New Perspectives in Science Education
Douglas Higgison
Institution: Oxford Brookes University
Address: Dept of MEMS, Wheatley Campus
Postal Code: OX33 1HX
Country: United Kingdom
Douglas is a principal lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and the Undergraduate Programme Lead with overall responsibility of all curriculum and administration requirements for undergraduate and integrated masters programmes in Engineering at the University.
In the past twenty years Douglas has specialised in programme and curriculum design and has been responsible for the Undergraduate Engineering Programmes at Oxford Brookes during that period. A graduate with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from The University of the West of Scotland and an MSc in Computing Science from the University of East Anglia he worked for five years with Marconi Avionics designing and commissioning avionics equipment for the defence industry before entering academia. In September 1989 he joined Oxford Brookes University and with a keen interest in Engineering Pedagogy and curriculum design he has been a significant influence in directing the Engineering Department to expand it’s Mechanical Engineering Programme to include Automotive and Motorsport Engineering at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His special interests are Learning Teaching and Assessment and he is an e-learning enthusiast.
Most recently I have changed the focus of the degree programme in year one and year two to include the design, evaluation and business case for making and selling Stirling Engine Models that have improved the integrated nature of the degrees and increased student satisfaction and enjoyment across these programmes.
Areas of expertise: curriculum design, Foundation Degrees and alternative routes to degree level qualifications, e-learning, Finite Element Modelling and applications, Modelling Engineering Systems
In the past twenty years Douglas has specialised in programme and curriculum design and has been responsible for the Undergraduate Engineering Programmes at Oxford Brookes during that period. A graduate with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from The University of the West of Scotland and an MSc in Computing Science from the University of East Anglia he worked for five years with Marconi Avionics designing and commissioning avionics equipment for the defence industry before entering academia. In September 1989 he joined Oxford Brookes University and with a keen interest in Engineering Pedagogy and curriculum design he has been a significant influence in directing the Engineering Department to expand it’s Mechanical Engineering Programme to include Automotive and Motorsport Engineering at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His special interests are Learning Teaching and Assessment and he is an e-learning enthusiast.
Most recently I have changed the focus of the degree programme in year one and year two to include the design, evaluation and business case for making and selling Stirling Engine Models that have improved the integrated nature of the degrees and increased student satisfaction and enjoyment across these programmes.
Areas of expertise: curriculum design, Foundation Degrees and alternative routes to degree level qualifications, e-learning, Finite Element Modelling and applications, Modelling Engineering Systems
