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

 

Media Activity

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

 

Membership of Professional Body

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

 

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Date


85 results

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...

The Influence of Computer Self-efficacy and Subjective Norms on the Students’ Use of Learning Management Systems at King Abdulaziz University

Journal Article
Binyamin, S. S., Rutter, M. J., & Smith, S. (2018)
The Influence of Computer Self-efficacy and Subjective Norms on the Students’ Use of Learning Management Systems at King Abdulaziz University. International journal of information and education technology (IJIET), 8(10), 693-699. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijiet.2018.8.10.1124
Technology acceptance model (TAM) has been a standout amongst the most well-known models in understanding the users’ acceptance of technologies. This study develops a model to...

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 ...

Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives to work experience, as reported by computing students

Presentation / Conference
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Smith, C. (2017, December)
Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives to work experience, as reported by computing students. Paper presented at Society for Research Into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference, Newport, Wales
Having relevant work experience, such as a placement or internship, is valued by employers in the technology sector and can improve employment outcomes for computing graduates...

Developing entrepreneurial capabilities for the global labour market: A cross national study of IT students in the UK and Australia

Presentation / Conference
Hamilton, M., Gribble, C., & Smith, S. (2017, December)
Developing entrepreneurial capabilities for the global labour market: A cross national study of IT students in the UK and Australia. Paper presented at Society for Research in Higher Education SRHE, Cardiff, Wales
In Australia and the UK there is growing emphasis on ‘entrepreneurship’ in response to challenging economic circumstances. The current focus on developing ‘entrepreneurial’ ca...

Towards graduate employment: exploring student identity through a university-wide employability project

Journal Article
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., & Fotheringham, J. (2019)
Towards graduate employment: exploring student identity through a university-wide employability project. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(5), 628-640. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2017.1390077
Students have expectations of their university education leading to graduate careers, with universities investing considerable resources in institution-wide initiatives design...

Taking education for granted: the role of placement in computing science

Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., & Gemma, W. (2017, June)
Taking education for granted: the role of placement in computing science. Presented at Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland
The importance of placements and internships was highlighted in the 2016 Shadbolt Review of Computer Science Degree Accreditation and Graduate Employability – indeed the secon...

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