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Contact details and team information for Education & practice development unit in UCL Education & Student Experience.
Education & practice development offers a range of support and professional development for those who teach and support students at UCL by delivering a variety of programmes, some mandatory, some optional and some selective, that aim to improve the quality and consistency of teaching across the institution.
The team develop face-to-face and online courses, as well as bespoke resources and guidance for UCL's educators. The team also assists UCL staff who deliver or support education to obtain HEA-accredited Fellowship status.
The Education & practice development unit is made up of three main functions:
- Arena Consultancy: Arena Consultants provide support to faculties for pedagogy and practice development
- Arena Staff Development: Develop and deliver courses for staff that deliver and support education at UCL, including support for use of technology in teaching. Support the HEA-accredited Arena Fellowship scheme. Lead on reward, recognition and support of good practice in teaching and assessment.
- Programme Development: Work with all new programmes, and many existing programmes, on their learning design approaches. Lead on assessment diversification aligned with the AssessmentUCL rollout.
Clive Young
Head of Programme Development
Email: c.p.l.young@ucl.ac.uk
Tel (internal): 65127
I lead the development, promotion and sharing of excellent practice in the design of programmes, modules and assessment across UCL’s faculties and departments. The role entails development and implementation of a framework for programme and module development linked to effective learning design and assessment, and provides educational guidance to staff and Faculties.
I also lead a team of Programme Development Advisors who work with teaching teams to design programmes, modules and assessment. I am part of the leadership of UCL’s programme development service that drives enhancement in learning and teaching practice.
Contact me about
Leo Havemann
Programme Development Advisor
Email: l.havemann@ucl.ac.uk
Tel (internal): 58043
I work with teaching teams to design programmes and modules. Working closely with the Director and Head of Programme Development, I lead the development, promotion and sharing of excellent practice in the design of programmes and modules across UCL’s faculties and departments.I work as a core member of UCL’s programme development service to drive enhancement in learning and teaching practice.
I develop and implement a framework for programme and module development linked to effective learning design and assessment.
I work closely with Arena Consultants, Digital Education and Faculty colleagues to ensure that staff receive expert consistent, coordinated and practical support and guidance.
Contact me about
Nataša Perović
Programme Development Advisor
Email: n.perovic@ucl.ac.uk
Tel (internal): 65443
I work with teaching teams to design programmes and modules. Working closely with the Director and Head of Programme Development, I lead the development, promotion and sharing of excellent practice in the design of programmes and modules across UCL’s faculties and departments.I work as a core member of UCL’s programme development service to drive enhancement in learning and teaching practice.
I develop and implement a framework for programme and module development linked to effective learning design and assessment.
I have a background in science, web development and teaching and have been working on education development in medical and allied health sciences in higher education since 2006. I am co-creator of the ABC Learning Design method.
I work closely with Arena Consultants, Digital Education and Faculty colleagues to ensure that staff receive expert consistent, coordinated and practical support and guidance.
Contact me about
Karen Shackleford-Cesare
Programme Development Advisor
Email: k.shackleford-cesare@ucl.ac.uk
Tel (internal): 56238
I work with teaching teams to design programmes and modules. Working closely with the Director and Head of Programme Development, I lead the development, promotion and sharing of excellent practice in the design of programmes and modules across UCL’s faculties and departments.I work as a core member of UCL’s programme development service to drive enhancement in learning and teaching practice.
I develop and implement a framework for programme and module development linked to effective learning design and assessment.
I work closely with Arena Consultants, Digital Education and Faculty colleagues to ensure that staff receive expert consistent, coordinated and practical support and guidance.
Contact me about
Dr Alex Standen, SFHEA
Associate Director (Education & Practice Development) and Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: a.standen@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6454 (internal: 56454)
I have oversight of Arena's wide and varied programme of Staff Development opportunities and am Co-Director of our Leading Change in Education Programme.
I also work closely with the UCL Doctoral School to lead on the development and training of UCL research supervisors.
I first joined UCL in 2013 in a student support and engagement role in the Faculty of Brain Sciences, prior to which I taught Italian and European Studies at the Universities of Birmingham and Auckland.
I work closely with the following departments and faculties to enhance their education provision:
- Faculty of Medical Sciences
- My areas of active research include
- Research student development.
