People

I am the Director of the LSE’s Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education for career track staff, sit on a number of School Committees and working groups, and am the Departmental Adviser to the departments of the European Institute, International Relations and Sociology. I have particular interests in reward and recognition in higher education, developing research-based curricula to empower students in their learning, and assessment and feedback.

Prior to joining the Eden Centre (formerly the Teaching and Learning Centre) on a full-time basis I worked for ten years as a teaching fellow at the LSE’s European Institute with a particular focus on transition, EU enlargement and emerging political economies in Central and South East Europe. I have also been involved in a number of higher education and research capacity building projects in the Westerns Balkans.

Fung, Dilly and Claire Gordon (2016), 'Rewarding educators and education leaders in research-intensive universities' here: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/rewarding_educators_and_education_leaders.pdf 

Corbett, Anne and Claire Gordon. (2016 ). Written and oral evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Education inquiry on the impact of exiting the EU on higher education

As Head, Digital Education Futures, Stella is responsible for shaping how the LSE will use digital technologies to transform teaching and learning, both on campus and online. Her initial focus is to develop a plan that is ambitious - learning from and building on innovations in HE institutions across the globe - but that reflects the unique culture of the school and addresses the needs of our staff and students. 

Stella is also head of the Digital Education team who provide support and staff development for LSE’s suite of educational technologies, such as Moodle, Turnitin and Echo 360. In this role, Stella and the team are to ensure that this range of technologies meets the current and future needs of the school, overseeing pilots, service reviews and institution-wide projects and programmes. 

Before joining LSE in October 2021, Stella worked at Queen Mary University of London where she was Head of E-Learning for 8 years and a senior learning technologist for a further 7 years prior to that. She has extensive experience working with university staff at all levels, to realise their ambitions in digital education across all disciplines including social sciences, engineering and medicine. 

My primary focus is on teaching in quantitative disciplines, supporting teachers and developers of quantitative courses across the School through workshops and individual consultations.

I am also responsible for the Eden Centre's GTA induction programme, as well as various workshops on our PGCertHE and Academic Development programmes.

I have a long association with the School, having first started as an undergraduate here before becoming a teacher and educational researcher.

Experiencing the School from both sides of the 'podium' gives me an intimate understanding of the teaching we do here, but I still find myself surprised and inspired through this job.

My continuing teaching of mathematical subjects, both on campus-based as well as distance-based courses, fuels and informs my educational research interests; specifically, active learning approaches in quantitative disciplines and the use of web-based technologies to support learning in such disciplines.

I have recently started to look into the gamification and course design which lies atop the intersection of these seemingly diverse research interests.

I am on Twitter as Mark Baltovic (@SubliminalMaths)

Department adviser for Accounting, Geography and Environment, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences and Social Policy.

The other main areas I work on within the Eden Centre are:

• Teaching research methods practice exchange forum.

• Supervising PhD students workshops.

• ‘Evaluating teaching’ module for the PG Certificate in Higher Education.

• Development of teaching and learning resources.

Before coming to LSE I worked as Academic Developer for Social Sciences at the Higher Education Academy. My role involved providing leadership and academic guidance on the development and implementation on strategic projects. Themes for strategic projects included teaching research methods; active and experiential learning; employability and global citizenship; and, and supporting development teaching and learning in disciplines affected by significant policy changes.

For further details of experience and publications LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jennicarr

I have a particular interest in the role of creativity in teaching and learning and explore this topic with academic development colleagues from three other universities via lacunaeblog.com.

Twitter @jennicarr8 

In my role advising the academic development team, my main focus is on the Eden Fellows scheme. I’ve advised research-intensive universities on the enhancement of teaching and learning through the professional development of academic and other staff in the UK, where I’ve designed and led professional development sessions for Oxford and Cambridge, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Italy as well as Australia, Gambia and Nigeria. I’m an accreditor and consultant with Advance HE and involved in the development of the 2023 Professional Standards Framework.

Previously I helped to set up the first professional development unit at Stockholm University and was founding Director of the University College London (UCL) Arena Higher Education Academy accredited professional recognition scheme.

