Meet the HEFi team

HEFi is led by Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning Development - Sarah King, and Assistant Director Digital - Mark Hancock, supported by the Digital Education and Educational Development teams.

Meet the HEFi team

Oyindamola Halimat Abdulai

Oyindamola Halimat Abdulai

Digital Education Developer (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

Halimat works in the College of Medical & Dental Science as Digital Education Developer. She was educated at the University of Birmingham giving her a multifaceted view on the user experience of the content she creates with the team.

Her key interests are with creating digital educational content that is diverse, inclusive, and engaging. To achieve that, she focuses on building systems with ...

Dr Dionne Barton

Dr Dionne Barton

Principal Educational Developer (Award and Recognition Lead/Personal Academic Tutoring)

I am the lead for Award and Recognition and the institution’s Teaching Excellence Award Lead (TEAL) for Advance HE. As the Award and Recognition lead, I am leading on raising the profile of education at the institution. I am the lead for Personal Academic Tutoring, supporting staff to develop their expertise in Personal Academic Tutoring. I am a mentor and assessor for the Beacon HEA ...

Mr Steven Bird

Mr Steven Bird

Digital Education Developer (College of Medical and Dental Sciences)

I am a Digital Education Developer in the MDS HEFi Digital team. I provide advice and guidance, primarily to the School of Dentistry, in the use of the supported digital teaching and learning platforms.

Mrs Marjorie Collaco

Mrs Marjorie Collaco

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

I have been involved in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) for 10 years, supporting the use of technology to enhance learning in the classroom and online. I provide consultative advice and support for the effective deployment of TEL within my college, including the design and development of high quality supplementary eLearning courses and learning objects. Much of my research in TEL involves ...

Mrs Lisa Coulson

Mrs Lisa Coulson

Projects Advisor (Education Enhancement)

I have been working in the field of Educational Enhancement for over ten years and am currently a Projects Advisor within HEFI.  This role involves providing guidance and support to the diverse range of staff involved in Enhancement Projects on all areas of project design, management, and dissemination, with a particular emphasis on approaches to evaluation.

I have a specific interest in ...

Alexandra Davenport

Alexandra Davenport

Digital Education Developer (College of Social Sciences)

I am a Digital Education Developer in the College of Social Sciences supporting the development of online and blended learning experiences. I joined University of Birmingham in October 2023 but have been supporting learning in Higher Education as a Lecturer and Learning Designer since 2018. I have been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2021 and have also worked extensively in the ...

Dr Alison Davies

Dr Alison Davies

Project Advisor (Education Enhancement)

I have worked at the University of Birmingham since 2002; working firstly within the former Learning Development Unit as Research Projects Officer and then in my current role as Project Advisor for the Educational Enhancement and Educational Partnership Funds. My role is to support academic staff by providing advice and guidance at the initial stages of refining their proposals and applying for ...

Previlla Devi

Previlla Devi

Senior Digital Education developer (College of Life and Environmental Sciences)

I have worked at the University for several years starting in an IT Support role and then moving into Digital learning.

I currently work in Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFi) as a Senior Digital Education developer in LES (Life and Environmental Sciences). I work closely with academic staff and professional services, delivering training and offer support and guidance in raising their ...

Benjamin Edwards-Power

Benjamin Edwards-Power

Digital Education Developer (College of Arts & Law)

I have been working in Digital Education for 8 years and am currently a Digital Education Developer within the College of Arts and Law. I help to implement innovative practice across the college as well as support academics with a variety of tools available to them, with a particular focus on PebblePad and Canvas.

Alison Gibson

Alison Gibson

Head of HEFi Digital (College of LES)

I am part of the HEFi Digital leadership team and am responsible for building relationships both across the Institution and with external companies, particularly those that supply our core institutional tools. I have particular responsibilities for our priorities around supporting assessment and feedback development, our CPD offeringsboth internally and externally, and maintaining links between ...

James Gormley

Digital Education Developer (College of Social Sciences)

Helen Greetham

Helen Greetham

Digital Education Developer, Assessment

I have worked in the Education sector for eight years, and spent five of those as a Digital Education Developer at the University of Birmingham. I am currently part of an assessment tools project team exploring new forms of assessment across the institution. 

I’m especially interested in digital storytelling, the architecture of learning design and what the history of educational ...

Dr Marios Hadjianastasis

Dr Marios Hadjianastasis

Principal Educational Developer (PGCHE/Birmingham Lead)

I have worked at the University of Birmingham since 2005 in various roles. I support staff development in a number of areas, through HEFi-based programmes, as well as ad-hoc support in Colleges. My areas of specialisation are:

  • · Learning theories and scholarship of teaching and learning
  • · Critical pedagogy
  • · Research-intensive learning and teaching
  • · Authentic ...

Mr Mark Hancock

Mr Mark Hancock

Assistant Director HEFi (Digital)

I am the Assistant Director HEFi (Digital).  I am responsible for overall leadership, management, and development of the five College based teams who enable effective use of the educational technology in support of learning. Notably (but not exclusively) the use and development of the University’s virtual learning environments and related tools.

I lead a team of business partners ...

