Institute Fellows
On completion of their projects our Fellows become Honorary ITL Fellows and continue to play an important part in our wider team, embedding the outputs and insight from their Fellowship work and using their expertise and knowledge to support teaching and learning across our university community and beyond.
Many have gone on to take up new roles in teaching and learning leadership, such as University Academic and Theme Leads in Student Success, Academic Development, Sustainability Teaching and Learning and Digital Skills and Literacy, or in leading key strands of work in strategic projects which support teaching excellence such as Transforming Teaching Together @ Manchester.
If you would like to know more about the work of any of our inaugural Fellows, get in touch with the ITL team: teaching.learning@manchester.ac.uk.
2022/2023 Cohort
You can read about our 2022/23 cohort of ITL Fellows on our Projects page.
2021/2022 Cohort
Our ITL Fellows for 2021/2022 are currently wrapping up their projects, and the outcomes will be published as soon as we have them.
Dr James Brooks, Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering / Faculty Academic Lead for Pedagogy and Distance Learning
James is a teaching focused Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering and the Academic Lead for Pedagogy within Science and Engineering. His work is split between running the fully online MSc in Electrical Power Systems Engineering and improving the quality of teaching across the faculty (including co-creating the FSE Teaching Excellence Resources website, guidance for transitioning to blended learning, and the faculty teaching showcase workshops).
Find out more about James's ITL project
Dr Li-Chia Chen, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacoepidemiology
Li-Chia is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, the School of Health Sciences. She has a progressing and balanced professional and academic profile and insightful scopes of international teaching and pharmacy practice research in higher education institutes. She has been involved in designing and delivering various teaching and learning activities for pharmacy undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programmes and pharmacist continuous professional development programmes. Li-Chia is also championing the internationalisation agenda in Far East Asia and has established collaborations with five Chinese healthcare and higher education institutes.
Find out more about Li-Chia's ITL project
Dr Emily Cooksey, Lecturer / Admissions Tutor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science
Emily is a lecturer and admissions tutor from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science. Prior to this, Emily has spent a number of years in various roles across the university including roles in the central Widening Participation team and the ResLife team. She is alumnus of the university having completed both undergraduate and PhD studies here, during that time she was an active student representative and graduate teaching assistant.
Find out more about Emily's ITL project
Dr Jen McBride, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
Jen is a senior lecturer and programme director for the joint-honours Cognitive Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology BSc, and so Jen is involved in the teaching and learning delivered across the Schools of Biological Sciences and Health Sciences in FBMH. Jen is interested in using her background as a cognitive scientist to enhance delivery of online and blended learning, and to use the social context of learning to enhance students’ sense of community and belonging (and vice versa!).
Find out more about Jen's ITL project
Dr Craig Morley, Learning Developer
Craig is a Learning Developer in the University of Manchester Library. He teaches on the Library’s My Learning Essentials and My Research Essentials programmes and is a course convenor for the PGCert unit Open Knowledge in Higher Education. Craig is particularly interested in the teaching and learning of academic reading and online pedagogies, especially around creating a sense of community and belonging.
Craig is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), editor for the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and chair of the Academic Skills Community of Practice (Academic Libraries North).
Find out more about Craig's ITL project
Dr Neil Morrison, Teaching Fellow in Applied Mathematics
Neil is a PDRA and teaching fellow in the Department of Mathematics.
His research involves modelling composite materials and the optimization of material properties for improved performance in industrial applications. He lectures in applied mathematics, including financial and actuarial units. He is particularly interested in conversational student-centred approaches and in understanding the diversity of student perspectives and experiences. Neil is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
Find out more about Neil's ITL project
Dr Thomas Nühse, Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences
Thomas is Lecturer in Integrative Plant Science in the School of Biological Sciences. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and currently Programme Director for BSc Biology. Having joined the University of Manchester in 2007 with a research focus on molecular signalling, his teaching now spans biochemistry, plant sciences and integrative biology, particularly of biotic interactions. Thomas has a long-standing interest in blended and online learning, flip teaching and online interactive tools, and more recently, case studies and problem-based learning.
Find out more about Thomas's ITL project
Emma Ormerod, Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow in the School of Health Sciences
Emma is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences. She has worked for many years in the NHS and has taught at the University of Manchester for over 10 years.
Emma’s area of interest is simulated clinical learning, with a particular focus on the interplay between innovative pedagogy design and the development of practical skills whilst building student’s confidence & reducing anxiety in a safe and supported learning environment.
