Expert academics

Our academic staff are scholars, experts and leaders in their field, with connections in industry, practice and the professions.

Their research specialisms represent a broad range of subjects and topics. So they frequently attend events, advise on projects, and provide media commentary. They also achieve national recognition for their excellence in teaching.

We are investing in supporting our teaching and learning staff and our programmes through the Enhancement Framework and through our Academic Practice Directorate, supporting colleagues and students in the design, delivery and recognition of outstanding programmes and outstanding academic practice.

National awards for teaching excellence

As well as supporting professional development, we encourage our academic staff to enter awards that recognise their teaching excellence. This has led to staff members achieving national acclaim as National Teaching Fellows.

Dr Abdullahi Arabo achieved NTF status in 2022. He has worked with academics and support teams to empower diverse students, cohorts, students with disabilities and other needs. Dr Arabo's main focus is in multidisciplinary, industrial and practice lead research and teaching and learning within the domain of cyber science. With his experience in both industry and academia, his opinion is widely sought after by peers nationally and internationally. You can read more in this article. More information about Abdullahi's NTF status (staff login required).

In 2021 Professor Elena Marco was awarded an NTF for developing a clear and strong transformative strategy that focuses on promoting an inter-disciplinary approach to professional and research-led scholarship in all her practice-orientated programmes, to enable the school to educate the next generation of built environment leaders.

Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence

In 2018, 2021 and 2022, UWE Bristol was recognised with a national Advance HE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE). The CATEs recognise and reward collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning.

In 2022, the UWE Bristol Prescribing Team were among the winners of CATE awards. The team consists of 15 academic clinicians, NHS managers and professional services staff who have a deep conviction in the importance of multi-professional prescribing training. The team designs and delivers multi-professional prescribing training to a range of clinicians including pharmacists, nurses, midwives, paramedics, dietitians, radiographers, podiatrists, and physiotherapists. The team is the largest provider of prescribing education in the UK. They focus on delivering a curriculum that is sufficiently generic to help clinicians achieve the necessary prescribing competencies, but at the same time, is sensitive to the varying strengths and vulnerabilities of each profession.

The recognition in 2021 went to the Team Entrepreneurship Programme Team (TEPT) (staff login required) whose radical programme requires students to manage their own learning, work in teams, and use entrepreneurial competencies to generate value.

Judges felt that “There is outstanding evidence of impact within the immediate context, with strong student satisfaction in the NSS, employability in the DLHE and evidence that the programme develops the skills and knowledge that students need for both employment and life.”

In 2018, The Knowledge Exchange for Sustainability Education (KESE) Team picked up an CATE for their outstanding collaborative impact.

Running for over a decade, KESE brings together colleagues from academic schools, professional services and The Students' Union at UWE to coordinate and promote UWE Bristol's education for sustainable development work. Read about KESE’s award-winning work.

Find out about the University's CATE Scheme (staff login required).

More teaching stars

It's well known that the difference between a good degree and a great degree is in the quality of the teaching. Here are a few teaching stars from our inspiring team of academics.

Darren Reynolds, Professor of Health and Environment
School of Applied Sciences

Darren is recognised all over the world for his research into technologies that improve healthcare, food security and resource management. He is passionate about science and the environment, and enjoys inspiring students through research. And he is proud of the work they go on to do in this field.

Madge Dresser, Honorary Research Fellow
Department of Arts and Cultural Industries (now School of Arts)

Madge is a leading authority on the British Slave Trade. She has published widely on Bristol's history and the history of the British national identity. And she has presented and contributed to programmes on BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and the World Service.

Martyn Harries, Senior Lecturer
School of Computing and Creative Technologies

BAFTA and Emmy award winner Martyn worked for the BBC for more than 25 years. He has crafted sounds for high-profile programmes including Sir David Attenborough's natural history documentaries. And he can be found playing trumpet with well-known bands, ensembles and orchestras across Bristol.

Find out more about UWE Bristol's stars in our experts directory.