Ella Taylor-Smith
Ella TaylorSmith

Dr Ella Taylor-Smith

Senior Research Fellow

 0131 455 2392

  E.Taylor-Smith@napier.ac.uk

   

Biography

*Centre for Higher Education Research (CHER) projects*

Council of Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC) funded project (PI) 2023 to 2024: Investigating and improving induction training for CS work-based learning workplace mentors, especially to ensure inclusion.

Student Experience, 2022, ongoing. Exploring the perspectives and experiences of students in SCEBE (in the School of Computing, Engineering, and the Built Environment).

Graduate Apprenticeships, 2017, ongoing. Investigating graduate and degree apprenticeships in SCEBE and The Business school.

*Gender imbalance projects*

Ada Scotland Festival, Co-founded in 2020, ongoing. https://ada.scot/

Equate Scotland’s STEM champions: Edinburgh Napier staff champion for Equate Scotland’s stem champions.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) funded projects investigating ways to increase women and girls’ participation in computing, especially through role models and peer-mentoring:
* Gender Imbalance in Digital Technology (2021)
* and Role Models Framework Pilot (2021-22), the outcome of which is the Participant-Centred Planning Framework https://ada.scot/framework ;
* Women into Tech (2021-22).

SDS-sponsored collaborative studentship (DoS) 2022, ongoing. Gendered information landscapes and their impact on routes into and through apprenticeships.

*Centre for Computing Education Research (CCER): work placement projects*

Graduate Apprenticeships, 2017 to 2023. Investigating Graduate Apprenticeships in the School of Computing, especially the perspectives and contexts of the apprentices.

Work Experience Joint Study, 2017. Joint study with University of Greenwich, exploring approaches to work experience, through student perceptions, focusing on the influence of economic, social and cultural capitals.

Graduate Outcomes, 2016. Investigating the impacts and challenges of student placements, from the perspectives of computing graduates.

GEP Identity, 2016. Exploring the outcomes of graduate employability projects on undergraduate students, within a theoretical framework focused on identity theory.

* Centre for Computing Education Research: student transitions projects*

Associate Student Project, 2016 to 2022. The Associate Student Project (ASP) supports students who study for diplomas in Further Education colleges then complete their degree at university, entering directly into second or third year.

CfE Transitions Project, 2015 to 2016. Exploring the impact of secondary school curricula on the skills and experiences of School of Computing first year undergraduates.

*Centre for Social Informatics (CSI) projects*

Knitted Memes, 2017 (PI). Explored the emotional resonance of digital photos, shared via social media posts, in the context of local democracy.

Participation Space Studies, 2011 to 2016 (Doctoral research). A socio-technical exploration of activist and community groups’ use of online and offline spaces to support their work.

Research in Librarianship - Impact Evaluation Study, 2011. Investigated the influence of funded research on practice in UK library and information science (LIS). Funded by Library and Information Science Research Coalition.

*International Teledemocracy Centre (ITC) projects*
Hub Websites for Youth Participation (HUWY), 2009 to 2011 (PI of lead partner). Piloting tools and processes to support young people’s informed participation in policy-making around Internet governance. EU-funded project, with eight partner organisations across four countries, led by Edinburgh Napier.

Western Balkans Democratic Participation (WebDep), 2007 to 2009 (PI). Working with Western Balkan news agencies and journalists’ unions to create online news portals and community forums, to support democratic renewal. EU Framework project.

e-Participation Scotland Baseline, 2008 (PI). ESRC-funded event to find out about contemporary eParticipation work in Scotland.

e-Democracy Services for Highland Youth Voice, 2000 to 2007. Working with Highland Council’s youth parliament to develop and evaluate online tools to support their work, including e-voting systems, discussion forums, and a content management system.

e-Petitions projects, 2002 to 2009. Various projects to implement the ITC’s e-petitioner system and align its design and processes to the context of, for example: the Scottish Parliament, the German Parliament, English local councils.

e-Engaging young Scotland on radioactive waste management, 2004. Funded by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) to pilot the use of online tools and games to support young people’s participation in discussions around radioactive waste management.

e-Consultation: What sort of Scotland do we want to live in? 2001 to 2002. Commissioned by the Environment Group of the Scottish Executive to gather informed input from citizens and groups, to put forward within Scotland's contribution to the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, 2002.