- Supervisory relationships.
Contact me about
- Staff development opportunities offered by Arena
- Research supervisor development.
- Leading Change in Education programme
- Educational enhancement in the Faculty listed above.
Dr Silvia Colaiacomo, SFHEA
Lecturer (Teaching)
Email: s.colaiacomo@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3108 7962 (internal: 57962)
I lead UCL Arena One, which is a development pathway for postgraduate teaching assistants (PGTAs).
It consists of the mandatory Gateway Workshops and the optional Teaching Associate Programme (TAP). After completing TAP, participants can submit an application for Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
My areas of active research include
Teaching and learning in higher education with a particular focus on internationalising the curriculum and assessment and feedback.
Contact me about
- Educational enhancement in the departments/faculties listed above.
- For Arena One, please contact arena.one@ucl.ac.uk in the first instance.
Karen Matthewman, SFHEA
Lecturer (Teaching)
Email: k.matthewman@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3549 5444 (internal: 65444)
I teach across our professional development provision and I support UCL staff looking to undertake Arena fellowship applications.
My background is in Applied Linguistics, and my current research interests include:
- Inclusive education and developing a sense of belonging for staff and students
- Differences in academic practices across discipline
Contact me about
- Arena Fellowship scheme and related mentoring opportunities
- Arena professional development provision
- Educational enhancement in the departments/faculties listed above.
Dr Peter Fitch, SFHEA
Lecturer (Teaching)
Email: p.fitch@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 5656 (internal: 55656)
I teach across the UCL Arena Centre’s professional development provision for PhD students, research staff and early career academics.
I have responsibility for Personal Tutoring staff development across UCL.
My areas of active research include
PGT students’ learning approaches, digital communities of learning, and peer support networks.
Contact me about
Dr Nick Grindle, SFHEA
Lecturer (Teaching)
Email: n.grindle@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6458 (internal: 56458)
I am leading the development of the UCL ChangeMakers Change Projects, and I teach on the UCL Arena events we run for staff and PhD students.
I joined the UCL Arena Centre in 2011 from the History of Art department.
My areas of active research include
What role audiences play in shaping what, and how, students learn. I'm particularly interested in the potential that digital environments play in helping students identifying their audiences and communicating their work.
I am also working with colleagues across UCL to investigate ways of connecting students with research, and in particular to evaluate different versions of Meet the Researcher activities.
Contact me about
- UCL ChangeMakers
- Meet the Researcher and connecting students with research.
- Educational enhancement in the departments/faculties listed above.
Jesper Hansen, SFHEA
Lecturer (Teaching)
Email: j.hansen@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6455 (internal: 56455)
I lead Arena for Lecturers on Probation (ALP) which is a development course for all UCL lecturers and associate lecturers on probation. It is mandatory, but you can apply for an exemption if you have undertaken similar training (such as a PGCert) and/or have already obtained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
I am one of the founding editors of the journal Postgraduate Pedagogies.
My areas of active research include
Representation of gender and sexuality in higher education teaching, with a particular focus on language teaching. An example of how I work to support teachers at UCL can be found in the Teaching Toolkit 'Recognising and including LGBTQ+ identities in language teaching'.
Contact me about
- Educational enhancement in the departments/faculties listed above.
- For Arena for Lecturers on Probation (ALP), please contact arenacentre.probation@ucl.ac.uk in the first instance.
Dr Anjoom Mukadam, FHEA
Lecturer (Teaching)
Email: anjoom.mukadam@ucl.ac.uk
I teach across the UCL Arena Centre’s professional development provision for PhD students, research staff and early career academics.
My areas of active research include
Student Empowerment in Higher Education, A Coaching Approach to Personal Tutoring, Inclusive Pedagogies, and Intercultural Communication.
Contact me about
Dr Jennifer Griffiths, SFHEA
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: j.griffiths@ucl.ac.uk
I oversee the UCL Arena Centre’s work on:
- Assessment literacy for staff
- Development of Postgraduate Taught Programmes around the UCL Connected Curriculum
- Staff career development in education beyond early career
- our professional recognition scheme: Arena Fellowships – UCL’s professional recognition scheme for teaching, leading to all levels of Higher Education Academy (HEA) fellowship.
