About

Welcome to Life of a Lecturer. This is where I make my musings about my work and interests available to the wider world (whether this is a good thing has yet to be confirmed…) and where I post and re-post interesting facts, papers and articles. In addition, there are some members-only perks in development.

Having first completed a degree in Agriculture & Biotechnology with a specialisation in Animal Health, I started working at Writtle University College in 2010 after completing my MSc in Animal Biology and Welfare. I completed my Doctor of Education degree at Anglia Ruskin University researching evidence-based practice and course leadership in higher education, after which I took on a role leading Stage 2 of the Professional Doctorate in Health and Social Care. Over the years I have developed myself as an educator and course manager, and have been involved in a number of big projects, such as validation and revalidations of HE courses, development of new research areas, providing maths support to undergraduate students and a number large multi-national multi-institution Erasmus+ and DAAD funded projects. In early 2024, following the merger between Writtle University College and Anglia Ruskin University, I continued my role at ARU.

My main areas of focus are veterinary social science, the use of evidence-based methods in animal health science, and developing professionalism in graduates. In addition, I am involved in a number of innovative methodolical contributions to Grounded Theory Methodology, and I have a keen interest in HE Learning and Teaching research because I feel this helps me support my students.

Outside of work, I volunteer as a STEM Ambassador for ExploreSTEM, promoting the sciences to school learners. I am a current reviewer for BMC Medical Education, Veterinary Evidence and Journal of Biological Education. Finally, I was an assessor for the professional registers of the British Society for Animal Science, the Royal Society of Biology and the Science Council for many years.

I tweet as @Nieky_vV and blog at www.lifeofalecturer.com. My ORCID ID is orcid.org/0000-0001-6738-6989.

Enjoy your stay, and feel free to leave (nice) comments.