About Chris
Chris is the Programme Leader for BA/BSc Digital Media Design and BA/BSc Internet Design.
His relationship with UoP started back in 2011 when he began his studies on the BA Digital Art and Technology within iDAT. After graduating, Chris worked as a Web Developer, spending time between his home town of Plymouth and London, gaining certified status as Kentico CMS Developer, working with a wide mix of clients ranging from Kaspersky Internet Security, NHS, British Airways right down to small local independents. A number of the projects that Chris undertook were around e-Learning.
Chris has always had a passion for teaching, and the long term goal was to return to mainstream education as a Computer Science teacher, but during the application process for PGCE, the opportunity came up to undertake some lecturing on the Internet Design Programme with iDAT, and he hasn't looked back, bringing a mixture of Design and Development skills to the team, with a Focus on how to wrangle this disciplines together into creating User Experiences across both interactive and static medias.
Chris was the University Wide winner of the SSTAR (Student Staff Teaching and Representation) Award for Programme Leader of the Year for the 20/21 Academic Year, an achievement he is particularly proud of as it was his first year as PL, and it was during a very challenging year, with Covid-19 being the hot topic. Here is what his students said:
“Chris is the sort of Programme Leader that makes teaching look easy. While it has been no easy year at all, the organisation and communication that Chris has given to the student body and course has been so clear and well structured that you’d almost forget we’re in a pandemic.”
“From the get-go, Chris makes it seem like all his attention is solely on our course and year, but having had him over several years, I know he exhibits the same individualism and attention to all years. This makes a huge impact on the student body, his enthusiasm and dedication to the subject and teaching means we (the students) also want to engage and do the best we can within modules our modules and in university life too.”
“We have some exceptional lectures on our programme that go out of their way to make sure we are well informed and supported but Chris has used his experience of being an alumni student on our course to tailor teaching to the level and style that he knows excites us and encourages us to do our best.”
“This year I became a course rep to be a part of the student feedback process. Chris involves us (the course reps) at every opportunity to help guide the programme and to ensure there is support available for all students in the best way possible. As such, he has leaned on us to gather the student opinion and see where he can help out. Just some results of this that Chris has proactively setup are weekly social sessions and breakfast clubs. Due to the nature of our courses and our personalities, it can be all to easy for us to become our own form of socially isolated and so, offering a platform for simple social interactions makes a huge impact to those of us who need it.”
“There is no doubt from the student body that Chris is a great lecturer, but on a personal note, with the enthusiasm and understanding in his teaching style and support, I have personally become a lot more confident and proud in the work I submit. As a result, I am have been successful in landing a role that is a door opener to my dream job. It’s for this reason I am nominating Chris for Programme Leader of the Year. With his enthusiastic, resilient and determined approach, he has made our years of uni, the most valuable they could be, both in terms of educational quality and in personal development.”
“Chris has been one of the best lectures I have ever come across in my 4 years at Plymouth, he is patient, kind, always willing to help you and support you. He’s constantly going out of his way for others and everyone that comes across Chris always leaves with a smile on their face. He is the best thing to happen to digital media design and deserves this award.”
“Chris has been a brilliant programme leader. He has had to step up to this role and he has really grabbed the bull by the horns. He always has time for students and is always very supportive. I have had some home issues this year and Chris has been so understanding and kind it has been really helpful. I am very grateful for the way Chris has managed the course this year and really feel he deserves this award especially considering the current situation of the World!”