- Events including the Education Conference and Posters in Parliament/Posters in Cloisters.
My remit also covers Masters level skills modules delivered by the Arena Centre.
Prior to joining the Arena Centre, I worked in Medical Physics research and Engineering Education. I have significant experience of developing new cross-disciplinary programmes that embed active and authentic learning and assessments to develop students’ understanding and skills, especially at Postgraduate level. I have delivered workshops and presentations internationally on Engineering Education and Authentic Assessment.
My areas of active education research include
- Engineering education.
- Authentic Assessment
- Postgraduate taught student experience.
Contact me about
- Arena Fellowships (AFHEA, FHEA, SFHEA, PFHEA).
- The UCL Education Conference
- Educational enhancement in the faculty of Medical Sciences
- PGT student experience
- Developing authentic assessment.
Dr Rebecca Lindner
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: r.lindner@ucl.ac.uk
I am based in UCL Arena Centre and UCL Doctoral School. At Arena, I teach across the Centre’s professional development modules for PhD students, research staff and early career academics. This includes:
- Postgraduate Teaching Assistants (PGTAs) and Postdocs with teaching responsibilities (Arena One)
- Lecturers and Teaching Fellows on probation (Arena Two)
- Research supervisors
At the Doctoral School, I lead on EDI initiatives and policies to support PhDs and early career researchers.
Prior to joining UCL, I was Associate Dean of the Honours College at the University of Oregon and I served before that as Head of Humanities at Amsterdam University College. I hold a PhD in Renaissance literature and I have taught broadly across the humanities.
My areas of active research include
Inclusive education, curriculum design, and the interrelations between science and the humanities.
Contact me about
- Research supervision
- Arena support for UKCGE Research Supervisor Recognition scheme
- PhD students and Postdocs who teach (including Arena One) – please contact arena.one@ucl.ac.uk in the first instance
- Early Career Academic development (including Arena Two) – please contact arena.two@ucl.ac.uk in the first instance
- Educational enhancement in the departments/faculties listed above.
Dr Martin Compton, SFHEA
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: martin.compton@ucl.ac.uk
I work across the Arena centre's provision including Arena Fellowships, programme design, curriculum development as well as teaching, assessment & feedback enhancement.
Central to my role is providing guidance and support with the integration and exploitation of new and existing technologies and the ways in which we can connect traditional and digital pedagogies.
My areas of active research include:
- Digital education
- Observation of teaching and learning & peer-supported development
- Transnational education
Contact me about:
- Principles of asynchronous content creation to support face to face and online teaching
- Managing and facilitating live, online classes
- Digital strategies for student engagement (in conventional teaching spaces or both synchronous and asynchronous online spaces).
Dr Jason Davies, SFHEA
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: j.p.davies@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6457 (internal: 56457)
I teach across the UCL Arena Centre's professional development provision and lead the Arena Senior Fellowship Pathway as well as co-chairing Liberating the Curriculum.
My areas of active research include
- Interdisciplinarity.
- Threshold concepts.
- Inclusive curriculum.
Contact me about
- Inclusive curriculum.
- Threshold concepts.
- Educational enhancement in the departments/faculties listed above.
Email Tuesday-Friday is the best way to reach me (I don't work Mondays).
Dr Manjula Patrick, SFHEA
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: m.patrick@ucl.ac.uk
I am Arena’s inclusive education lead with a focus on reducing awarding gaps for racially minoritised, disabled and mature students.
I joined Arena in August 2022 but have worked at department and faculty level across UCL for many years. Equity and inclusion form the core of my work, and I am an advocate for intersectional solutions to inequity.
I work with different stakeholders across the institution to develop innovative, workable interventions that progress inclusive education practices.
Contact me about:
Valentina Barbaria, AFHEA
Valentina is currently on secondment. For enquiries related to Valentina's work, please contact Ronan Haughton.
Senior Teaching and Learning Administrator
Email: v.barbaria@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6465 (internal: 56465)
I manage the UCL Arena Centre’s administration for provisions aimed at research staff, early career academic development, UCL Personal Tutors and PS Staff supporting students.
