Laura Ball Email & Phone Number

Cambridge, Gb

Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Learning science is an interdisciplinary field that delves into the fascinating world of how humans learn. It encompasses a diverse range of perspectives, from organisational psychology and neuroscience to learning theory and educational technology, all united by the goal of understanding and enhancing the process of learning effectiveness. Learning Sciences at Multiverse collaborates with cross-functional stakeholders to bring research-informed product features to life, as well as publicizing our research to set the standard for workplace learning needs, ensuring measured, applied, guided and equitable learning is accessible to all.

London, England, United Kingdom

Leading a collective group of learning designers and assessment designers to close the skills gaps of today and tomorrow through measured, applied, guided and equitable learning.

Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Multiverse is a tech start-up on a mission to build digital apprenticeship programmes that serve as an alternative to the traditional college and university system. As Head of Assessment and Credentials, I ensure all programmes are designed in a way to achieve desired outcomes, as predictably and efficiently as possible. Key responsibilities- Systematise progress tracking to predict and ensure timely programme completions at scale.- Develop automated and personalised interventions based on assessment data.- Collaborate with employers and the Go to Market team to ensure skills/ competencies/ outcomes are linked to real-world roles and responsibilities.- Develop a client reporting process to showcase ROI to each employer and demonstrate the value of skills. -Make the Multiverse credential meaningful and valuable in the market, by helping clients to build skillsets and profiles over time to match current abilities to future jobs.

As the Product Manager for Apprentice Progress, I worked at the intersection between learning design, learner assessment and product management. In this role, I led the development of an apprentice progress framework to track, share, discuss and act on real-time progress data. A key part of my role was understanding what different user groups needed and how to ensure that data, technology and design met each of their needs, building a consistent framework for evaluating real-life skills.Key Responsibilities:- Created and implemented a system across all programmes to measure and report progress against competencies.- Adapted assessments and assignments to deliver on programme outcomes.- Built progress tracking features to increase levels of assignment completions.- Created effective ways of capturing, reporting and visualising progress data for different audiences.

Cambridge, United Kingdom

Working with clients, faculty and business development teams, I explored creative ways to introduce new learning solutions which combined the academic and research strengths of the University of Cambridge with practical and grounded delivery models. Key Responsibilities: - Championed the use of creativity in session design and delivery, incorporating faculty from the wider University as well as the Business School and network of academics and practitioners. - Created pedagogically strong and compelling responses to Request for Proposals (RFPs). - Conducted needs analysis for clients, leading stakeholder interviews and analysing results.- Created programmes and sessions designed to meet bespoke client needs. - Refreshed and renewed repeat programmes to maintain relevance and reflect the latest research. - Oversaw a framework of programme evaluation across the department to enable continuous improvement. - Assisted digital development teams in the production of engaging online materials which underpinned and reinforced learning.

London, United Kingdom

As an Education Product Manager at General Assembly I identified and operationalised the next wave of self-paced and instructor-led courses in the disciplines of User Experience Design and Product Management. Playing a role in the intersection of market research, product management, and service design, I kept pace with developments in the industry and shared knowledge to connect product and commercial responsibilities.In product innovation, I focused on identifying opportunities through metrics, outlining requirements and user benefits, creating and managing project plans, and validating that learning experiences met the needs of learners and the demands of the employment market, while moving the needle for the business at large. Key Responsibilities:- Researched market demand and user needs to identify opportunities for innovation and improvement- Set the vision and developed roadmaps for GA’s products in the UX / PM disciplines - Created business cases and gained executive approval for product enhancements- Drove consensus around product decisions using data-driven frameworks, methodologies, research, and analysis- Defined product requirements based on B2B and B2C business needs- Tested, iterated and scaled learning products globally- Led cross-functional teams comprised of staff, instructors, contractors and external 3rd party teams (both onsite and remote) to successfully build and operationalise learning products

London, United Kingdom

General Assembly transforms thinkers into creators through education and opportunities in technology, business, and design. Based at the London campus, I designed blended learning strategies for high-value clients and contributed to the ongoing discovery, development and delivery of new, scalable learning products. As part of the Enterprise team, I provided consultative product expertise to the sales process and worked with Fortune 500 companies to tackle digital skill gaps across Digital Marketing, User Experience Design and Data. Key Achievements: Enhanced the capability of 150 digital marketers within a multinational financial services company to better challenge their agencies on topics like programmatic, dynamic creative, attribution modelling and effective brief writing. The program was contextualised for Paris, Dubai, Brazil and Miami.Designed and delivered a week-long bootcamp for future leaders within a major US industrial technology firm, where participants learnt the principles of Design Thinking, User Experience Design and Web Development in order to create lo-fidelity prototypes. Helped 70 HR professionals within a global footwear brand adopt a digital mindset in order to understand how digital affects hiring and talent development. Participants across Shanghai, Portland and Germany explored six key trends: AI & chatbots, agile performance management, the augmented workforce, the liquid workforce, new reward paradigms and personalised learning experiences. Designed an interactive 'Live Online' remote training session to bring together cross-disciplinary leaders to evaluate the effectiveness of data usage within a major multinational conglomerate. Participants explored how to frame questions for data analysis, effective methods of obtaining data and how to create data models to share new concepts with data engineers.

