Conference Committee

Diane is Teaching and Learning Manager (Distance Learning) at The University of Manchester. She leads a central team of learning designers who work in partnership with academic colleagues from across the University to design and develop online learning courses. She is particularly interested in authentic assessment for online learning, and understanding what ‘belonging’ means to postgraduate online learners. Diane has worked in in higher education for over 20 years, the majority of that time having a focus on digital learning as an eLearning Manager. Her previous experience was in professional and statutory bodies relating to healthcare education. She has been a member of ALT since 2006, and a member of the ALTNWEMG committee member since 2013. She is a Senior Fellow of AHE.

Scott is Head of Digital Learning at Edge Hill University where he provides strategic leadership on digital technologies for learning and teaching. He has worked in digital education for 15 years and in higher education for over 10. During this time, he has worked as a learning technologist and educational developer supporting a variety of course level and modalities. He is driven by a commitment to enhancing students’ learning experiences, widening access and enabling access and inclusivity. As well as being involved with ALT in various ways for 9 years, he is currently a committee member of ALT North West England Members Group, Steering Group member of the Heads of eLearning Forum and Senior Fellow of AHE.

Aras Bozkurt is a researcher and faculty member at Anadolu University, Open Education Faculty, Türkiye. With MA and PhD degrees in distance education, Dr. Bozkurt’s work focuses on empirical studies in areas such as distance education, online learning, networked learning, and educational technology.

Alice Chapman has worked in higher education institutions for the last twelve years and is currently part of Arden University’s Digital Learning Team where her role focuses on identifying ways to improve the digital accessibility of digital learning content and teaching provisions. She is passionate about EDI, always looking for opportunities to work with others on how lived experience can shape educational practices.

Asad has a special interest in the design and implementation of technologies used for enhancing learning and teaching experiences in higher education settings. Over the past decade, he has been actively involved in the design and execution of a number of technology-driven platforms, which have been used in various pedagogical research studies in higher education.

Paul is a Professor of Cultural research development at the University of Bolton in the UK. Paul has extensive experience of educational technology in Higher Education contexts and was for many years the Director of the Jisc Innovation Support Service the Centre for Educational Technology and Interoperability Standards in addition to representing the UK on international technology standards bodies such as ISO and IMS (now 1 Edtech). Paul has specific interest in digital games based learning and has led several large research projects exploring this emergent domain of study including the current EU funded Games Releasing Effective & Affective Transformation (GREAT) project.

Sandra is an experienced learning designer, technologist and consultant. She is a skilled online developer, multimedia producer and illustrator. She is interested in wide range of topics including social media for learning, digital literacies, playful learning, digital skills for business and professional development (CPD). Sandra has been an ALT member since 2007.

Megan is Director of the Digital Education Service at the University of Leeds, leading a team of over 170 staff including learning technologists, learning designers, course developers, and a range of other specialist roles. She has led multiple institutional projects in online and digital education as well as external partnerships.

I am currently a senior lecturer at York St John University and will act as the co-investigator for this project. I possess over 10 years of industrial experience in wireless communication, wireless algorithm development, simulation and modelling. I also possess extensive knowledge and skills in academic R&D, currently working on various projects involving AI/ML algorithm development, cloud computing system and cybersecurity. I am currently the director of Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity Module.

Dr Eoin McElroy is a lecturer in the School of Psychology at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. He is also the course director for the school’s MSc in Psychology (online conversion course). His research focusses on how we think about and measure mental health problems, and how factors such as poverty can impact on the wellbeing of young people.

Tuğba Öztürk is a professor of educational technology at Ankara University, Turkey. Since
2000, she has been working in the field of Ed Tech. She completed her PhD at the Centre for
Studies in Advanced Learning Technology (CSALT) within the Educational Research
Department at Lancaster University. She has been an invited speaker at international
conferences and has presented in approximately 40 conferences worldwide.

Kay Stephen is currently employed as a Learning Technologist at City of Glasgow College, bringing with her a wealth of experience in the field of education spanning over two decades. She began as a Community Education Lecturer before venturing into entrepreneurship, establishing her own business in the corporate sector as an Instructional Designer. However, her dedication to the educational realm drew her back to Further Education in 2019, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she has supported the Faculty of Creative Industries at City of Glasgow College, marvelling at their resilience during challenging times.

Dr. Steven Verjans is currently at the UCLL University of Applied Sciences in Belgium as teacher trainer, researcher and member of the educational (technology) expert team. He teUntil 2020, he was an assistant professor at the Open University of the Netherlands within the field of educational sciences, with a research interest in blended learning, technology-supported social learning in networks and the role of social media within (higher) education. He has taught courses in e-learning and quality in education and supervised numerous students in their master thesis research.