Unreal Authorized Instructor partner for Epic Games

• Aug 2023 - Present

Course Director HND Visual Effects | Lecturer in Virtual Production, VFX, Games and Motion Graphics

• Aug 2022 - Present

I have devised and implemented a highly engaging, skills based, industry orientated curriculum for the students on the course.- Current areas of teaching expertise/interest at Level 5 Higher National Diploma include: Virtual Production using real time technology in Unreal Engine and VFX Development Pipelines. Animation/Motion Capture Motion Graphics AR/VR/XR Development with Meta Quest/ARKit/ARCore/Hololens Metaverse Concepts/AI Concepts Virtual Set/Environment/Level Design using Unreal Engine Game Design - Liaise and engage with external stakeholders, industry groups and employers in relation to student progress and opportunity- Teach across a range of courses including the BTEC Higher National Diploma Level 5 Creative Media Production (VFX and Motion Graphics) that furthers the curriculum in subject areas around Professional development as well as Individual/Collaborative skills- Develop, assess, and grade assessment using Project Based Learning methodologies- Participate in staff training to develop and update personal and teaching skills including areas of interest; Virtual Production using Unreal Engine, VFX Pipelines, VR/AR/XR Dev, MoCap, Metaverse, AI- Liaise with external examiners to ensure course quality standards are adhered to.- Contribute to the review and evaluation of course curriculum provision through engagement with course team, student bodies, school line management and the college Quality teams- Maintain reports and registers using college management system (EBS) as well as the college Virtual Learning Environment, Canvas- Monitor curriculum content/resources. Identifying shortfalls and resolving issues with support departments including IT, Quality, Student Wellbeing, Estates and HR- Implement all appropriate student/staff policies and procedures at course coordination level- Organize team meetings on matters relating to student progress, line management engagement and external stakeholder engagement Show less

Curriculum Area Manager in Creative and Digital Industries

• Mar 2016 - Aug 2022

Developed and lead on the implementation of sectoral strategies and business plans to develop a highly responsive curriculum within the School of Creative and Digital Industries focusing on the curriculum areas of Virtual Production, Visual Effects, Motion Graphics, Game Development, Graphic Design, Immersive Technology and Esports.- Supported and promoted an ethos of excellence within the teaching and learning environment, encouraging a culture of innovation within my area.- Responsible for the direct line management of 25 lecturing staff and 400 students across a wide range of curriculum from Level 2 to Level 5. Deputised for the Head of Department when requested.- Reviewed the performance and progression of area with respect to agreed KPIs and to set targets for staff and students within the Departmental and College objectives- Responsible for staff appraisal and performance Management, identification of staff development needs, setting priorities for staff when necessary, mentoring and advising staff, managing staff absence, dealing with matters of discipline and competence- Ensured that the area complied with the requirements of appropriate awarding bodies and quality standards- Managed the curriculum area contribution to the College business planning and budgeting processes, SER and Quality Assurance processes- Prepared appropriate bids for funding, projects and/or capital equipment for the curriculum area. This included the Virtual Production stage in our E3 campus- Actioning the Whole College Improvement plan in tandem with curriculum colleagues, as well as those in support department teams such as Finance, Estates, IT and Students Support services- Developed and strengthened supportive partnerships with internal and external stakeholders- Represented the College at national, regional, and local level to ensure its effective promotion as a world class organisation. This includes trade missions to events such as GDC and Apple WWDC Show less

Lecturer in Computing and Computer Game Development

• May 2003 - Mar 2016

Delivered high-quality learning experiences for students across a range of courses at both Higher and Further education levels.- Constructed the BTEC Level 3 course in Game Development back in 2005 and subsequently devised and introduced the HND Game Development for the college in 2011. This was my primary area of delivery from 2005-2016. Within this role I planned and organised the course/assessment framework, supported student progression, implemented and adhered to all IV/EV quality measures, maintained all course documentation, actioned college policies, collaborated with a range of curriculum and support staff at all levels within the organisation, and engaged with numerous internal/external stakeholders.- Students on the course consistently attained very high levels of success, achievement and retention in my taught areas including:Game Design Theory and PrinciplesGame Engine Development using Unreal 4 and UDKGame Level DesignGame Environment DesignComputer hardware and computer game platformsMobile Game Development3D Modelling using Autodesk 3DS MaxComputer Animation using After Effects/Photoshop. - I was also responsible for Individual / Group Projects supervision as well as student employability skills.- Early career focus included those as HNC Computing coordinator for mature students on evening courses. I was also tutor for the Level 3 and Level 5 Computing / Interactive Media courses delivering units on Computer Programming, Network Development, Computer Hardware, and Audio/Visual Production.- Roles involved supervising student projects, liaising with industry partners, and engaging in pedagogical development to enhance the student experience. Show less

Lecturer in Computing and Software Engineering

• 2001 - 2003

Developed and delivered a range of innovative curriculum across Level 3 and Level 5. I was also course coordinator the BTEC HNC Computing. - Areas of expertise taught included: Software Development Lifecycles Project Management Database Management Programming using C and C++ Network Management Computer Hardware and Operating Systems - Fulfilled responsibilities of class tutor and coordinator including those associated administrative and pastoral duties e.g. induction, tutorials, studies advice, class delivery, awarding body quality standards, college inspections. - Developed subject resources appropriate for teaching and learning level - Participated in and delivered staff training activities to update and enhance my own knowledge as well as those of other curriculum areas / support staff - College Virtual Learning Environment champion in the use of Blackboard - Contributed to the colleges marketing activities in the area of Computing / Interactive Media Show less

Software Engineer

• 1998 - 2001

- Initially worked on a network configuration tool. This application was developed in Visual C++ and used the TL1 protocol structured in ODBC text files. The product was used to administer and test NE locally in the field. - The next project I worked on involved using the Fujitsu Extensible Network System (FENS). It was used to develop An SNMP-based Element Manager for ADSL Equipment. It is a Server-side, browser-based application written in C++ and Perl. The application was responsible for equipment and service provisioning, fault management, and software download. I was responsible for porting SNMP based commands from Perl to C++, GUI enhancements and bug fixes. - Additional projects I worked on included the development of an Element Manager that managed ADSL telecommunications on a Frame Relay network and later an ATM network. The Element Manager was operated via a GUI that allowed configuration and maintenance of Network Elements in a managed access network. The GUI was an Internet browser based system that facilitates local/remote access to a server using standard network protocols, primarily SNMP. The front-end and back-end development was implemented in Perl and JavaScript. I have was also involved in the developed of an SNMP based fault management interface to the Element Manager where my task was to produce test harnesses, coded in C. The final project that I worked on was an automated test harness for network management. This was developed using Visual C++, C and Perl. Show less