Education, Research & Engagement

As a digital innovation specialist with a focus on accessible education in the creative industries, I have extensive experience in various roles including workshop design, engagement programme programming and production, lecturing, research, content development, and digital strategy.

Lecturer, BIMM University & University of Salford

I currently oversee the modules Social Media & Digital Marketing, Digital Content Design and Music & Event Futures for the courses BA Event Management, BA Music Business and BA Music Marketing, Media & Communications at BIMM University covering classes for the London and Manchester campuses. I also oversee the module Digital Communication & Futures for the course Music Management and Creative Enterprise for the University of Salford.

They are both part-time roles that require the production of schemes of work, digital learning content, and lesson materials. In addition, delivering lectures, seminars and tutorial sessions.

Digital Coordinator, BIMM University

This role included coordinating the development and implementation of the digital teaching, learning strategies at BIMM Manchester.

In addition to developing and maintaining digital solutions, building and maintaining virtual learning environments, building and maintaining intranets, and content creation.

In addition to designing and delivering digital skills training sessions and materials on digital pedagogy and applications.

The After Lab

I’m the director of The After Lab, it was founded to serve as a home for my self-led projects, research, and creative work. The After Lab is a creative production company and studio that makes artwork, events, education projects, and digital content.

Recent projects in development include an R&D project with the Voctech Trust looking at the potential of video games as vocational training tools in the live music industry. Also an assessment and report for BIMM University on the standard of digital literacy & competency required for graduates within the music and events industry.

Course Leader, BA (Hons) Event Management for BIMM University

I had the pleasure of covering the course leader role for a year during my colleague’s maternity leave. I was responsible for the management of 100 students and 8 core lecturers for the events management course.

It was a challenging but exciting time due to the pivot to online teaching during the pandemic. Duties included extensive pastoral support for students, course and module design, budgeting, reporting, staff recruitment, and coordinating the student-led event management company.

FutureMakers, Tyne & Wear Archives Museums

I had the pleasure of being the lead producer and co-programmer on the programme for Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM). The question was posed: ‘How can you use technology and the digital to increase engagement in galleries and museums?’. Working with leading technologists, creatives, and companies from across the UK and the North East I co-designed and produced a series of events utilising previously uncelebrated objects and data sets from TWAM’s collections. Inspiring a new breed of creatives while challenging preconceptions of what museums and their collections mean in the digital age.

FutureMakers Workshop & Event List:

  • Gadgets: Adventures in Design Using the gallery’s outstanding collection for inspiration, children designed wearable objects for the people of the future before getting hands on with materials and the starter electronics kit Little Bits to realise the creations. Workshop delivered with Hirsch & Mann.

  • Railway Codes A 10-hour hackathon for developers, makers, engineers, data scientists, artists and train enthusiasts at North Tyneside’s Stephenson Railway Museum. Utilising historic data from both the museum collection and the UK rail network before creating new digital prototypes and artworks. Workshop delivered with Sparks North East.

  • New Inventors An introductory electronics workshops for young people at the Discovery Museum. Experimenting with conductive dough, bringing it to life with light and sound, and creating electronic sounds by building own synthesisers. Delivered by Tech Will Save Us.

  • TimeCraft In this workshop for 7–14 year olds at Arbeia Roman Fort participants explored Roman life and recreated Roman ruins in Minecraft.

  • The Museum as Medium Teaching adults how to code and make digital sound works by utilising the data from the museum’s vast natural sciences collection. Designed with Shelly Knotts, co-delivered with Holger Ballwag, Tom Schofield and Lalya Gaye.

Make Stuff, Madlab

I was the lead producer and programmer for Make Stuff, an award-winning event series that toured across museums, libraries and community centres in Greater Manchester for two years. The drop-in events gave a diverse range of communities access to creative technology demos, digital skills development workshops and demonstrations of new technologies.

The event was aimed at young people and families but attracted a wide audience base and between 300 - 500 people at each location.

The programme formula was replicated as a part of an event series in Peshawar, North East Pakistan, won an award for Best Tech for Good project at Big Chip and Volunteer Team of the Year at the Spirit of Manchester Awards.

Manchester Science Festival, Contemporary Science Programme Producer

I led the production of Pi: Platform For Investigation, a seven day event collaborating with partners such as Siemens and the Health e-research Centre to communicate cutting edge ideas in science and engineering via a series of creative engagement activities suitable for a general audience. In addition, I produced a series of in conversation events, including one with the Nobel Prize winner Andre Geim, a performance of Museums of a New Age which fused rare silent film footage with a specially created score by acclaimed composer Jean-Philippe Calvin.

What is Digital? Manchester International Festival & Great Exhibition of the North, BIMM University

What is digital? This is a workshop I have adapted and delivered for multiple clients and cohorts. The workshop asks what digital means in the creative industries, and considers how it can be utilised creatively and critically by artists to develop new work, and by institutions to increase innovation and audience engagement. Participants experiment with different methods and develop a plan for how they can incorporate digital authentically into their practice. I often include a programme of talks and more hands on practical workshops alongside the introductory session, these will be developed bespoke to the needs of the cohorts and clients.