a couple of days of conversations about the future of our places.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

For my entire life I was told that HB pencils were the way forward when clearly it should have been, and always been, 2B.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

I try to avoid asking my kids the 'how was school?' question. The 12 y/o just got home and so I asked 'who nearly broke the system today? Teacher or student?

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

We’ve all had those feelings of needing to be more productive, more efficient, more resilient. What if I did just one more hour, squeeze a bit more in? But what if the answer wasn't more, squeeze, hold fast, but reset, imagine, reclaim. Come find out more: onelittlespark.uk/living/

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

So if QR funding is for curiosity driven research, what should the REF be measuring / auditing. And, wouldn't impact, for example, be the wrong evaluative measure in some cases for curiosity-driven research as that may or may not have been the driver of said curiosity. We may have gotten in a muddle

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Popped to Fountains Abbey today with the husband. Such a gorgeous place for a walk, but also fires up the imagination with the heady mix of ruins, old industry, rustic nature, and perfected landscapes. A place of opposites, of systems and soul.

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

It's been a morning of emails, unexpected financial returns for procurement processes, invoices, web copy. Running your own business does keep you on your toes! But I'm not complaining. Let's call it an admin-fuelled Monday morning boost!

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Can a post-industrial town provide the perfect engine for imagination? In my last newsletter, I wrote about how setting up my consultancy in Redcar wasn't just a choice of convenience, but a choice of place-attachment.

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Reposted by Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse

Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

My latest post on why I set up my business in Redcar, and with an unexpected lesson from Nigella Lawson. An Imaginative Place: On Systems, Soul, and Geometries of Possibility www.linkedin.com/pulse/imagin...

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I always take the slow train to Newcastle that goes via Hartlepool and along the coast. Because...

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Professor Kieran Fenby-Hulse @kieranfenbyhulse.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

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