I have been teaching at the University of Manchester since 2001, with a focus on creating innovative, student-centred learning experiences. My teaching spans from large-scale core courses (200+ students) to specialized optional units, and includes the creation and direction of the interdisciplinary CS(HCI) undergraduate programme.

Teaching Philosophy

My approach to teaching emphasizes:

• Student engagement through innovative delivery methods
• Practical relevance connecting theory to real-world applications
• Timely, personalised feedback using push notification methods
• Interdisciplinary collaboration breaking down traditional silos
• Research-led teaching bringing cutting-edge developments into the classroom
• Continuous improvement based on student feedback and learning science

Current Teaching

Active Courses and Programmes

These are courses and programmes I currently teach or direct:

Previous Teaching

Archived Courses

These are courses I taught in the past, representing my teaching history and evolution:

Teaching Innovation

Push Feedback System

My most significant teaching innovation is the “Push Feedback” system – a direct personal email feedback approach that has transformed student engagement. This system:

• Delivers timely, personalised feedback directly to students
• Reduces friction in accessing feedback
• Creates two-way communication channels
• Has increased feedback scores from ~4.0 to 4.70

This innovation has been adopted by colleagues and featured in teaching practice discussions.

Open Educational Resources

I have created extensive open educational resources:

• YouTube lectures: 2,368 views, 14,495 minutes watched
• Slideshare presentations: 11,000 views
• Custom textbook: Using LeanPub model for continuous improvement
• All materials openly accessible

Published Teaching Scholarship

Harper, S. (2016). “The User Experience in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1145/2851581.2892566

This work addresses teaching UX/HCI concepts to students encountering the domain for the first time.

Supervision & Mentoring

PhD Supervision

Total PhDs Supervised to Completion: 26
Current PhD Students: 13

Recent completions include He Yu (2022), Heng Zhang (2022), Ahmed Ibrahim (2022), Robert Dunne (2023), Chris Worth (2023), Hayder Al-Ghanimi (2020), and Sarah Bennett (2020).

Current students: Alex Hambley (2024), Hatim Alsayahani, Vee Kongdee, Ahmad Bilal, Ashwaq Alsayahani, Nicole Lubasinski, Daniel Gasca García, Mohammed Basheikh, Naziha Rida Mohamed, Nuo Cheng, Joshua McDonagh, Ziyang Zhou, Ahmad El Cheikh Ammar.

Career Outcomes: All 26 graduated PhDs have gained successful careers in academic and industrial research, including Head of Health Data Science for MHRA-CPRD, academic positions across multiple universities, and senior research roles in industry.

Project Supervision

I consistently supervise above the School standard:

• 5 third-year project students per year
• 4 MSc project students per year

Leadership in Teaching

Departmental Roles

GTA Lead for Computer Science (Current)

• Initiated comprehensive GTA reform
• Created CS-specific GTA training
• Implemented GTA wellbeing events
• Reformed allocation process
• Added praise mechanisms for references

School of Engineering GTA Lead (Current)

• Deputy for Akilu Yunusa-Kaltungo on GTA matters
• Instigated SoE GTA Open Forum

Director of CS(HCI) (2012-present)

• Programme director for the interdisciplinary HCI undergraduate programme

UG Applicants Tutor (2012-2017)

• Created concept of making applicants feel like “our students” before arrival
• ~1,000 communications with ~600 applicants per year
• Coincided with marked increase in student acceptance

Faculty & University Roles

Learning Enhancement Officer (2012-2015)

Teaching Innovation Group (2012-2015)

G7 Curriculum Review Committee (2005/2006)

External Examining

Current

University of Nottingham (2016-present)
External Examiner for all Computer Science programmes

Previous

University of Abertay (2010-2015)
External Examiner for all Computer Science programmes

Teaching Assessment

Faculty Assessment by Rodger Edwards: 4/4 across all categories

International Engagement

Conference Tutorials

ICWE 2009: “Practical Accessibility: A Web Accessibility Primer”

• 20-25 academic and industrial participants
• Invited back for second year due to success

Guest Lectures

Delivered guest lectures and seminars at: Middle Eastern Technical University (2019), PricewaterhouseCoopers (2019), Pro-Manchester (2018), Nomura Bank (2017), University of the Basque Country (2017), University of York (2016), Pint of Science (2016), CNR Italy Pisa (2015), inclusivedesign24 (2015), Café Scientifique (2015), Loughborough University HCI ‘Guru Lecture’ (2013 & 2014), Technical Superior Institute, LaSIGE, Lisbon (2012), Informatika Fakultatea, UPV-EHU, Spain (2011).

Recognition

My teaching has been recognized through:

• Consistently high student satisfaction scores (4.60-4.70 vs 3.77 dept average)
• Published teaching scholarship in premier venues (CHI)
• Faculty 4/4 teaching assessment
• External examiner appointments
• Adoption of teaching innovations by colleagues
• National consultation on programme design

Teaching Statistics

Over my career at Manchester:

• Years of Teaching: 24 (2001-present)
• Courses Taught: 4 major courses as sole/lead lecturer
• Students Taught: 3,000+ undergraduate students
• PhDs Supervised: 26 completed, 13 current
• Programme Leadership: 13 years directing CS(HCI)
• External Examining: 18 years across 2 institutions