Sally Smith
Sally Smith

Prof Sally Smith PFHEA FBCS

Head of Graduate Apprenticeships and Skills Development and Professor

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 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
  • Edinburgh Napier University – Bridging the digital skills gap
  • Edinburgh Napier gets major funding to teach digital skills
  • 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

 

Date


85 results

From Interest to Decision: A Comparative Exploration of Student Attitudes and Pathways to Co-op Programs in the United States and the United Kingdom

Journal Article
Ramirez, N., Smith, S., Smith, C. F., Berg, T., Strubel, B., Ohland, M., & Main, J. (2016)
From Interest to Decision: A Comparative Exploration of Student Attitudes and Pathways to Co-op Programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. International Journal of Engineering Education, 32(5A), 1867-1878
Cooperative education programs (co-op) play a vital role in developing engineering and computing students’ applied technological skills and professional self-confidence. Never...

Evaluating the Usability of Learning Management Systems from Students' Perception: A Case Study of King Abdulaziz University

Conference Proceeding
Binyamin, S., Smith, S., & Rutter, M. (2016)
Evaluating the Usability of Learning Management Systems from Students' Perception: A Case Study of King Abdulaziz University. In 15th European Conference on eLearning (ECEL 2016), (112-113
Due to the rapid improvement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), adopting technologies has become a major focus of interest in the field of education. The integ...

Matching and mismatch: understanding employer expectations of work placement applicants

Presentation / Conference
Smith, C. & Smith, S. (2016, September)
Matching and mismatch: understanding employer expectations of work placement applicants. Paper presented at ACEN, Sydney, Australia
The success and sustainability of work-integrated learning (WIL) is an abiding concern for universities, as institutions seek to mainstream WIL within academic programmes. A ...

Exploring student identity through a university-wide graduate employability initiative

Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., Fotheringham, J. & Dencer-Brown, I. (2016, June)
Exploring student identity through a university-wide graduate employability initiative. Paper presented at WACE International Research Symposium, Victoria, Canada
Universities are adopting institution-wide projects designed to enhance opportunities for student work placements and work-related learning across all subject disciplines, as ...

Exploring student identity and transition through portfolio development

Presentation / Conference
Sobolewska, E., Smith, S., & Hunter, D. (2016, June)
Exploring student identity and transition through portfolio development. Paper presented at AAEEBL/CRA Understanding the essence(s) of portfolio-based learning, Edinburgh, Scotland
No abstract available.

Strategic positioning of IT business Incubators within Universities - a comparative study of the United Kingdom and India.

Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., Kannabiran, G., & Laing, S. (2015, November)
Strategic positioning of IT business Incubators within Universities - a comparative study of the United Kingdom and India. Paper presented at Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Glasgow, UK
Advances in Information Technology (IT) offers various innovation opportunities. Incubation of IT innovation, with a focus on promoting entrepreneurship, has been a strategic ...

Making co-op work: An exploration of student attitudes to co-op programs

Conference Proceeding
Smith, S., Berg, T., & Smith, C. (2015)
Making co-op work: An exploration of student attitudes to co-op programs. In Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2015. 32614 2015. IEEE (1-6). https://doi.org/10.1109/fie.2015.7344173
Engineering and computing at university both have a long tradition of co-operative education which plays a vital role in developing students' applied skills and giving confide...

The future of professionalising informatics: a university education perspective.

Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., & Phillips, I. (2015, October)
The future of professionalising informatics: a university education perspective. Paper presented at 11th European Computer Science Summit, Vienna
In March 2015, the Shadbolt Review group was established in the UK to review course accreditation of computer science university courses. The Council of Professors and Heads o...

Women in ICT: exploring professional Identity on an executive masters program

Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., Smith, C. F., & Varey, A. (2015, October)
Women in ICT: exploring professional Identity on an executive masters program. Paper presented at 6th Annual Conference on Computer Science Education: Innovation and Technology (CSEIT 2015
Despite years of purposeful activity there is still a shortfall in the numbers of women enrolling onto computing courses in the UK and elsewhere, while many who join the profe...

Making co-op work for you: a comparative exploration of student attitudes to co-op programs in the United States and the United Kingdom

Presentation / Conference
Ramirez, N., Smith, S., Smith, C., Berg, T., Strubel, B., Ohland, M., & Main, J. (2015, August)
Making co-op work for you: a comparative exploration of student attitudes to co-op programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. Paper presented at World Conference on Co-op and Work Integrated Learning (WACE 19th
University engineering and computing courses have a long tradition of co-operative education that plays a vital role in developing students' applied skills and giving confiden...

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