Student Learning Development

SLD Management team

We are responsible for the work, impact, and strategic operations of all team activity.

The management team represent SLD on various University committees, working groups and projecs.

SLD's management consists of:

• Head of Student Learning Development, Dr Andrew Struan
• Deputy Head of Student Learning Development (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences and International), Dr Jennifer Boyle
• Deputy Head of Student Learning Development (Sciences, Maths and Stats), Dr Scott Ramsay
• Inductions and Transitions Manager, Dr Stuart Purcell

Dr Andrew Struan

Head of Student Learning Development

Andrew Struan has worked across the globe in academic literacies and in political history. His role at Glasgow is in developing students’ academic literacies and he leads an award-winning, multi-disciplinary team. His PhD is in political history: he researches the linguistic history of parliamentary debate and the role of language in shaping ideologies. Andrew is co-Chair of the national network for Scottish Learning Developers, ScotHELD, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Historical Thesaurus.

Andrew is course co-ordinator for the Academic Writing Skills Programme (AWSP), the largest course in UK Higher Education. He is also course co-ordinator for other courses, including T2G: Transition to Glasgow, the History of Argument, What is America?, and Writing Across Time, Topic and Theory. 

Publications

Andrew has published widely on academic literacies, student success and the history of Parliamentary speech. He recently co-edited a Special Issue of the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice looking at developing the skills of our students across their curricula. His work in the history of Parliamentary speech has analysed the impact of imperialism (and post-colonialism) on the language used in political debates within Westminster. 

Team Members

• Bob Imbur - Peer Learning Facilitator
• Caitlin Diver - Digital Learning Technologist
• Liaison with the Royal Literary Fund re: hosting Glasgow's RLF Fellows
• Management team (see below)

Dr Scott Ramsay

Deputy Head of Student Learning Development (Sciences, Maths and Stats)

Scott has a PhD in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Glasgow, where he taught extensively in undergraduate tutorials and labs at Glasgow from 2007 to 2012. Since then, he has worked variously as the Good Practice Adviser in learning and teaching for the University, and the Effective Learning Adviser for students in the College of MVLS since. He coordinates the credit-bearing modules 'Intro to Communicating Science', 'Rationality and Scientific Debate', and 'Contemporary Public Science Communications', as well as two modules on T2G, the transition course open to all incoming undergraduates: 'From Bread Mould to Big Data: Biotechnology Through the Decades', and 'Scientific Philosophy'. Scott is currently Secretary of ScotHELD, the professional network for Scottish Higher Education Learner Developers.

Publications

Scott is the co-author of Writing for Science Students (Palgrave): a handbook for undergraduates, as well as for international postgraduates who studied their first degrees in higher education systems that did not assess heavily by essays. Writing for Science Students won Book of the Year 2018, as voted by the Academic Booksellers' Association. 

A second book, Writing a Science PhD (MacMillan), is also available for postgraduate research students.

Sciences, Maths & Stats Team Members

• Dr Jenny August - Maths Adviser
• Dr George Vazanellis - Stats Adviser
• Dr James Rowe - Effective Learning Adviser for the College of Science & Engineering
• Dr Rosalind McKenna - Effective Learning Adviser for the College of MVLS

Dr Jennifer Boyle

Deputy Head of Student Learning Development (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, and International)

Jennifer has a PhD in Medieval History, and a background in both History and English Literature.  She works with students from all disciplines, and has worked in the past with students from school, undergraduate and postgraduate taught levels.  She works in conjunction with the Research and Strategy Innovation Office and SLD.

Publications

Jennifer is the co-author of two textbooks: Writing for Science Students (Palgrave) - a handbook for undergraduates in biology, chemistry, physics, and other related sciences, as well as for international postgraduates who studied their first degrees in higher education systems that did not assess heavily by essays; and Writing a Science PhD (Palgrave MacMillan) - a handbook with similar aims, but designed for those working at the postgraduate research level.

Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences and International Team Members

• Dr Mona O'Brien - Effective Learning Adviser for International Students
• Dr Amber Hinde - Effective Learning Adviser for International Students
• Dr Aleix Tura Vecino - Effective Learning Adviser for the College of Social Sciences
• Dr Robyne Calvert - Effective Learning Adviser for the College of Arts & Humanities

Dr Stuart Purcell

Induction & Transitions Manager

Stuart has extensive experience in learning development and academic literacies within the UK Higher Education sector, having taught widely in these areas at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has worked in various roles across the University of Glasgow and in his current role focuses on key points of student transition into, through, and out of Higher Education, developing programmes and resources to help students make these transitions successfully. While he now concentrates on the aforementioned areas in his research, Stuart’s research background is primarily in literature and media studies, the latter of which continues to inform a great deal of his work.

Induction & Transitions Team Members

• Dr Claire Brown - Induction & Transitions Adviser
• Lucy McCormick - Induction & Transitions Adviser