Mrs Danielle Hinton

Mrs Danielle Hinton

Principal Educational Developer (PGCHE DL Lead)

Situated within the Higher Education Futures institute (HEFi), I provide support for the enhancement of teaching and learning practice, promote innovation in the curriculum, and facilitate the career-long professional development of Birmingham academics and professional staff in regards to teaching and supporting learning.

I am particularly interested in active learning (including enquiry and ...

Dr Julia Horn

Dr Julia Horn

Principal Educational Developer (PGCHE lead)

I am programme lead for the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. I am also a mentor and assessor for the Beacon scheme and College liaison for the College of Social Sciences.

My areas of particular interest are: inclusive teaching and learning; and effective teaching and learning practices for the future (learning from the pandemic, using multimedia technologies for online and blended ...

Vittorio Insalaco

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Arts & Law)

Vittorio has been working in education for over 15 years. He is the Senior Learning Technologist within the College of Arts and Law, with a background in face-to-face and online teaching, working on development of a range of distance, blended and fully online courses.

Frida Johansson

Frida Johansson

Digital Education Developer (College of Engineering & Physical Sciences)

I have been working within online and digital education for five years, and I joined the HEFi team as a Digital Education Developer within EPS in 2023. I offer guidance and expertise in the design of online courses, and training and support for academics with the virtual tools available to them, including (but not limited to) Canvas, PebblePad, Panopto, and Turnitin. I have a special interest in ...

Nathan Johnson

Nathan Johnson

Head of HEFi Digital (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

I am the Head of HEFi Digital for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. My work focuses on the development and support of teaching material across the College and the institution.

I have a particular interest in the development and understanding of multimedia within teaching and learning as well as accessible and inclusive teaching and learning. I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA.

 

&nb ...

Mr Rob Jones

Mr Rob Jones

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Social Sciences)

I work in the College of Social Sciences as part of the digital educational team. I advise on the potential of eLearning and support all technology-enhanced learning activities within the college, including our virtual learning environment, Instructure Canvas, integrations such as Panopto, PebblePad and Turnitin.

Sarah King

Sarah King

Assistant Director, Teaching and Learning Development

I lead the Educational Development Team within HEFi whose remit is to support the enhancement of teaching and learning practice at Birmingham, promote innovation in the curriculum, and facilitate the career-long professional development of academics who teach, and staff in supporting learning roles.

I have a particular interest in authentic, inclusive assessment practice.

I sit on the ...

James Leahy

James Leahy

Digital Education Developer (College of Arts & Law)

James has been a learning technologist for 14 years – 6 of those within the College of Arts and Law at the University – and since being in post he has undertaken the University’s Post Graduate Certificate for Higher Education, becoming a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. James continues to support staff in the College with core digital tools including Canvas, Turnitin, and ...

Mrs Sarah Letters

Mrs Sarah Letters

Quality Enhancement Manager

I have worked at the University since 2005, initially as the Assistant Secretary to the Registrar and Secretary, and then as the Academic Quality Manager within Registry.  I have been in my current role since October 2013, working part-time (50%), following maternity leave.

I am currently Project Manager for the Module Evaluation enhancement project, which will deliver an upgrade of the ...

Luna Liu

Luna Liu

Digital Education Developer (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

I joined the HEFi team as a Digital Education Developer within College of Medical & Dental Sciences in June 2023. In this position, I'm responsible for providing tailored guidance and support for various core digital tools like Canvas, PebblePad, Speedwell, Panopto, etc., to enhance the teaching and learning experience.

Prior to joining HEFi, I worked as a Learning Technologist at the ...

Amy Lord

Amy Lord

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

Amy has worked at the University of Birmingham as Learning Technologist since 2015 as part of the HEFi Digital team for the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. In this role she has supported academics in the design of online programmes and modules as well as training and supporting on the universities digital learning platforms such as the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Lecture Capture ...

Darren Marsh

Darren Marsh

Digital Education Developer (College of Life and Environmental Sciences )

I work in the LES HEFi Digital team which supports the College of Life and Environmental Sciences.

I provide day-to-day advice and support for our core teaching and learning platforms, including Canvas, Panopto, PebblePad and Turnitin. I also help to deliver digital skills CPD training, and often work closely with the educational support team within the College in terms of support and training ...

Richard Morgan

Richard Morgan

Digital Education Developer (College of Social Sciences)

In my role as the HEFi Digital Education Developer, based in the College of Social Sciences I work alongside Instructional Design Consultants to develop capability and capacity for alternate modes of delivery within the college. I provide direct help and support for staff within the College, as well as helping to develop resources and learning objects in support of the College’s strategic ...

Mr Jamie Morris

Mr Jamie Morris

Principal Educational Developer (IAPDr, ITSL and PGTA programmes Lead)

I am a Principal Educational Developer in HEFi and have worked in Higher Education for over 10 years. I am currently a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have mentored and assessed on professional recognition schemes for awarding fellowship since 2016. I currently lead on HEFi’s PGTA programmes and the Introduction to Teaching and Supporting Learning (ITSL) module. I am ...