Emma is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She successfully applied to the University's Investing in Success scheme 2018, to visit the University of Queensland in Australia to observe their innovative work in simulation. Emma received a FBMH team teaching award in 2019 for her work in simulation.
Find out more about Emma's ITL project
Prof David Schultz, Professor of Synoptic Meteorology
David Schultz is a Professor of Synoptic Meteorology within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He is the author of the award-winning Eloquent Science: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Better Writer, Speaker, and Atmospheric Scientist and has published over 170 peer-reviewed journal articles on meteorological research, weather forecasting, scientific publishing, and education.
David is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and twice winner of the Teaching Excellence Award.
Find out more about David's ITL project
Stephen Wheeler, eLearning Technologist
I've always been fascinated with the visual arts and grew-up wanting to be an artist - an unusual life choice for a native of Splott, Cardiff, but it developed in me a critical way of looking at the world. I eventually found my way to the more prosaic career of graphic design, working for some years designing printed educational resources. When the World Wide Web arrived I saw its potential for teaching and learning and set about making a nuisance of myself at the various institutions that employed me, helping them realise the potential of the online environment. Along the way I've picked-up an enormous amount of experience and expertise.
Find out more about Stephen's ITL project
Our inaugural Fellows completed their Fellowships in summer 2021, and their project reports (including details of activities and outputs) are now available to read.
Jennie Blake, Learning Development Manager, The University of Manchester Library
Jennie has been working in education for over twenty-five years, teaching in schools and universities in the US and UK. At Manchester, Jennie led on the development of the Library’s My Learning Essentials, and she contributes to university-wide work around teaching, curriculum design and student engagement. She is particularly interested in how curriculum design and pedagogy can address inequality and enable student success.
Jennie is a National Teaching Fellow (NTF) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Steven Broom, Lecturer / Admissions and Outreach Tutor, School of Natural Sciences
Steven is a Lecturer and Admissions Lead in the Department of Mathematics. He spent several years in the Sixth Form College sector as a teacher and manager, followed by a period as an indpendent education consultant. He moved to the University as Mathematics Admissions and Outreach lead, a role which has allowed him to travel around the UK and beyond talking to prospective students about the advantages of taking Maths further.
Steven has designed and implemented a 'Consolidation' course to provide additional support to those Mathematics Undergraduates who will most benefit from it. He is hoping to develop this approach further through his ITL project.
Dr Maria Canal, Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences
Maria is a Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences and Neuroscience Programme Director. As such, she has been involved in a range of teaching, learning and student experience activities. Maria also contributes more widely to the development of teaching and learning, through her work as External Examiner at Liverpool John Moores University and Membership Secretary and Trustee of the British Society for Neuroendocrinology.
Maria is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Sally Hickson, Deputy Head of Student Operations, School of Health Sciences
Sally has worked in the School of Health Sciences since 1999. Since studying her Masters and further PGCert she has developed a keen interest in curriculum design with a particular focus on assessment and tries to keep up to date with the latest thinking and literature. Sally works with colleagues from many programmes on their curriculum design projects and co-chairs the Assessment and Feedback Effective Practice Hub in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.
Sally is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
Find out more about Sally's ITL project
Dr Jane Mooney, Senior Lecturer / Academic Lead for Y2 MBChB, School of Medical Sciences
Dr Jennifer O'Brien, Senior Lecturer, School of Environment, Education and Development
Jen believes that our students are a 40,000 strong potential force for change who want to make a difference. Jen is a Senior Lecturer and teaching and scholarship academic in Geography in the School of Environment, Education and Development. Stemming from her interdisciplinary research into sustainable development, Jen is particularly interested in the intersection between innovative pedagogy and applied research and how that can be translated into ethical, empowering learning to affect positive change.
John Owen, Lecturer, School of Health Sciences
John Owen is a Lecturer in Technology-Enhanced Learning in a team of health professionals and data scientists, developing interdisciplinary and innovative methods to teaching and research.
He has a background in teaching multimedia computing, educational development and technology-enhanced learning, with extensive experience in the development, implementation and evaluation of online and blended learning.
John is currently working with several student-staff partnership projects, applying his Micro-sprint approach to enhance team productivity and improve project outcomes.
Dr Nick Weise, Lecturer, School of Natural Sciences
Nick is a Lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences and a Departmental Academic Lead for Teaching & Learning Enhancement. He has been involved in a range of teaching, learning and student experience activities, including peer-assisted study sessions, undergraduate lecturing and tutorials, postgraduate researcher development, academic and staff training, professional accreditation assessment, pastoral care (residences) and welfare support (athletic union).
Nick is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).