Research Projects

I have brought-in and/or been principal investigator on projects worth £1.8 million. These are/were designed to build capacity and capability in-and-across the University and the higher education sector, in relation to enhancing learning through technology, educational innovation and the staff/student experience, decolonising and race equality, and decarbonising.

Principal Investigator

  • British Educational Research Association, Small Grants Fund, Teaching to Transform the Curriculum: Building Frameworks for Racial Literacy (T2TC), 2024-25 [£4,995]
  • The Aziz Foundation/De Montfort University, Muslim Friendly Universities Audit, 2024 [£20, 523].
  • DMU-funded, Academic Innovation Project, The impact on Muslim students of the current Student Loans regime on student engagement and retention in Higher Education, 2023-24 [£4,500].
  • I was the principal investigator on the Centre for Urban Research on Austerity (CURA/ESRC)-funded project, Mapping Learning City Infrastructures Under Austerity Governance, 2017-18 [£800].
  • I was the principal investigator on the DMU-funded Teaching Innovation Project, Towards Equitable Engagement: the Impact of UDL on Student Perceptions of Learning, 2016-17 [£7,264].
  • I was the principal investigator on the HEIF5-funded Knowledge Exchange Digital Literacy Framework Project, 2012-14 [£126,886]. This is a unique partnership with Leicester City Council. This project has received international acclaim, as one of five winners of the Reclaim Open Learning Challenge, an international contest sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, the Digital Media and Learning Hub, and MIT Media Lab. This project was runner-up in the ALT Learning Technologist Team of the Year award, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10804
  • I was the principal investigator on the HE Leadership Foundation-funded, Changing the Learning Landscape project, 2013.
  • I was project manager [principal investigator], for DMU’s HEA e-Learning Research Observatory-funded, Connecting Transitions and Independent Learning Project, 2008–09 [£60,000, match-funded]. This was a partnership with the National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education. https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/10819
  • I was project manager [principal investigator], for DMU’s HEA-funded e-Learning Pathfinder Project on Web 2.0 cultures, 2007–08 [£248,000, match-funded]. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10808
  • I was the project manager [principal investigator], for DMU’s HEA-sponsored e-Learning Benchmarking Project, 2006–07.
  • I was the project manager [principal investigator], for DMU’s HEFCE-funded e-Learning Capital Investment funding, 2005–06 [£457,000].
  • I was the project manager [principal investigator], on the HEFCE TLTP3, Courseware for History Implementation Consortium (Chic)project, 1999–2002 [£666,000, match-funded].

DMU Principal Investigator on collaborative projects

  • I was the DMU lead on the JISC-funded Mobilising Remote Student Engagement Project, which is a partnership with Kingston University, 2008 – 10 [Curriculum Delivery Programme, £197,000]. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/10799
  • I was the DMU lead on the collaborative, HEA-funded ADDER (Assessment & Disciplines: Developing E-tivities Research) project, which was a partnership with Universities of Leicester and Northampton.

Co-investigator

  • QAA-funded, Membership Collaborative Enhancement Partnership project, Mapping staff support to enhance the experiences of international students, with Manchester Metropolitan University, and the universities of Manchester and Wolverhampton, 2025 [£10,000].
  • GCRF-funded Networking Grants scheme, Realising Education’s Promise for Children Refugees from Syria: Assessment of Education Provision and Learning Environments in Iraq, with Erbil University, 2022-23 [£24,995].
  • Academy of Finland, University Democracy, Universities as Laboratories of Meaningful Democracy, and the Crisis of Representative Democracy, with Tampere University, 2023-24.
  • DMU-funded Decolonising DMU project, since 2019 (I am Research and Evaluation lead).
  • HEFCE Catalyst Fund Call B: addressing barriers to student success, Using a value-added metric and an inclusive curriculum framework to address the black and minority ethnic attainment gap, 2017-19 [£499,956].
  • DMU-funded Teaching Innovation Project, Leading Change for Sustainability: developing a Social Learning approach within a DMU course, 2016-17 [£3,355].
  • HEIF Transformative learning for the public good – an integrative approach to sustainable community development, 2016-17 [£21,539]. I co-lead Sub-project 2: Into work and learning by doing, with Professor Jo Richardson.
  • HEIF5 Electro Acoustic Resource 2 (EARS 2): Implementing sound-based music, technology and education, 2013-14. This is a partnership with Prof Leigh Landy, Music, Technology and Innovation [£53,000]. https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/10029
  • HEIF5 Electro Acoustic Resource 2 (EARS 2) Pedagogical Project, 2011-12. This is a partnership with Prof Leigh Landy, Music, Technology and Innovation [£30,000]. https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/10029
  • JISC Greening ICT programme: technical development, Open to Change Project, 2010-11. This was a partnership with the universities of Lincoln and Oxford [£30,000]. https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/10821
  • DMU Revolving Investment Fund for Research Round 2, Building Capacity to Impact on Policy and Practice Project, 2010-11. This was a partnership with Dr Catherine Durose, Department of Public Policy [£10,000].
  • JISC Greening ICT programme: Transforming the Institution, Deliberative User Approach in a Living Lab Project, 2010-11. This was a partnership with Dr Richard Bull, Institute for Energy and Sustainable Development [£75,000]. https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/5925
  • JISC/HEA Open Educational Resources programme, Sickle Cell Open: Online Topics and Educational Resources Project, 2010–11. This was a partnership with Dr Viv Rolfe, School of Allied Social Sciences [£125,000].
  • HEA Evidence-Informed Quality Improvement Programme, Sharing Views and Making Links: Student Perception Of Outstanding Teaching And Exceptional Learning Project, 2010–11. This was a partnership with Dr Nick Allsopp, Department of Academic Quality.
  • Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission, Project evaluator on the New Dimensions of Security in Europe Project, 2009–10. This was a partnership with Charles University Prague, Technical University Dresden and the University of Wrocław. [E335,887].

Steering Group memberships

  • I was a member of the Steering Group for the DMU Volunteerism Project, which is a partnership between the DMU Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre and We are Macmillan Cancer Support, from 2013-14 [£106,500].
  • I was a member of the Steering Group of Kingston University’s e-Learning Pathfinder Project, Rapid Reaction and Response (R3), which was funded by the HEA, from 2007–08.
  • I was a member of the Steering Group of the European Commission Leonardo da Vinci Programme, Access to Professional Training for Disabled People Project, 2005–07.