ALT awards Honorary Life Membership to individuals who have made an outstanding and sustained contribution to the advancement of ALT’s aims for the development of learning technology in a regional, national or international context.
Dr Maren Deepwell was awarded Honorary Life Member at ALT’s Annual General Meeting on 19 November 2025.
Welcoming the award, Keith Smyth, ALT Chair, reflected:
“On the proud behalf of ALT, our members, and trustees, it is an absolute honour to award Honorary Life Membership of ALT to our former CEO, Dr Maren Deepwell. Maren's creative, collegiate and transformative (an overused word, but absolutely the right one here) contributions to the development and leadership of ALT, including through significant times of challenge and change, have benefitted not only our association, but also the wider sector. And in this latter respect, Maren's recognition is an important thank you not only for her leadership of ALT, but of her wider and ongoing work, activism and impact in the field of digital education. Thank you, Maren.”
For over 15 years, Maren has been a driving force in the learning technology community, contributing to ALT and the wider sector through her work in embedding openness, inclusivity, and ethical practice into learning technology. She has championed initiatives such as the Framework for Ethical Learning Technology (FELT), supported the development of ALT’s governance structures, laid the foundations for the AmplifyFE community of practice, and ensured that the voices of ALT members shaped the Association’s priorities.
Her commitment to advancing professional recognition for learning technologists, mentoring, and fostering inclusive communities has had a lasting impact across higher and further education. Maren has also contributed to scholarship in the field, including her Research in Learning Technology article Leading Virtual Teams: Field Notes from a CEO (2022), which reflects her pioneering work in transitioning ALT to a fully virtual, distributed team. She also played a pivotal role in ALT’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, guiding the organisation through unprecedented challenges while maintaining ALT’s commitment to supporting educators, researchers, and technologists.
Career highlights:
- Took ALT’s Research in Learning Journal fully open access and wrote the Gold Open Access Guide, which has been widely used to support scholarly publishing across the sector.
- Gave evidence to the BIS Select Committee on the digital economy, broadcast on Parliament TV, influencing national policy discussions on digital transformation in education.
- Led ALT’s work on the Blended Learning Essentials courses, which reached over 20,000 learners
- Brought the OER Conference into ALT, strengthening its role as a hub for open education
- Established international collaborations, including the CMALT partnership with Hong Kong’s BOLT project, and established a partnership with ITLA in Ireland, expanding ALT’s global reach.
- Contributed to sector‑wide learning initiatives such as MOOCs on blended and hybrid learning design and co‑developed courses on digital skills for emerging leaders with partners like the Digital Learning Institute.
- Participated in multiple presentations and panel discussions, including Open for a Cause: Fostering Participation in Society and Education
Beyond her work within ALT, Maren continues to support the sector through her independent practice, Maren Deepwell Coaching and Consultancy, and as an Executive Coach accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ACC). Her focus on leadership, digital transformation, and open education exemplifies the values at the heart of ALT’s mission. She has also contributed to mentoring initiatives, holding a Certificate of Achievement from One Million Mentors, and continues to champion professional recognition for learning technologists as a Senior Certified Member of ALT.
Speaking about the award, Maren shared:
“It’s not every day that you get such an honour, to become an Honorary Life Member of the professional body you’ve belonged to for most of your career. It’s a huge privilege to join this illustrious group, to join peers whose work I admire and respect so much. So thank you for the honour of being recognised by the peers that mean the most to me. I look forward to continuing to contribute to the important work we do and support ALT and our community.”
Notes for Editors
- ALT (the Association for Learning Technology) is a professional and scholarly association which brings together those with an interest in the use of learning technology.
- As the UK’s leading membership organisation in the field of Learning Technology, ALT works to improve practice, promote research, and influence policy.
- ALT has over 3,500 Members across education sectors in the UK and internationally.
- If you are writing about, blogging or sharing images and videos about ALT using tools that support tagging, please use the tag #altc.
- Association for Learning Technology, Tel: +44 (0)1865 819 009
- URL: www.alt.ac.uk
- For enquiries, please contact enquiries@alt.ac.uk
- ALT is a Registered Charity in the UK, number: 1160039