My research area is the development of education at universities.  My PhD thesis was a comparative study of early career academic staff learning to teach in research-intensive environments in Sweden and England. 

I am the department adviser to the Departments of International History, Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and (with Mark Baltovic) Methodology. I support the organization of the Atlas program, a year-round series of academic development workshops and events for staff at the school 

I am interested in learning design, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices.  

I have a background in quantitative and qualitative research across sociology, gender and media studies and extensive experience of teaching and curriculum development in HE institutions within and outside the UK. Prior to joining Eden, I worked as a Fellow in LSE100, LSE's flagship interdisciplinary course for all undergraduate students.

I work as an academic developer in the Eden Centre. I coordinate two LSE student research initiatives:  Change Makers and LSE GROUPS. I also support the PG Certificate HE, and work with the Departments of Anthropology, Gender Studies, Media and Communications and LSE100.

I have particular interests in innovative assessment, deterring plagiarism, and the politics of pedagogy. I have worked in teaching and learning units at Goldsmiths, and the University of East London. Before joining LSE, I taught in Universities for over a decade in fields connected to literature and to gender/sexuality (see selected publications here).

I am the department adviser to International Development, Law, and Public Policy and work closely with them to enhance and evolve their teaching, curriculum design, and student learning and engagement. I lead the Atlas programme, which is a year-round series of academic development workshops and events for staff at the school and also teach on the Postgraduate Certificate of Higher Education and other professional development programmes run by the Eden Centre.

I am interested in adopting and fostering a critical, multi-perspectival approach to higher education, and am the editor of two blogs – the LSE Higher Education Blog and the Contemporary Issues in Teaching and Learning blog. Having lived, studied, and taught in different education systems and countries, I am passionate about fostering all forms of diversity (ideological, cultural, etc.) in HE. Areas of scholarship and research I am involved in are critical academic development, viewpoint diversity, and pluralist approaches to higher education. 

Sequeira, L. 2021. The problem with silent students – it’s us, not them. In M. Heron and D. Dippold (eds), Meaningful Teaching Interaction at the Internationalised University: Moving from Research to Impact. Routledge.

Sequeira, L. 2021. Academic developers should be critical in the culture wars. WonkHE

Sequeira, L., Bozzani, F. and Guiness, L. 2016. Formative Multiple Choice Questions: How can technology-enhanced learning promote deep learning among distance learners? RIDE Conference 2017, University of London, London.

As Head, Academic Development, I am responsible for the Eden Centre’s team of Academic Developers who deliver a wide and varied programme of events, workshops and programmes for all LSE staff who teach and support learning. The Academic Development team also work closely with academic departments to offer guidance and development in teaching and learning, curriculum enhancement, and assessment and feedback.

I have a particular interest in developing supervisors, academic mentors and anyone who works one-to-one with students through coaching approaches and the development of positive research and teaching cultures. Recently, I have worked more extensively with educational leaders and am Co-Chair of the Education Career Track network and responsible for Eden Fellows, our Advance HE accredited scheme for all staff to gain professional recognition for their experience and expertise in higher education teaching and learning support.

Prior to joining the Eden Centre, I worked for 8 years in UCL’s Arena Centre where I led a variety of academic development programmes. Before this, I taught Italian and European Studies at the Universities of Birmingham and Auckland, having gained my doctorate in contemporary Italian literature.

 I am an academic adviser in the Eden Centre, and work closely with the Departments of Accounting, Health Policy and Management. I also teach on the PGCert and other professional development programmes run by the Eden Centre.

I have particular interests in learning design, dialogic teaching and internationalisation of HE. Before joining LSE, I worked as a lecturer in HE Teaching and Learning at the university of Greenwich and a post-doc researcher on an educational technology R&D project at the university of Exeter. I earned a PhD in learning sciences from the university of Nottingham. 

Gian is an AV specialist (AVIXA CTS) working within the Eden Centre. Gian works in a two-man team of Echo360 lecture recording System Administrators who are responsible for the entire lecture recording activity that takes place across campus as well as remotely, including maintenance of physical equipment, scheduling of module recordings, publishing recordings to the LMS, editing video and audio enhancement on recordings where necessary.

