Conference Committee

Conference Committee Member

Alice Stinetorf is a Writing Skills Officer in the University of Southampton’s Academic Skills Service. A key focus of her present workstream is developing and improving asynchronous resources to support students with their academic writing, whether that means demystifying the writing process, getting to grips with structure, or tackling the dissertation.

Conference Committee Member 

Amy May is a Learning and Development Manager with a responsibility for enhancing teaching and learning across her organisation. She has previously developed and led academic programmes in higher education and supported students as a Learning Development Consultant. An active member of ALDinHE, Amy has previously presented at ALDcon, regularly reviews articles for JLDHE, and is a member of the AI CoP. Amy joined the conference committee in 2024.

Conference Committee Communications Officer

Colette is a Lecturer in Statistics within the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Glasgow with a focus on teaching and learning. She has an interest in pedagogy with a focus on understanding student belonging and success and improving access to higher education. Her main areas of research lie with inclusion and diversifying Mathematical Sciences,  decolonsing the curriculum, and improving the accessibiltiy of mathematics based disciplines.

Conference Committee Member

Hazel is a Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes at Arden University. In her role, she teaches Academic Writing in English courses and workshops to EAL students online and is involved in creating new teaching materials. She has previously researched translanguaging in a South Korean university context, where she worked as an EFL lecturer for 11 years.

Jennifer Hayes is a Senior Teaching and Learning Development Manager at London Metropolitan University dedicated to improving outcomes and student experience through developing inclusive pedagogies. Jen manages and contributes to nurturing academic innovation and effective practice in learning and teaching. She leads a range of workstreams, and initiatives designed to improve teaching and learning practice and reward and recognise teaching excellence.

Conference Committee Member 

My current research interests include collaboration  with Academic librarians to enhance our delivery. I also am part of  a Black Student working group, aiming to address the attainment and retention gap. My main research focus is part of funded research project that has created a skills workbook for students to use throughout their studies and evaluating its effectiveness in confidence building and attainment.

ALDinHE Administrator and Web Developer

JLDHE Technical and Production Editor 

Dr Katharine Jewitt is an Associate Lecturer at The Open University, a Researcher, Executive Coach and Consultant. She also works as a Validator with the Digital Schools Company to guide and implement its ongoing strategy to promote digital skills in Nursery / Primary / Special Education / Secondary schools & organisations. Her role focuses on maximising the opportunities offered by digital technology in education. Working with educational leaders and practitioners, Katharine builds their confidence and assists them to embed digital skills in their everyday learning and advising on areas where progress can be made. She has a Ph.D in Virtual Reality and is a Fellow of Advance HE. Katharine is Co-Chair of the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab for Education and Digital Skills. She is former Chair of the Evaluation of Learners’ Experiences of e-learning Special Interest Group (ELESIG) and the UK Digital Learning Community of Practice. Katharine is the Administrator and Web Developer for the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education and Technical and Production Editor for the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Katharine posts at BlueSky, LinkedIn and X.

Kevin Watson joined the Conference Committee in 2023. He has worked in a range of UK universities initially as a Lecturer in US History, but since 2010 as a Learning Developer. He is currently Head of the Centre for Academic Development at Oxford Brookes University. Kevin is interested in raising student expectations of what higher education can offer through reflective practice and by exploring strategies to make the hidden curriculum visible, with a particular emphasis on digital literacies.

Steering Group Member without Portfolio

Conference Committee – Deputy Chair 

Liv is the Academic Skills Team Manager at Newcastle University where she leads the Academic Skills team delivering a wide range of provision across all faculties. She also leads on resource development and oversees the Academic Skills Kit, the repository for all academic and information skills resources at Newcastle University. She is passionate about supporting students throughout the student journey and working with students as partners in creating resources. She has led on several projects including Bridging the Gap, short-listed for a THE award. She holds a Senior Fellowship from Advance HE and has been a committee member since 2024.

Conference Committee Member

Member of Proposal Review Group

Naser is a Lecturer in Teaching and Scholarship in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at University of Liverpool and has extensive experience in pedagogical research and developing innovative activities to enhance learning and teaching. His main interest is using digital technology to enhance teaching and learning. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a member of ALDinHE. He is an Associate Editor of the Developing Academic Practice Journal and the Guest Editor of a special issue of the Sustainability Journal.

Steering Group Member
Conference Committee Chair

Raghda is a Senior Manager in Academic Programmes and Projects Delivery at the University of Glasgow, with extensive expertise in Education Technology and strategic programme leadership across diverse sectors. She drives transformative initiatives that integrate cutting-edge technology to enhance research, teaching, learning, and community engagement. Her work spans academia, technology, and organisational development, reflecting a deep commitment to innovation and impact. With a strong background in higher education, Raghda has taught and directed academic programmes while championing academic digital autonomy and addressing the sociopolitical implications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Raghda’s experiences include leading complex programmes, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and delivering measurable outcomes. An active contributor to her field, she chairs committees, speaks at conferences, and holds a Senior Fellowship with Advance HE. She is also a member of renowned professional organisations, including the Project Management Institute (PMI), Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), ACM-Women, British Computer Society (BCS), and IEEE.

Deputy Chair of the Communities Working Group

As a Learning Developer Ursula Canton works with STEM students, arts students and education students at different universities and under different titles (Senior Lecturer / Glasgow Caledonian University; Effective Learning Tutor /Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Associate Tutor / University of Glasgow). In all of these roles she draws on her experiences from her first academic life (MA Language and Literature; PhD in Theatre Studies) and current research interests in evaluating writing interventions, writing process(es) and academic and professional literacies. She is keen on contributing to the development of Learning Development through formal and informal routes, including taking a leading role in developing ALDinHE’s mentoring programme, co-chairing of ScotHELD (Scottish Higher Education Developers) and sharing her insights through informal chats and mentoring, as well as publications.

Conference Committee Member

Vanessa Mar-Molinero is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Academic Practice at the Centre for Higher Education Practice (CHEP) in the Faculty of Social Sciences. A Senior Fellow of the HEA, she specialises in inclusive education, learner autonomy, digital literacies, and relational pedagogies. With an academic background in Modern Languages, Cultural Studies and Transnationalism, her work explores how belonging, mattering, critical theory and cultural theory inform inclusive learning in higher education.

Vanessa taught and published in the Humanities from 2006 and joined CHEP in 2021. She led the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning workstream for the University’s application to the Student Minds Mental Health Charter. Her recent research focuses on the role of generative AI in education, exploring the relationships of AI tools with posthumanism, academic well-being, creativity, and inclusive teaching practices. She is particularly interested in the pedagogical and ethical implications of AI, and how they shape evolving academic identities and professional development.