Nicholas Day Email & Phone Number

London, England, Gb

Department For Continuing Education

I went on to secure a Departmental Lectureship in September 2024, and within the first month of my appointment, I collaborated with fellow DLs to bid for research grant money from Oxford’s Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to conduct a cross-disciplinary study. In January 2025, I will have the privilege of being a tutor on the department’s extension of Harvard’s CS50x, taught by Professor David Malan, which is recognised as one of the most popular introductory Computer Science courses (having accrued six million enrolments on edX).

Department For Continuing Education

In January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, I taught Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming in Java course in-person at the Department for Continuing Education. In March 2020, I utilised Microsoft Teams to complete the delivery of the course. This work was recognised by Head of the Department, Professor Elizabeth Gemmill, for continuing to provide high quality service during an unprecedented time of disruption. In January 2022 I delivered the Introduction to Java course online to students worldwide. My work caught the attention of Director of Studies for Data Science, Dr Daniel Wilson, who rated my teaching ability as excellent. Throughout the 2022/23 academic year, I worked with the Department to expand our portfolio of courses. I delivered Python data science and web applications courses in addition an introductory Artificial Intelligence course, which has became very popular due to the widespread interest in ChatGPT.

Department For Continuing Education

Whilst writing my PhD I assisted Dr Vasos Pavlika to deliver and support students undertaking the introductory Object-Oriented Programming course in C++/Java. This was an important formative experience as an early career academic.

In September 2023, I start my second year in post as Programme Leader for Computing at BNU. My goal is implement feedback accrued from the NSS results in my inaugural year to increase recruitment, develop the quality of module content towards skill acquisition, and deliver excellent satisfaction for learners. Furthermore, I intend to start writing my application for SFHEA (Senior Fellowship of Higher Education Academy), and I will also be working with colleagues to write bids for research funding, writing research papers, PhD supervision, and working with external partners to contribute towards BNU's submission for REF28.

In September 2022, I became the Course Leader for the Computing undergraduate programme. In my first year, I worked with the student representatives to increase student satisfaction, evidenced by excellent student feedback and a strong NSS performance. Throughout the year my engagement with Open Days, Applicant Visit Days and Clearing helped to increase recruitment to the course. I continued my pedagogical research and led the transition to a Python-first curriculum and a more varied, authentic and engaging assessment regime.

After completing my PhD thesis I became a full-time member of staff at BNU in January 2020. I became a module leader and helped to coordinate delivery of these modules across partner colleges. I also worked this role during the COVID-19 pandemic; in which we had to navigate the transition to online teaching. I applied my PhD findings and reformatted the structure of online sessions to promote active learning and participation. Students recognised me for being "excellent in the transition to online delivery and for being just as good as face-to-face".

I taught programming modules for six hours a week alongside writing my PhD thesis. During this formative time, I also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PGCert) and gained complimentary Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

United Kingdom

Following AdvanceHE's excellent professional development course for External Examiners, I started my first post at Cardiff University for their MSc Computing and IT programmes. For this role, I review submissions for taught modules and dissertations to check that there is constructive alignment between intended outcomes and the marking criteria. I also attend board meetings online and report my findings back to the department.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer Science Education Research

Title: Identification and Evaluation of Predictors of Learning Success and models for Teaching Computer Programming in Contemporary.

Postgraduate Certificate: Learning And Teaching In Higher Education