A personal lab notebook
Every year hundreds of my colleagues gather at a conference in Manchester to talk about teaching learning at the Glastonbury Festival of Scholarship. It s not actually called that but since there s no actual Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts in this fallow year of 2026, I m looking for alternatives to the midsummer Somerset vibes [ ]
Today is the 4th July, a day for celebrating independence. Alongside those who graduated with me in the Whitworth Building, I m celebrating independence. Not national independence marked by independence days around the world, but independence of thinking and independence of learning. These are two of the most important things and education can give you. I m [ ]
One of the reasons the World Cup is enjoyable to watch is the memories. Despite all the blatant FIFA corruption, despite all the amateur dramatics, questionable decision making, greenwashing, sportswashing and over inflated egos that FIFA promotes, the tournament resurrects many memories. Some are happy, some are painful. Who were you with, where were you, [ ]
There are plenty of reasons that learning is challenging but there s one reason that really stands out: feedback. We learn more efficiently when we can get timely, constructive and personalised feedback on our work from somebody who knows what they are talking about. Whatever you are learning, in the finite time you are learning it, [ ]
It s easy to be impressed by people s titles. From the Chief of this, to the Director of that and from the President of this, to the Leader of that or the Head of whatever and Manager of so-and-so or Founder of an organisation: Titles tell you something about the person that holds them. In the UK we have more than our fair share of [ ]
Mentors can enrich and extend your teaching by supporting students learning during their study. Here s a paper I presented yesterday describing some teaching we ve done over the last decade (2015-2025) mentoring software engineers on a second year undergraduate course in Computer Science at the University of Manchester in the UK. Our mentors have come from [ ]
“I have learned much from my teachers and even more from my friends, but from my students I have learned most of all” Graduation is one of the most enjoyable milestones in the academic calendar. It s a chance for everyone to celebrate and reflect on what students have learned and how they have grown during the time [ ]
All your dreams are made, when you re chained to the lecture and the teaching trade. Was that lecture, lab or lesson a dream or a nightmare? Exactly what did you learn from the experience? When you reflect on it, how will you tell yourself and others the stories of your study? The stories students tell [ ]
Any list of 100 best anything is going to be riddled with biases, flaws and omissions, but here s a list of albums you might enjoy listening to from 100best.music.apple.com. I ve posted them here because my family are listening to three albums a week throughout 2025, and discussing them as we go. The albums are listed [ ]
Have you ever been asked WHAT SCHOOL DID YOU GO TO? I was once asked this in a high-stakes job interview and my answer was that of a startled rabbit caught in the headlights before becoming squashed roadkill on the highway to hell. Nobody has asked me that question before or since. How can such [ ]