About me

Work

I’m a Principal Lecturer at the University of Westminster. I teach mainly on the Undergraduate Construction Studies Programme in the Department of Property and Construction. The programme comprises five professionally accredited honours degree courses in construction-related disciplines, and is one of the largest undergraduate programmes in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.

I was previously the Construction Studies Programme Leader but stepped aside from this role in 2013 to assume a department-wide role in learning and teaching. I am involved in the University’s Learning Futures project which is a major initiative considering where the University wants to be in ten to fifteen years’ time, how we want to teach, and what student and staff expectations will be. I am the team leader for the Blended Learning and Teaching theme. 

I am particularly interested in the role which technology can play in enhancing the student experience, especially when used in a blended learning mode of delivery, combining the positive aspects of traditional courses with the benefits of educational technologies. I am also interested in digital literacies and keen to promote the skills which students need to exploit the advantages of technology, both in their studies and in their professional lives.

My own professional background is as a Chartered Building Surveyor. I have a Masters degree in Historic Conservation and I am very interested in the challenges of adapting historic buildings for modern use.

I am involved with a team of colleagues within the faculty in an exciting project known as BECI - Built Environment Collaboration and Integration. This project seeks to engage with industry and fellow academic institutions to promote collaboration, integration and innovation in built environment education and practice. 

Outside work

I live in Harrow in north-west London, with my wife, daughter and son. I am very proud of my Irish heritage and I love Ireland and most things Irish. My son and I are season ticket holders at Queens Park Rangers, so we experience frustration and disappointment on a regular basis.

I was diagnosed as a Coeliac some years ago and I therefore have to follow a strict gluten-free diet. This means that I can no longer enjoy the delights of fresh bread, pasta and, most disappointingly, proper beer. Cider is acceptable but never quite hits the spot in the same way that beer did! 

I am a paid-up member of Republic because I believe that the monarchy is an anachronism in a modern society, and that a democracy should have an elected head of state.