- Our founders -
Atif Mahmud
Dr Mahmud has worked in both the private and NHS with patients who suffer from complex mental
health conditions. He currently works as a doctor with experience in national
high secure services, social care colleagues and forensic psychiatry to ensure safeguards are in place for
the most vulnerable in society. He is the Forensic lead in Virtual Reality at his NHS trust and then promoted to associate specialist grade in the private practice where he was the physical
health lead. He has been the Forensic SAS co-
opted member representing forensic SAS doctors in UK, which led to him being shortlisted for prestigious SAS award
for RCPsych, and even presenting at national conferences!
During his working life he has worked in various fields and sectors which include the UK civil service, where he was an accomplished director of a regeneration project in London. Amongst his other experiences are working as a CQC specialist and School governor
He is the co-founder of Conoscenza. His passion of XR technologies has led him to complete a Virtual
Reality and Augmented course with MIT emeritus xPRO programme.
He enjoys networking and looking for partners who will accompany his companies team on a
futuristic journey to allow for a modernised future in healthcare. He believes passionately in
organisations adopting XR technologies, which drives his search for strong partners who share the
same vision to promote wellness.
He enjoys swimming and boxing in his spare time.
‘’I have ventured into this business with like-minded people wanting to support peoples mental
health wellbeing, using innovative technology. All the combined past and current experiences of my
team will help bring positive change to society. Our promise to support humanity will be translated
into improvements in psychological wellbeing which will benefit the UK and allow for an
international standing for using our developed innovative technology to benefit the World’’
Dr Hardev Bhogal
Hardev along with Atif are Directors of Conoscenza Ltd. Together they are bringing technological
advancements to teaching and healthcare. They are focussed on the use for virtual reality and
augmented reality to give immersive experiences to those that would benefit from them. Hardev,
along with Atif, are not only responsible as the subject matter experts for the company but they also
ensure the successful running of the company.
Hardev is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and approved under Section 12
of the Mental Health Act as well as being a Deprivation of Liberty Mental Health Assessor. He held
to post of chair of the SAS doctors in Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust from
September 2019 to May 2023. He is now the SAS Tutor in Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS
Foundation Trust. Hardev is a Clinical Teaching Associate, taking responsibility for undergraduate
education for medical students. He thrives on sharing knowledge and will take any opportunity to
teach.
Hardev says he has always been made aware the importance of education. His parents believed in
this greatly and worked hard to give him the educational opportunities he had. As a black belt in Tae
Kwon Do, Hardev respects the 5 tenets and incorporates these into his everyday life as well as his
business ventures; courtesy, integrity, perseverance, indominable spirit and self-control.
Hardev qualified from St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry
with an MBBS from the University of London. After working his Foundation years at the Royal Derby
Hospital and Chesterfield Royal Hospital, he began training in Psychiatry in South Yorkshire from
2011 to 2015. Following this, he worked for over 3 years in Old Age Psychiatry before moving to
General Adult psychiatry as a specialty doctor. He works with the Early intervention Psychosis Team
and Local Mental Health Team.
Outside work, he is a keen sportsman and relishes any opportunity to play both team and individual
sports. Most importantly, he is a dad's little boy
