University of Birmingham Computer Science PhD student Tom Goodman has become one of the youngest people to have been awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

The award recognises those who have demonstrated a commitment to, and a sustained effectiveness in, the advancement of teaching and management in the higher education sector - with a particular focus on leadership.

In 2015, Tom joined the school as an undergraduate in Computer Science and is now completing his PhD. His research is in pitch detection of acoustic music, creating mathematical models of complex musical structures, and using these models to elicit useful information not available through standard musical notation.

In 2016, Tom founded HackTheMidlands with Liam Sorta and became CEO when the organisation became incorporated in 2019. His work has also been recognised in other awards including: “Rising Star in Tech”, Silicon Canal Awards 2019 and “Great Achievement in EPS” EPS Awards 2020.

Tom said:  "I'm so honoured and humbled to receive this recognition, especially at such an early point in my career.

“Teaching is a huge part of my academic identity, and I've been lucky to have the opportunity to work on incredible initiatives like HackTheMidlands and Birmingham's A2B scheme.

“The Beacon Scheme has taught me so much and made me reflect even more deeply on my teaching practice. I can't thank University of Birmingham’s School of Computer Science, and the HEFi team enough."