Gian started his journey at LSE in the DTS department working within the AV team and was seconded to the Eden Centre in March 2020. His role was made permanent in March 2021.

Aside from his position within the Eden Centre, Gian is deeply passionate about electronic/ambient and neoclassical music.

Adviser for Economic History, Psychological and Behavioural Science and Sociology. 

Zahra is a Learning Technologist based in the Eden Centre at the LSE.

Before joining LSE, Zahra managed digital learning in the public and charity sectors. Since being chosen as one of Learning Technology Thirty Under 30, she has spoken at a number of industry conferences on topics including digital transformation, remote working, career development and inclusion.

She is particularly interested in accessibility and inclusion, user experience and the potential of AI in learning.

Zahra works on a variety of projects and leads on the use of H5P.

Dr Sarah Crofton is a Learning Technologist with a background in academia. Before joining the Eden Centre she taught in universities for six years, designing and delivering undergraduate and MA courses in literary studies. She has experience in developing digital solutions for research projects and in helping others to learn new tools.

Sarah believes strongly in the capacity of technology to help make HE more open and inclusive. She is particularly interested in issues of accessibility and usability - for both students and educators.

Hassan has worked for a number of years in the Higher Education sector, with experience across a diverse range of roles. He joins LSE from SOAS University of London, where he had responsibility for providing research skills training and tailored research support to staff & students in a number of social science disciplines. He was also responsible for administering a suite of academic resources and specialist databases. 

Hassan's most recent area of academic research has focused on the globalisation of South Korean popular culture and how this translates into soft power, and he has appeared as an occasional guest contributor on Korea's international broadcaster, Arirang TV. Previous areas of research include international migration and China's Belt & Road initiative. He is passionate about the potential of digital tools to democratise access to knowledge while also accommodating diverse learning styles and preferences amongst students. 

Outside of academic pursuits, Hassan enjoys creative writing, long walks, food-inspired travel, and spending as much time as possible in the Balkans. 

Fiaz, H., 2019. Implications of Migration for the Contemporary State: Paradoxes of Conventional Statehood in Liberal World Order. St Antony's International Review, 15(1), pp.133-152.

Upcoming:

Fiaz, H., 2023. Creative Industry Strategies in a Globalized and Digitized Media Landscape: The South Korean Blueprint. In A. Mitra (ed.), The Future of Television and Video Industry. Intech.

Adviser for European Institute, Media and Communications and Social Policy. 

Sonja is particularly interested in the use of social media for teaching, interactive classroom technologies, e.g. voting systems, digital identity and changing assessment practices (incl. academic integrity). Her approach to educational technologies is deliberately critical, and educationally led rather than kit-led: educational technologies must be fit for educational purpose; ideally technology should provoke change where necessary, i.e. where it aids to progress & improve teaching practice.

Adviser for International History, LSE100 and School of Public Policy. 

Laurence is passionate about supporting high quality, innovative teaching at LSE. Before joining the Digital Education team as a Learning Technologist, Laurence held positions in programme administration dating back to 2015, including stints with the Department of Government and LSE Cities. More recently his work has focussed on online and blended learning with a focus on Hybrid delivery. 

Sumayyah is an Assistant Learning Technologist at LSE, driven by a deep commitment to fostering accessible learning environments and provide support to colleagues on their digital queries. Her journey began at City, University of London, where she dedicated herself to supporting students with their digital literacy skills whilst embracing diverse learning styles among students across the university.

With a background in Computer Science and website development, she is keen to consistently seek improvements for user experience on learning platforms by leveraging data-driven insights. 

Outside of her professional work, Sumayyah finds joy in exploring the intricacies of the London's underground through train spotting. Her hobby inspired her ongoing passion project—a social media web-app designed exclusively for fellow train spotters whilst leveraging TFL open data.

Dan is one of the Eden Centre's Echo360 lecture recording System Administrators. Dan’s lecture recording system duties are to ensure integrations between Echo360 and other systems are functional and to make sure timetabled lectures are scheduled for recording. Furthermore, through training and working closely with academics, Dan can help them to use the system more effectively by integrating the use of it into curriculum design and in turn develops a better learning experience for students.

