Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance of ALT. Below are brief biographies of each member of the committee. In ALT's Constitution the Board of Trustees is also referred to as Central Executive Committee.
Interim-Chair
Keith Smyth is Dean of Learning and Teaching and Professor of Pedagogy at the University of the Highlands and Islands, where he leads the directorate responsible for learning and teaching strategy, professional development and recognition, academic standards and enhancement, curriculum innovation, and educational scholarship. Keith has particular interests in co-creative pedagogies and curriculum models, open education and scholarship, and digital educational strategy and policy. Keith developed the openly licensed 3E Framework for technology-enhanced learning which has been used extensively across FE and HE, and has been actively involved as a trustee and volunteer for several third sector education organisations and initiatives. Keith blogs (sporadically) at www.3eeducation.org.
Matt Cornock is Head of Online Learning at the University of Leeds, with 20 years experience in digital education in both higher education and professional development settings. He specialises in learning design and the use of learning technologies to support lifelong learning, open education and online learning at scale. Matt is a Senior CMALT holder and long-standing assessor, supporting the development of colleagues across the sector. He is a regular conference contributor and writes about learning design and digital education at mattcornock.co.uk.
Honorary Treasurer
Shonagh Douglas is an Accounting and Finance Lecturer at the Robert Gordon University. She has a number of years’ experience in delivering online courses and has a particular interest in the use of learning technology to create interactive online resources and improve the virtual student learning experience. Shonagh is a Chartered Accountant - she previously trained and worked as an auditor with KPMG and continues to be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Shonagh has completed a PhD which focused on understanding the development of non-technical skills of trainee accountants.
Trustee
Sharon is the national coordinator of the N-TUTORR programme, an innovative collaboration to transform learning across the technological university sector in Ireland. She works with 7 HEIs in the technological sector on a programme designed to transform learning, teaching and assessment by focussing on transforming the student experience and developing the capabilities of all staff, to address a sustainable pedagogical and learning environment, informed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Sharon is on secondment from her role as Assistant Director at the Centre for Excellent in Learning and Teaching at the University of Galway, where she led a team of learning technologists.
Trustee
David is the UK Director of Content Services for LearningMate. He joined LearningMate in the summer of 2023, bringing over 17 years of experience in learning technology and higher education to the business, where he is responsible for being the critical bridge between technology solutions and university partners. As the lead on aspects of partner transformation, digital strategy, technical and pedagogical implementation, and content-orientated partnerships, David joined LearningMate at a crucial time of development and growth for the business. David developed his career in HE and learning technology from his background in data management and internet technologies; he remains an advocate of the appropriate and considered use of technology to support and enhance learning. David is an active and social member of ALT, he obtained his CMALT in 2013, and has been a vocal supporter of CMALT and an assessor on many successful CMALT portfolios from across the membership.
Trustee
Natalie Lafferty is Head of Representation and Policy at UCISA and the former Head of the Centre for Technology and Innovation in Learning at the University of Dundee. Natalie has worked in higher education for 25 years and over 20 years of experience in digital education. Long standing interests include medical education, open education, working with students as partners and as co-creators of learning and interdisciplinary approaches to learning. More recently she has been involved in projects focusing on AI and education for sustainable development. Natalie blogs very intermittently at natalie-lafferty.net
President
David White is Dean of Academic Practice (online) at University of the Arts London. He has worked at the intersection of teaching, research and digital for over 20 years. David is best known for the Digital Visitors and Residents idea which provides a framework to understand what motivates online engagement in different forms. He is a keen advocate for Open Educational Practices and a well-known thinker in digital and open online education.
Trustee
Puiyin is Head of Digital Education (EPS) at the University of Birmingham. She is also a PhD researcher at Lancaster University; her work explores the interplay between pedagogies and technology for learning and professional development. With nearly 20 years experience in HE and a keen interest in bringing people together, she is connected to colleagues in the UK and internationally. Importantly, as a person from the Global Majority, she empathises with her peers from underrepresented groups. Puiyin runs an award winning webinar series - #TELresearchers & #HEresearchers that introduces educational researchers from around the world to the HE community.