The UK Joint Research Professor programme aims to build research capacity in the School and strengthen the engagement of School staff in educational research.
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT)’s School of Education and Lifelong Learning was delighted to welcome Visiting Scholar, Professor Maggie Gregson, for a virtual visit from 9 to 16 February 2022.
Professor Gregson is Professor of Vocational Education, and Research Lead at the School of Education, University of Sunderland. She will be Visiting Professor at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning in WIT for two years as part of WIT’s UK Joint Research Professor initiative.
UK Joint Research Professor programme
The programme, the first of its kind in the Irish Institute of Technology (IoT) and Technological University (TU) sector, aims to assign an eminent UK-based research professor to each School within the Institute to enhance WIT’s international partnerships, collaborations and research capability.
Professor Gregson is working with Dr Helen Murphy, Head of School of Education and Lifelong Learning and colleagues across the School, to help build research capacity in the School and strengthen the engagement of School staff in educational research.
Workshops, tutorials, and seminars
During her virtual visit, Professor Gregson delivered a number of interactive workshops, individual tutorials for staff members of the School, as well as a series of seminars, including a seminar on research supervision, which was offered to all WIT staff as part of Continuous Professional Development week.
Speaking of the partnership, Dr Helen Murphy said, "We are delighted and honoured to have a scholar of such international standing working with us. Professor Gregson is particularly interested and engaged in working with educational practitioners, which describes everyone who attended her sessions as part of this visit.”
Professor Gregson
Professor Gregson is Director of the Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training at the University of Sunderland (SUNCETT), where she manages and teaches Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy programmes, supervises PhDs and leads national developments in advancing understanding of and support for practitioner research in the Further Adult and Vocational Education sector. She has published widely in the fields of practice-focused research, vocational education and educational assessment and evaluation.