Adviser for Accounting, Health Policy, Management and Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method.

With a background in Media education, Eoin is interested in the ways technology can be used to support independent learning and encourage collaboration. He is keen to develop multi-modal approaches to teaching and learning, using technology to increase participation and student engagement.

Eoin leads on assessment and feedback, including the use of Turnitin, and faculty liaison.

Adviser for Anthropology, Economics, Gender Studies and International Relations.

Darren works closely with departmental colleagues to develop pedagogically sound use of technologies and improve student learning outcomes. Darren co-teaches the course ‘IR318: Visual International Politics’ and advises colleagues across the school on filmmaking and visual methods for teaching and assessment. He has presented widely both in the UK and internationally, is experienced in designing and developing online and blended learning solutions in a variety of contexts. Darren manages the learning technology content development function within the Eden Centre.

Adviser for Data Science, Geography and Environment and Language Centre. 

Abigail is a Learning Technologist based in the Eden Centre at the LSE. She has experience working within UK Higher Education Institutions to support and develop the use of learning technologies by faculty and students. Particularly, she has been involved in projects focusing on the use of learning technologies for assessment, blended learning, and interactive learning content.  

With an academic background in Biological Sciences, Abigail has an interest in Environmental Policy/Sustainable Development and the use of technology to tackle climate change. She is also involved with Thames21 as a volunteer Citizen Scientist.  

Connect with Abigail on LinkedIn. 

Adviser for Finance, Government and International Development.

Aurèlia is passionate about enhancing learning through digital tools. She has several years of experience working in Higher Education in the UK and abroad, teaching and developing online long-distance modules. She is particularly interested in promoting inclusivity and accessibility in the use of learning technology, and leads on the use of H5P.

Adviser for Law, Mathematics, Methodology and Statistics.

Kris has a wide range of interests and expertise including innovation in learning spaces design for active learning; educational use of digital media and effective and active use of Moodle and use of technology for flipped learning.

Kris leads on digital education resources and support (including support management, support materials and policy development), digital accessibility and is LSE lead for the Zoom video conferencing app. Kris also jointly leads the Eden Centre's learning spaces work (along with Mark Baltovic).

I am the Head of Inclusive Education at LSE. I also hold Senior Fellow status from the Higher Education Academy. I was previously a Senior Lecturer in the sociology of race and racism at Middlesex University where I developed, taught and led modules on race and racism, deconstructing sociology and race and social justice.

My research is focussed on having a direct and significant impact in terms of student experience and curriculum. I have developed an innovative and unique research area on spaces of power and resistance in higher education, and have worked on three key research projects in this field: ‘Progression and Diversity of Social Work Students across eight different UK Universities’ and ‘Race in the Academy’ and ‘Decolonisation: meaning and action’.

I have bridged my teaching and research in innovative ways so that knowledge garnered from my research projects is always used to improve teaching delivery, curriculum design and impact the institutions where I am working. This is through having direct impact with policy makers. I have led two national research projects with external stakeholders. In 2008 after completing my PhD I worked on a Department of Health funded project entitled ‘Progression and Diversity of Social Work Students in England (DH, 2011)’. The project explored the experiences of social work students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled students and students who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. The project’s wider pedagogical impact was on teaching, learning, and practice through providing evidence based approaches which advocates for diversifying the curriculum teaching and delivery.

In 2016 I was appointed the lead researcher at LSE on a project entitled ‘Race in the Academy’. The research focused on the experiences of race and racism of both postgraduate students and staff of colour studying at Russell group institutions.

I am also an active member of the RACE in Geography Royal Geographical Society working group, for which I have delivered two workshops based on my research and teaching and I have a forthcoming paper entitled ‘Who is worthy of a place on these walls?’ which is currently being considered for publication.

As the Research and Evaluation Officer for Inclusive Education at the Eden Centre, my primary responsibility is to collaborate closely with Akile Ahmet in designing and planning evaluation strategies for our ongoing projects. A significant aspect of my role involves facilitating effective communication and collaboration among various departments and divisions within the School. By fostering knowledge sharing and generating relevant research, I aim to enhance the experience of students and academic staff in terms of inclusion and participation.

