Mr Colin Bryson

National Teaching Fellow 2009 Colin Bryson is Director of the Combined Studies Centre at Newcastle University. Before that his lecturing career was spent in Business Schools at Nottingham Trent, St Andrews and Stirling. He took up his current role in 2008 as it presented a new challenge and allowed him to continue working with students whilst engaging in quality enhancement with staff, particularly new staff. He has already made a big impact and has raised the profile of learning and teaching considerably. He is currently working on enhancing transition and student empowerment whilst promoting the engagement agenda. Developing the notion of student engagement, Colin places the student at the centre of learning and teaching. He believes learning is socially constructed and that any student must be engaged sufficiently for learning to occur "particularly the type of learning that leads to intellectual development". He has supported that idea through several studies based directly on empirical evidence from students. Colin seeks to practice what he preaches by using approaches that allow learning and teaching to be more enjoyable by all parties, and he recognises that students are all individuals with different perspectives and aspirations. Much of his teaching practice and curriculum design has been transforming subjects and topics perceived as problematic and unpopular into a positive experience. Examples of these topics include dissertations and academic skills. Having a passionate belief in supporting the less advantaged and addressing inequity, Colin has campaigned tirelessly against precarious work in universities such as contract research and part-time teaching. His main leverage has been to gather scholarly evidence to argue the case. A colleague says: "Colin brings a rare combination of professionalism, equity, integrity, respect for students, optimism, and challenge into both the classroom and the staffroom." Colin has advised and influenced organisations in a position to make a difference from trade unions, UUK, the Higher Education Academy and funding councils, to parliamentary committees. He is also well known internationally for his work particularly in Australia and Europe. The quality of Colin's work is widely recognised by attracting considerable funding and wide dissemination, and through the delivery of many workshops.