Sophia Morton

Sophia Morton

Senior Administrator

I joined the HEFI team in December 2022 and although I am new to working in higher education, I have always had a passion for learning and development. I studied Sociology and Psychology as an undergraduate and then completed my Masters in Psychology via online and distance learning in 2021. In my role I help to support the delivery of teaching and research programmes for students. I help the ...

Thomas Penny

Thomas Penny

Digital Education Officer (College of Social Sciences)

I have been working in Education support within the College of Arts and Law for over five years and now work as a Digital Education Officer within HEFi in CoSS. I started the role in January 2024 and am keen to learn how to develop my knowledge to better assist the online resources the college provides.

 

Mr David Price

Mr David Price

Head of HEFi Digital (College of Social Sciences)

I have been at the University of Birmingham since 2014 and have been working in education and technology enhanced learning since 1999.  After starting in MDS I have moved to a central role in the HEFi Digital team which supports my college based HEFi Digital colleagues.  

Dawn Reading

Dawn Reading

Programme Administrator

My role within HEFI is of a Programme Administrator. Providing administration support for students and staff,  I provide support across a number of core activities that support HEFi’s mission to support staff to deliver innovative and inclusive research-intensive teaching.

Melanie Roxby-Mackey

Melanie Roxby-Mackey

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Arts & Law)

I am a HEFi Digital Instructional Design Consultant based in the College of Arts and Law (CAL). My core responsibilities include:

  • Working with academic staff across the College supporting innovative practice in research intensive teaching and alongside Professional Services colleagues in developing their use of technology
  • Supporting the College’s Digital Humanities ...

Richard Smith

Richard Smith

Digital Education Developer (College of Arts and Law)

I am a Digital Education Developer in the College of Arts and Law supporting the development of online and blended learning experiences. I joined the university in October 2023 with 4 year’s prior experience working at various institutions such as Warwick University and Birmingham City University, providing learning technology support and creating interactive learning experiences for ...

Joey Spink

Joey Spink

Interim Head of HEFi Digital (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences)

I joined the HEFi Digital team for EPS in December 2021 after working at University College Birmingham as a e-Learning Developer for 5 years.

I have extensive experience working alongside academics to develop their digital offering using a wide variety of learning technologies including (but not limited to) Canvas, PebblePad and Panopto.

I have supported colleagues through either developing ...

Louise Staffell

Louise Staffell

Programmes, Administration and Engagement Manager

I have worked in Higher Education for over 10 years and am responsible for the Programme Management and Quality Assurance of all programmes undertaken in HEFi.  Alongside being a super-user for all main systems, I am also responsible for Annual Reviews and Assessment Support Week (staff). 

Please contact me regarding any enquiries regarding Programme matters (such as extensions, Leave ...

Liana Turner

Liana Turner

Digital Education Developer (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

I joined the HEFi Team in July 2023 and am currently based within the College of Medical and Dental Sciences, providing guidance and support for various core digital tools used within the School of Pharmacy such as Canvas, Panopto, PebblePad and Speedwell.

Prior to joining HEFi, I worked across a wide range of roles within Higher Education including Student Experience, Research & Knowledge ...

Mr Matt Turner

Mr Matt Turner

Head of HEFi Digital (College of Arts & Law)

In my role as Head of HEFi Digital for the College of Arts and Law I provide expert guidance on all elements of digital education across the College’s programme portfolio and consultative advice across the University.

My team and I work closely with academic and professional services colleagues across the college, championing and supporting the use of the core institutional digital tools ...

Dr Els Van Geyte

Dr Els Van Geyte

Principal Educational Developer (Beacon Lead)

I am a teacher, teacher developer, and author. As a member of the Educational Development team, I am responsible for the Beacon HEA Professional Recognition Scheme, for which I also assess and mentor. I have been a Senior Fellow of the HEA since 2014. My background is in Educational Linguistics, and I started at the University in 1999, teaching English for Academic Purposes and coordinating ...

Mr Ian Wells

Mr Ian Wells

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Social Sciences)

Ian currently works as a Senior Digital Education Developer for HEFI based in the College of Social Sciences. He supports academic and professional services staff by providing pedagogical and technical support in the design and delivery of learning programmes using learning technologies.

Gemma Westwood

Gemma Westwood

Senior Digital Education Developer, Assessment

Gemma joined the HEFi team in 2022 after spending 9 years in the Further Education sector. In July 2023 Gemma joined the Assessment team as a Senior Digital Education Developer. She is a keen advocate for the student experience, she is passionate about digital education and widening educational opportunities for all. As well as having experience in project management and in implementing digital ...

Luke Westwood

Luke Westwood

Senior Digital Education Developer [CPD] (College of Medical & Dental Sciences)

Luke joined the Medical and Dental Sciences HEFi Digital Team at the University of Birmingham in 2018. As part of his responsibilities, Luke is responsible for implementing continuous professional development within the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. He also supports academics with a variety of digital tools, including a Virtual Learning Environment, Online Portfolio Tool, and Lecture ...

Dr Gabi Witthaus

Dr Gabi Witthaus

Senior Digital Education Developer (College of Arts & Law)

I support academics in the College of Arts and Law in designing programmes and modules for online learning, with a focus on designing for student engagement and inclusivity.