This includes:
- Managing the Arena for Probationary Lecturers programme, the UCL development pathway for Lecturers on probation.
- Development and training for research supervisors, personal tutors and professional service staff.
- Other one-off events and opportunities for early-career staff.
- Managing the UCL PGTA Hub's content
- Co-ordinating the SSW provisions for staff supporting students.
Contact me about
- Arena for Probationary Lecturers (for Lecturers and Teaching Fellows on probation) – you can also email arenacentre.probation@ucl.ac.uk.
- Research Supervisor development.
- Personal tutoring.
- Support and development opportunities for early career academics and Professional Service staff supporting PGRs.
Ronan Haughton
Senior Teaching and Learning Administrator
Email: r.haughton@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)207 907 4625 (internal: 54625)
I manage the UCL Arena Centre’s administration for provisions aimed at research staff, early career academic development, UCL Personal Tutors and PS Staff supporting students.
This includes:
- Managing the Arena for Probationary Lecturers programme, the UCL development pathway for Lecturers on probation.
- Development and training for research supervisors, personal tutors and professional service staff.
- Other one-off events and opportunities for early-career staff.
- Managing the UCL PGTA Hub's content
- Co-ordinating the SSW provisions for staff supporting students.
Contact me about
- Arena for Probationary Lecturers (for Lecturers and Teaching Fellows on probation) – you can also email arenacentre.probation@ucl.ac.uk.
- Research Supervisor development.
- Personal tutoring.
- Support and development opportunities for early career academics and Professional Service staff supporting PGRs.
Moira Paganelli
Teaching and Learning Administrator
Email: m.paganelli@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 9397 (internal: 59397)
I lead the administration of the UCL Arena for PGTAs, Gateway workshops and the Teaching Associate Programme, which interacts with over 700 attendants every year.
I also co-ordinate UCL Arena Events, run by UCL staff and external colleagues.
Contact me about
- Arena for PGTAs (for PhD students and Postdocs who teach) and any other support needed for postgraduate teaching assistants – you can also email arena.pgta@ucl.ac.uk.
Peter Phillips, AFHEA
Senior Teaching and Learning Administrator
Email: peter.phillips@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6468 (internal: 56468)
I manage the administration of the Arena Fellowship scheme, offering support and guidance to staff at all stages of the application process
Contact me about
- UCL Arena Fellowships.
- UCL Arena events.
- Programme Leaders.
- MRes Modules.
Sandra Lusk, AFHEA
Senior Teaching Administrator / Teaching Administrator Lead
Email: s.lusk@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6467 (internal: 56467)
I manage the administration of the UCL’s programme design service to drive enhancement in learning and teaching practice.
In partnership with UCL ChangeMakers, UCL Student Union, I co-ordinate the Student Quality Reviewers programme, which provides opportunity for students to engage with UCLs quality assurance and enhancement activities.
On behalf of UCL Arena team, I co-ordinate a range of academic development events for UCL staff and students, including UCL Education Conference and Academic Practice Conference (APT)
Contact me about:
UCL Arena Programme Design
Peer Dialogue: Option C, Student Reviewers of Teaching
UCL Education Conference
UCL Education Awards
Academic Practice Conference (APT)
Helen Knowler
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Email: h.knowler@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6434 (internal: 56434)
I am an Associate Professor (Teaching) based in the Arena Centre. I am a qualified teacher and experienced tutor at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I worked at the universities of Bristol and Exeter before joining UCL in September 2022.
My expertise is in Inclusive Education, and I have published widely on exclusionary practices in a range of education contexts. I specialise in developing inclusive approaches to teaching and learning related to controversial or problematic issues. I am currently leading on developing the educational responses to the Eugenics Inquiry Response Group report and I work across all departments and faculties.
Contact me about:
Eugenics Inquiry Response Group report - education recommendations
Tor Wright
Eugenics Response Project Manager
Email: t.wright@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 6127 (internal: 56127)
I joined the Arena team after nearly seven years working in the UCL Medical School.
I am working with Helen Knowler, the associate professor (teaching) developing UCL’s eugenics response project, one of the outcomes of the Inquiry into the History of Eugenics at UCL, who published their report and recommendations in 2021.
Contact me about:
The eugenics response project.