*Programme committees*

Social Media and Society (SMSociety) https://socialmediaandsociety.org/

EGOV-CeDEM-ePart (Merge of the IFIP WG 8.5 Electronic Government, the IFIP WG 8.5 IFIP Electronic Participation, and the Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government. http://www.egov-conference.org

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

News

Events

Esteem

Fellowships and Awards

  • Researcher Mentoring Pilot

 

Media Activity

  • HUWY event: Young people’s experience and advice on Internet Policies
  • Ella Taylor-Smith's invited post on LSE blog
  • The International Teledemocracy Centre hosts successful workshop to establish baseline for e-Participation in Scotland.

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Ada Scotland Festival

 

Filter by

Date


66 results

Facilitating computing students' transition to higher education

Conference Proceeding
Fabian, K., Taylor-Smith, E., Meharg, D., & Varey, A. (2019)
Facilitating computing students' transition to higher education. In UKICER: Proceedings of the 1st UK & Ireland Computing Education Research Conference. https://doi.org/10.1145/3351287.3351298
Students who progress to higher education from further education colleges are faced with academic, social, and logistical challenges during their transition. In general, they ...

Bridging the Digital Skills Gap: Are computing degree apprenticeships the answer?

Conference Proceeding
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., Fabian, K., Berg, T., Meharg, D., & Varey, A. (2019)
Bridging the Digital Skills Gap: Are computing degree apprenticeships the answer?. In ITiCSE '19 Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. , (126-132). https://doi.org/10.1145/3304221.3319744
This paper describes a study investigating whether apprenticeship computing degrees in Scotland are attracting additional entrants who will become IT professionals and fill a ...

Identity and belonging for graduate apprenticeships in computing: the experience of first cohort degree apprentices in Scotland

Conference Proceeding
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Smith, C. (2019)
Identity and belonging for graduate apprenticeships in computing: the experience of first cohort degree apprentices in Scotland. In Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE’19) (2-8). https://doi.org/10.1145/3304221.3319753
In September 2017, our university’s first graduate apprentices began degrees in Software Development, Cybersecurity, and Information Technology Management for Business. This s...

Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”

Journal Article
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Bacon, L., & Mackinnon, L. (2019)
Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(3), 324-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1489219
A recent UK Government commissioned study found concerning levels of unemployment among computing students from disadvantaged, black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The study...

The impact of work placement on graduate employment in computing: outcomes from a UK-based study

Journal Article
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, C., & Webster, G. (2018)
The impact of work placement on graduate employment in computing: outcomes from a UK-based study. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 19(4), 359-369
This study followed recent computing graduates into the workplace and explored their undergraduate experiences of work placements and subsequent impact on graduate employment....

Graduate apprenticeships are great opportunities for individuals, but are they inclusive?

Presentation / Conference
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Varey, A. (2018, December)
Graduate apprenticeships are great opportunities for individuals, but are they inclusive?. Paper presented at Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference
Higher education-level apprenticeships can provide routes to university degrees for people without the financial resources for traditional degrees. In Scotland, the first coho...

Enhancing learning confidence for direct entry computing students

Presentation / Conference
Fabian, K., Taylor-Smith, E., Meharg, D., & Varey, A. (2018, December)
Enhancing learning confidence for direct entry computing students. Paper presented at The Changing Shape of Higher Education: Can excellence and inclusion cohabit?, Newport, UK
Previous studies have shown that students who transfer into university from college (direct entrants) face several challenges when they enter university. In response, the Asso...

Democratic Participation through Crocheted Memes.

Conference Proceeding
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, C. F., & Smyth, M. (2018)
Democratic Participation through Crocheted Memes. In SMSociety '18 Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Social Media and Society, (178-186). https://doi.org/10.1145/3217804.3217910
In a UK city, various crocheted protest banners have appeared, containing political statements concerning planned developments in their locations. Photos of these banners are ...

STEM Apprenticeship Degrees: Motivations and aspirations of apprentices

Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Meharg, D., Smith, C., & Varey, A. (2018, June)
STEM Apprenticeship Degrees: Motivations and aspirations of apprentices. Paper presented at Horizons in STEM Higher Education, Hull
Using the Apprenticeship Levy, England piloted Degree Apprenticeships in 2014 and Scotland followed with Graduate Apprenticeships in 2017. In Scotland, the apprenticeships are...

From work-integrated learning to learning-integrated work: motivations and apprehensions of Graduate Apprentices

Conference Proceeding
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, C., & Varey, A. (2018)
From work-integrated learning to learning-integrated work: motivations and apprehensions of Graduate Apprentices. In Proceedings of the 3rdInternational Research Symposium on Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education, Stuttgart, Germany (199-207
Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) degrees bring new collaborations between universities and employers and new opportunities for apprentices—to gain a university degree, while also ...

Previous Post Grad projects