Our Keynote Speakers

Jonathan is the Academic Director of the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory at the University of Birmingham, where he was formerly head of Chemical Engineering (1998-2008). He is a Chartered Chemical Engineer, Past President (2016-17) of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, for which he chaired its Education and Skills Committee (2017-2020). He is also active in energy- and environment-related projects, including plastics recycling and the circular economy, and co-founded the successful Swindon-based spin-out company Recycling Technologies.

In his keynote address, Johnathan will be discussing a collaborative approach to practical engineering education delivered by a single team of technical staff.

Nigel is a senior lecturer at Cardiff University and the co-founder of #DryLabsRealScience, a collaborative network for educators to share innovative practice to supplement and enhance lab-based teaching. Set up in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19 to provide support to academics looking for solutions to provide lab-based teaching the network has evolved into a platform for sharing novel tools and resources that will be used long after the pandemic ends. He has a particular interest in the use of videos and e-assessment as pre- and post-lab learning tools.

David is a National Teaching Fellow, teaching Molecular Bioscience and Biochemistry and the other co-founder of #DryLabsRealScience. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has received the Sheffield Hallam Vice Chancellor's Award for Inspirational Teaching. David is passionate about disseminating and enhancing teaching practises. He has worked directly with bioscientists and other academics across multiple institutions on teaching enhancements and delivers invited workshops and conference presentations on student engagement.

In their keynote address, Nigel and David will talk about enhancing the student learning experience in remote lab teaching and the rationale underpinning different approaches.

Stephen is the head of the department of Multidisciplinary Engineering Education at the University of Sheffield. This department delivers the practical engineering teaching for the Faculty of Engineering in The Diamond. It supports the aspirations of the faculty to provide a great laboratory experience for students. This £86M building opened in September 2015 and its 50 staff are changing the way that laboratory education is delivered. As well as giving enthusiastic lectures, he is interested in novel ways of teaching, assessment and providing feedback.

In his keynote address, Stephen will describe the process of instigating a new paradigm for educating engineers that has transformed student experiences. Having led the only department in the country dedicated to the practical elements of the education of engineers, he will discuss the obvious and more esoteric advantages and problems of taking a systems approach to this vital element in the creation of engineering graduates.