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Staff Changes at School


There have been several changes to staffing within the School during 2015.

Firstly, we are delighted to welcome the following new staff.

Dr Christopher Foster has joined as Lecturer in ICT and Innovation. Chris was previously a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and his work focuses on the impact of digital technologies and information flows on innovation within organisations. With a background in engineering, IT innovation and R&D, Chris will mainly be contributing to teaching on the Information Systems and Information Management degrees.

Dr Paul Reilly is Senior Lecturer in Social Media and Digital Society and joins us from his previous posiiton as Deputy Director of Research, Department of Media and Communication at the University of Leicester. Paul has a particular interests in the study of online political communication and how social media is used to promote better community relations in divided societies, and he is the author of Framing the Troubles Online: Northern Irish Groups and Website Strategy and work package leader on two EU projects: CascEff and IMPROVER. Paul will be contributing to the teaching of research methods as well as developing a elective module in the area of social media.

Dr Xin Zhao has joined as International Teaching Associate. Xin (also known as "Skye") will be taking a leading role in supporting home and international students including academic, language, pastoral and careers support. Skye has recently been awarded both PhD and MA in Education from the University of Bath.

Harriet Godfrey-Holmes, has joined as Departmental Manager having previously undertaken a number of administrative roles in different departments across the University. Her last role was as Research Manager at the Management School, University of Sheffield.

Teresa Smith has joined as Marketing and External Relations Officer. Teresa was previously a Senior Marketing Officer at Sheffield Hallam University.

Natasja Mycock has joined as Admissions Assistant. Natasja joins us following a career in retail management including running her own business.

We have also said goodbye to several staff: Dr Barbara Sen has recently retired. More details on the contributions Barbara has made to the School can be found here. Dr Robert Villa has returned to Scotland to take up a post at EDINA, Edinburgh University. EDINA is a JISC Centre for Digital Expertise and Online Service Delivery. Peter Rosenberg has retired from the position as Departmental Manager, Rachel Hayes has taken up the role of Student Recruitment Support Manager in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Chris Shaw retired from her position as Admissions Assistant at the start of the year.

Dr Robert Villa left the University on 20 November 2015. Since joining us in May 2010 Robert made a significant contribution to the School and the MSc Digital Library Management Masters degree, Business Management, Business Management and Informatics, Accounting and Financial Management and Informatics degrees.

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