Christopher Smith
Senior Lecturer
Institute for University to Business Education (U2B)
Chris is a Senior Lecturer within the Institute for University to Business Education. He has a passion for work-based learning and effective collaboration between industry, academia and society, and brings his experience and expertise to design innovative work-based learning and transformative education programmes; his particular focus is on lifelong and continuing learners. His research focus is on models and frameworks leading to effective work-based education and their evaluation, as well as digital educational innovation, particularly for off-campus (transnational, working) students.
He is Co-Chair of the Continuing Engineering Education/Lifelong Learning Special Interest Group of SEFI (European Society of Engineering Education), and recognized expert in design of work-based programmes, having designed and delivered programmes across three continents.
Additionally, he is a founding member of UK group on Apprenticeship Pedagogy in STEM, along with colleagues from Aston University, Strathclyde University, and University of Warwick.
He is Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) and MSc Railway Operations Management programmes that develop Southern African railway professionals through work-based education, delivered in conjunction with the Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management at the University of Johannesburg.
Moreover, Chris is the Framework Leader for the Enhanced Practice Framework, and the associated BA/BSc and MA/MSc Enhanced Practice programmes. These programmes offer a pathway for workers, volunteers and professionals to take their existing certified learning, experiential learning and training and build a pathway to a recognised university level qualification. Such a contemporary approach aligns to the need for up- and re-skilling, lifelong learning and continuing education.
Chris supervises PhD and doctoral students in the areas relating to work-based education and collaborative approaches to education. He is interested in supervising students with interests in work-based and work-integrated learning, including apprenticeships, as well as innovative pedagogies to support lifelong and continuing learning.
Chris is a Chartered Engineer, Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and Senior Fellow of UK AdvanceHE/HEA. His MEng Electronics Engineering with Optoelectronics degree and PhD in Waveguide photonic microstructures in III-V semiconductors and post-doctoral research work at the University of Glasgow resulted in over 50 authored and co-authored journal and conference articles. After spending nine (9) years in industry in a range of engineering roles (across process, product, quality), ultimately as a Technical Director of a specialised electromagnetics company, he returned to academia as a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at Coventry University. At Coventry University, Chris led several work-based programmes in manufacturing engineering and operations management for six (6) years, including the co-design of the innovative BEng/MEng Manufacturing Engineering Programme (first faculty-on-the-factory-floor programme), before joining GCU in 2015