Throughout my career as a social researcher, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse range of institutions, including public organizations, non-governmental organizations and consultancies. My areas of expertise encompass labour markets, higher and vocational education, as well as social and economic inequalities. To address the unique demands of each project, I employ a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, tailoring my approach to the specific focus of the investigation.

Currently, I am in the final stages of completing my PhD in Sociology at LSE (London School of Economics). In 2015, I graduated with an MSc in Sociology (Merit) from LSE, building upon the knowledge and skills I gained during my earlier academic journey with a BSc in Sociology from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.

As Head, Education Enhancement Projects I lead the newest team in the Eden Centre. Our focus is on supporting meaningful educational enhancement through functional areas and particular projects and programmes aligned to educational strategic priorities. I am responsible for the educational aspects of departmental monitoring and departmental review, support the School’s response to external frameworks such as TEF and for development of educational strategic workstreams on learning communities and student mental health and wellbeing. My team also supports LSE priorities in Student Partnership, Evaluation, Civic Engagement and Sustainability. 

As LSE’s Civic Engagement Officer, I manage work that furthers our social outreach aims and enables students to interact with the external community.

One of these projects is our Public Research Partnerships Programme, which partners external organisations with students and academics to undertake research to solve a real world problem.

I also manage LSE’s participation in CIVICA; a network of eight European Universities focused on civic and social engagement. You can find out more here: Members of CIVICA (lse.ac.uk)

Martina is Programme Manager in the Education Enhancement Projects team. She is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of the Education for Sustainability initiative.

Martina is also Research and Communications Officer at LSE London and a PhD student in Planning Studies at the UCL Bartlett School of Planning. Her current research primarily deals with issues of urban food governance, sustainable urban food environments, housing policy and urban planning. Her PhD research project investigates the role of food markets in cities and explores whether London's food markets can still be considered inclusive spaces that serve local communities by providing healthier and more accessible food, or whether they have gradually transformed into gentrified and touristy food hubs.

Martina graduated from LSE in 2020 and holds a MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies. In recent years, she has been Blue Book Trainee at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy; and ORAM Research fellow at the LSE Department of Geography and Environment, assisting Associate Professor Nancy Holman's research on healthy housing in the UK. Prior to joining LSE, she graduated in Public Policy from LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome and worked in the fields of public affairs and social impact.

I work as Evaluation Manager in the Eden Centre, with focus on embedding research and evaluation in the work done as part of the "Access and Participation Plan" and the "Inclusive Education Action Plan". For this, I am working closely with colleagues running projects across the School to understand if our work is having the impact we – and the regulator – want it to have. I also conduct research into teaching and learning at LSE and the HE sector and support the development of LSE's Evaluation Framework.

I am the assessment lead consultant at the Eden Centre, working closely with the Education and Directorate support team on assessment strategy at LSE. I have previously held posts as Head of Educational Development at the University of Greenwich and Director of Programme Development  at UCL, and undertaken a number of education project in the Global South funded by the British Council and World Bank.

I am currently leading a Jisc project - 'Rethinking Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education” exploring ideas and practices in the post-Covid, Generative AI-infused higher and further education environment. I continue to undertake strategic work at many leading universities in the sector including UCL, Kings College, Southampton and Manchester.  

Responsible for:

• PGCertHE programme management

• Centre Administration

• Financial administration and planning

• HR in the Eden Centre

Previous employment:

• Queen Mary University of London: Centre Manager.

• BT: Middleware VVT Manager – CSS.

• Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

BA (Hons) English Language and Literature

Coming soon...

Responsible for:

• Atlas Programme for academic development

• GTA Induction

• PGCertHE / PoTHE

• Eden HEA Scheme

Previous Employment:

• King’s College London

• Kaplan Financial

• INTO University Partnerships

BA (Hons) Politics with North American Studies

Responsible for:

• Internal and External Comms

• New Academic Induction Programme/Posters in Parliament 

• Web layout and content reviewer

• Eden Centre publications supervisor

• Eden Centre social media

Previous Employment:

• London South Bank University

• Leeds Building Society

• Scottish Government

MA (Hons) English and Film