Spotlight on... Professor Parama Chaudhury

What is your role and what does it involve?

I have three different roles – Pro Vice Provost (Education – Student Academic Experience), Professor (Teaching) in Economics and Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTaLE). As the names suggest, all these roles are to do with education! For the first role, I work with faculties, departments and programmes to develop education action plans to respond to student feedback through surveys, SSCCs, continuous module dialogue and so on. As CTaLE Director, I oversee our work supporting academics to test out and introduce different techniques and technologies in economics education, widening participation initiatives and education consultancy – which includes designing and delivering training for government, the public and private sectors. As a Professor, I have the great pleasure of teaching our wonderful students in the Economics (and joint degree) degrees!

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

I’ve been here since 2011, having taught at Oxford, Dartmouth and Yale before that.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of co-founding CTaLE, which has now become a hub for economics education, bringing together colleagues from around the world to talk about the challenges and opportunities confronting us in an ever-changing world.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list?

As Pro Vice Provost, I have been working closely with Faculty Education Teams to develop a data- and student voice- driven process (through department and faculty education plans) to draw up actions around our education provision. UCL is a large and complex institution, but there is so much good practice across the college in education, and it is lovely to see our dedicated colleagues working on these and seeing the impact!

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

These change all the time as I love discovering music, movies and books I was not previously familiar with! The one that always stays on the list is J D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

Which days of the week are the strongest?
Saturday and Sunday. The others are weak days.

(From @ThePunnyWorld – I get so much joy from these guys, follow them if you don’t already!)

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Jawaharlal Nehru, Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Keep an open mind – who knows where life will take you (and it’ll all be ok).

What would it surprise people to know about you?

I’m a cricket fanatic, and a diehard Team India fan (it won’t surprise you if you know me).

What is your favourite place?

Home, with my lovely boys.