Sally Smith
Sally Smith

Prof Sally Smith PFHEA FBCS

Head of Graduate Apprenticeships and Skills Development and Professor

 0131 455 2742

  S.Smith@napier.ac.uk

   

Biography

Professor Sally Smith MA MSc DBA PFHEA

Sally is Head of Graduate Apprenticeships and Skills Development at Edinburgh Napier. She has an MA (Hons) in Mathematics from Aberdeen University, Scotland, an MSc in Computer Science from City University, London and a DBA from Edinburgh Napier University. Sally is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has previously worked in the telecommunications and aerospace industries in the UK and Europe.

She is the Director of the Centre for Higher Education Research at Edinburgh Napier University and Project Director of e-Placement Scotland, creating paid placements for computing students across Scotland.

Sally leads the Data Education in Universities workstream of the Data Skills Gateway of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region City Deal.

Sally’s research focus is on the impact of work placements and graduate apprenticeships, especially on under-represented groups.

Previously, Sally was Dean of Computing 2008-2020. Between 2011 and 2018 she was on the committee of the UK Council of Professors and Heads of Computing, serving as Chair between 2014 and 2016.

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

News

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • SQA Advisory Council
  • Sally Smith has been appointed to the Shadbolt Review Group

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy
  • Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy
  • Conference Chair Horizons in STEM Higher Education
  • UK STEM Conference June 2016: A new conference for teaching and learning research in STEM subjects.

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External at Birmingham City University

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Connect Tech 100
  • Fellow of the British Computer Society
  • Sally Smith and Bill Buchanan in Tech 100 for Scotland
  • Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

 

Media Activity

  • Graduate Apprenticeships - doubling of places
  • Edinburgh Napier gets major funding to teach digital skills
  • Edinburgh Napier University – Bridging the digital skills gap
  • Scottish Business News Network
  • Times Higher Article
  • The code for future success is investing in our graduates
  • Edinburgh Napier takes over as parent organisation to GGS

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Principal Fellowship of Higher Education Academy
  • Fellow of the British Computer Society

 

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92 results

Activity theory analysis of training for workplace mentors in apprenticeship degrees

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., & Smith, S. (2024, December)
Activity theory analysis of training for workplace mentors in apprenticeship degrees. Paper presented at International Conference of the Society of Research into Higher Education, Nottingham, UK
Apprenticeship degrees bring the radical possibility of higher education without debt. They also require taking learning off-campus and into the workplace, collaborating with ...

Resisting the gendered categorisation of Computing and Engineering

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., & Smith, S. (2024, December)
Resisting the gendered categorisation of Computing and Engineering. Paper presented at 2024 SRHE International Research Conference, Nottingham, UK
As information infrastructures increasingly shape decisions that affect us, especially through the undertow of artificial intelligence, it is essential that women and gender m...

Workplace Mentor Training for Inclusion: Training resources for work-based learning mentors

Digital Artefact
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., Cecil, M., & Scott, A. (2024)
Workplace Mentor Training for Inclusion: Training resources for work-based learning mentors. [Blog]
This is a resource for work-based learning mentors, with a special focus on mentoring for inclusion, featuring Key Elements of Inclusion for Mentors infographic and Intro to I...

Job-seeking narratives: in search of graduate capitals acquired during student placements

Journal Article
Smith, S., & Smith, C. (in press)
Job-seeking narratives: in search of graduate capitals acquired during student placements. British Journal of Sociology of Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2024.2328125
Being a graduate is no longer sufficient to secure a fulfilling and rewarding graduate role. This paper drew on Tomlinson’s Graduate Capital Model to analyse the job-seeking n...

Students’ gendered experiences of male-dominated Computing and Engineering courses

Conference Proceeding
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Fabian, K. (2023)
Students’ gendered experiences of male-dominated Computing and Engineering courses.
How does it feel to be in a gender minority on a STEM programme? Does it have an impact on individual students? Via an online survey (n=255), undergraduate students on Computi...

Investing in degree apprenticeships: Analysing experiences through Conservation of Resources Theory

Conference Proceeding
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Bratton, A. (2023)
Investing in degree apprenticeships: Analysing experiences through Conservation of Resources Theory.
Degree apprentices have reported finding work-life-study balance challenging. This study uses the Theory of Conservation of Resources (COR) to investigate the resources invest...

Disparities in work-integrated learning experiences for students who present as women: an international study of biases, barriers, and challenges

Journal Article
Bowen, T., Drysdale, M. T., Callaghan, S., Smith, S., Johansson, K., Smith, C., …Berg, T. (2024)
Disparities in work-integrated learning experiences for students who present as women: an international study of biases, barriers, and challenges. Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, 14(2), 313-328. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-05-2023-0115
Purpose This study identifies gendered disparities among women students participating in work-integrated learning and explores the effects of the disparities on their percepti...

‘They gave me an opportunity, and I took it’: motivations and concerns of adult apprentices

Journal Article
Smith, S., Fabian, K., Taylor-Smith, E., Barr, M., Berg, T., Bratton, A., Kolberg, M., Paterson, J., & Zarb, M. (2025)
‘They gave me an opportunity, and I took it’: motivations and concerns of adult apprentices. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 77(2), 465-483. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2023.2255576
In the UK context of an ageing population, degree apprenticeships represent a new opportunity to study for a degree while working. Apprentices are full-time employees granted ...

Apprentices’ perspectives of the tripartite collaboration at the heart of degree apprenticeships: a longitudinal study

Journal Article
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., Fabian, K., & Bratton, A. (2023)
Apprentices’ perspectives of the tripartite collaboration at the heart of degree apprenticeships: a longitudinal study. Journal of Workplace Learning, 35(8), 779-795. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-01-2023-0007
Purpose: The partnership which underpins degree apprenticeships is a tripartite collaboration between apprentices, employers, and universities. This study investigated the li...

‘I can’t really say as my course is 90% male’: students perceptions of gender impact on computing and engineering degrees

Presentation / Conference Contribution
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Fabian, K. (2023, June)
‘I can’t really say as my course is 90% male’: students perceptions of gender impact on computing and engineering degrees. Paper presented at 2023 Horizons in STEM, Swansea, UK
In UK higher education, the majority of computing and engineering students are men. HESA (2023) records the proportion of women studying ‘Computing’ and ‘Engineering and techn...

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