London, United Kingdom

Starting at Nicholas Associates as a Junior Instructional Designer, I was promoted twice to reach the position of Managing Consultant where I led the scoping and design of unmet curriculum needs for large-scale clients. In this role I grew the relationship with our largest client, a global FMCG, leading client working sessions, and creating sustainable learning experiences to meet client needs. I served as the link between subject matter experts and learners in over 15+ projects, across the topic areas of Supply Chain Development, HR and Business Transformation. Key Achievements: Led the curriculum design of a major Supply Chain Excellence program for a global confectionary leader. Working across eight pillars and job families I developed a blended online and offline learning strategy to help coach Plant Directors and site leadership teams on standardised work flows, problem solving, strategy development and continuous improvement. Designed a series of learning experiences for the launch of a new HR shared services model. This included creating transition programs for employees displaced by technology, and supporting Line Managers in using the self-service HR portal.Applied Human-Centered Design principles to craft a new model for knowledge transfer, based upon analogous research methods.

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Re-elected in 2014 till May 2015Key Achievements:- Co-founded the Enterprise Society at Sheffield Hallam University, kick-starting a platform for young entrepreneurs to share knowledge, network and collaborate. - Won 'SBS Society of The Year' at the 2013 Sheffield Business School Awards for our social enterprise campaign 'Thanks for a Pint' promoting NHS blood donation. - Won 'Best Skill Based Event' at the 2015 Sheffield Business School Awards for holding a night of 'Creative Problem Solving' where three local entrepreneurs where invited in to pitch their problems and students to co-create the solutions.

Slough, United Kingdom

In the division of Mars Global Services, Knowledge Connections (KC) is an internal consultancy that specialises in connecting expertise to find solutions to the problems faced by the business. My role as ‘Specialist’ was to capture knowledge from across the organisation and transform it into a fit for purpose approach for our customers. The breadth of this role gave me the opportunity to work in six areas of the business delivering services such as visioning sessions, key beliefs (knowledge Capture) and case studies. Key Achievements: - Created global alignment on Brand PR through interviewing public relation experts from across the business and extracting commonalities to promote best practice.- Facilitated visioning workshops centred on HPC (High Performance Collaboration) with teams from Mars Information Services to construct a shared vision, purpose and roadmap for the future. - Captured the key thought processes and decisions of an experienced Data Activator to transfer knowledge and replicate their success if they were to leave the business. - Wrote action-inspiring case studies to promote the story of Vendor Implants in the Mars Supply Chain, showing global diversity from Chile, Poland, Australia and the UK. - Took the initiative to go beyond functional duties and enrol in the Great Communications Team to lead on the development of a roadshow to promote effective communications across the site. - Drove internal projects to consolidate KC ways of working via creating service toolboxes to help team members adopt a consistent approach for our clients.

Sheffield, United Kingdom

'Project 2 to 1' was a not-for-profit events management company that created a platform for young entrepreneurs in Sheffield to collaborate, innovate and mentor. Recognizing the previous lack of networking opportunities for young people in Sheffield sparked the action to create an innovative environment for like-minded students to further their interests in business and enterprise. The concept of 'Project 2 to 1' was formed at the Sheffield Girl Networking Event on 19th September 2012.Key Achievements:- Created a community of young entrepreneurs through a speed-networking night with a twist, where participants were encouraged to open up potential collaborations by sharing skill-sets. - Partnered with 'Inova Consultancy' to hold a 'SHE Means Business' event celebrating women entrepreneurs. - Formed a successful business partnership between Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University.

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Southport, Merseyside

Southport, Merseyside

'Stress Ed' was a Young Enterprise company that provided stress relief products with a purpose. My role was to design, produce and promote products that I had developed.Key Achievements: - Created the product 'Squeezy Jet', a stress relief toy for kids who are nervous flyers. The product was a foam-based plane with a set of 2 pens, so that users could personalize the plane whilst using it as a stress reliever. 'Squeezy Jet' was marketed in local travel agents. - Designed a brain training set for kinesthetic learners. This set was specifically designed for students, providing a before, during and after activity for revision, aimed at retaining knowledge. Prototypes were developed for this product, but was too costly to be put into production. - Represented Merseyside in the Young Enterprise Northwest Finals in 2010, after winning three awards for “Most Innovative Product”, “Best Report” and “Best Overall Company”.

Msc Organisational Behaviour

Modules 2016-2017: - Understanding Change and Organizations - Research Methods - Learning and Development - Employee Relations.

Storytelling For Influence And Design Kit: The Course For Human-Centered Design

Activities and Societies: Storytelling for Influence: Part of the Yay-Sayers team - Optimistic Creatives eager for Social Good Design Kit.

Ba Honours Business & Enterprise Management, Entrepreneurship, First

Activities and Societies: Sheffield Hallam Enterprise Society 2012-13 & 2014-15

A Levels, A* A* B C

Business Studies, English literature & Language, Music, Music Technology