Faces of Reading

The HR team was really helpful in going through my options with me, and my manager helped to make sure my responsibilities were split between the other Business Partners while I was on leave. Because of this, I was able to help my wife, Khrystyna, but I also had the opportunity to get to know my son.

What I found is that going to work is the easy part. At home, you have to dress and feed your child, bathe them and read to them, make sure they sleep and take part in activities. And just being there for them is integral. That time is very hard to achieve when you’re working: you come home, de-stress, and do all the basic necessities, but just spending time with your child is when you really bond with them and see what type of person they’re becoming. Thanks to the University’s flexibility, I got that time with Luke.

Read more about family leave at the University of Reading. 

My role is now "teaching intensive", which means research is only a minor part of what I do.

As an 18-year-old student, the last thing I thought I would be doing was standing up in front of people giving talks. Showing off my project to prospective students gave me the confidence to do it. I get a buzz out of it now: the different ways of teaching things, thinking about technology and what we can use.

I was made Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014. I have been Head of Department, Director of Teaching and Learning, and Senior Tutor. I am now School Director of Technology Enhanced Learning in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences.

How we do things has changed considerably. We used to have mobile robots to promote our courses, which were part of our outreach activities, now we use massive open online courses (MOOCs). You get people of all ages all over the world doing them. I’m the lead educator for the Begin Robotics MOOC, where anyone can learn about robotics, which features many interactive web pages I developed. I also use such web pages when teaching artificial intelligence, virtual reality and mathematics. They also featured in a recent project about how to make online learning more accessible for all.

It's great to be in an exciting subject area where there's constant innovation and new technology, and where things are continuing to develop.

The thing I enjoy most about Reading is the School I work in, both the staff and the students. Everyone is supportive and friendly and will stop to have a chat. We do our work but we also do have time to catch-up as well. Because I’m the Programmes Director, I also get involved with the Reading University Construction Society (RUCS), as well as the University's Ghana Student Society.

I’ve been given the opportunity to grow in what I do, and I think Reading gives everyone that opportunity – you just have to be yourself, and take it. Regardless of where you come from, grasp the opportunity and go with it.

For example, there are days when I work at home so I can pick up my five-year-old son from school. My electric car cuts down on carbon emissions but unfortunately not on travel time; I still have at least an hour-long commute each way, so being able to work from home on certain days really helps to fit everything in.

There’s a lot of support for doing things differently at the University, and from my mentor and manager. In addition to flexible working, I also benefit from interdisciplinary research interactions through my work with the Centre for Past Climate Change, and I’m co-chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee in the School of Mathematical, Physical, and Computational Science.

Read more about flexible working in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences.