Joey Spink

Head of Digital Education (College of Life and Environmental Sciences)

Contact details

Email: j.spink.1@bham.ac.uk

Address: Digital Education Team
Libraries and Learning Resources
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

I am the Head of Digital Education for the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, providing strategic leadership for the development and effective use of educational technologies across the College.

My role requires me to work closely with academic leaders, professional services teams and central services to operationalise key initiatives in the digital education space. I am particularly focused on embedding consistent, scalable approaches to digital teaching and learning, and on enabling staff to use technology confidently and purposefully to support innovation, accessibility, and employability.

As part of the Digital Education Leadership Team, I collaborate with colleagues and suppliers to deliver seamless, user-friendly access to new technologies. Key areas of focus are the roll out and support of Canva for staff and students, the exploration of how immersive spaces can be used to support teaching and the development of a Business Continuity plan for the Digital Education Ecosystem.

Qualifications

2:2 in Philosophy – University of Liverpool
PG Certificate in Learning Technologies – University of Leicester

Biography

Having worked at University College Birmingham in the role of e-Learning Developer for 5 years I joined the University in 2021. My first role was that of Digital Education Developer in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. In this position I helped to standardise the college’s approach to their portfolio provision for apprenticeships, developed a course of CPD for our Education Support team and eventually went on to lead the team as Head of HEFi Digital (interim) in October 2023.

In July 2024 I joined the LES Digital Education team as Head of Digital Education on a permanent basis and have carried my collaborative approach to college support with me. Since then, the team have supported the roll out of several institutional initiatives, working alongside Education Support teams to do so.

Outside of my college work I have leadership responsibilities for core working groups, ranging from helping to streamline our department's approach to media content development to supporting staff and students with contextual guidance within the VLE. My remit also covers vendor relationship management, working with external suppliers to ensure we’re maximising our investment in their tools. I support the provision of Canva, PebblePad, Turnitin, ThingLink and Canvas Impact.