Dr Dawne Irving-Bell, an alumna from the PhD in Educational Research - Higher Education programme, was recently appointed as a Professor of Learning and Teaching at BPP University.

As the first in her family to go to university, facilitating equity of access to high-quality education is Dawne’s enduring passion.

Having completed a BTEC Diploma, it was while working as a designer, tutoring undergraduate students, Dawne discovered her passion for teaching. Changing career from graphic design to education, she qualified to teach. Determined to address educational inequality, she always chose to work in challenging schools. Dawne’s students achieved outstanding results, winning multiple awards, including the prestigious Young Engineers of Britain competition. Her success in leading Initial Teacher Education led to a Local Authority secondment where she worked to raise teaching-standards across the borough of Knowsley, in the Northwest of England.

Securing appointment as a visiting lecturer at Edge Hill University and energised by the difference she was making, Dawne moved into Higher Education full-time. Committed to widening participation, shaping teaching in her subject-discipline, she moved into programme design, developing teacher education programmes which provided students with atypical qualifications with an opportunity to realise their teaching ambitions.

Mindful of her own development, seizing the opportunity to further her scholarship Dawne chose to study at Lancaster because of its sector leading international reputation. Dawne’s track-record of teaching excellence, leadership, and expertise in staff-development, enabled her to take up opportunities to influence learning and teaching through her work with university staff, doctoral-candidates, international students, and academic visitors.

Dawne commented that “I thoroughly enjoyed the programme. The support was exceptional and I valued the opportunity to engage in academic debate.”

Dr Janja Komljenovic (Programme Director) commented that "We are incredibly proud of Dawne and her achievements. Her work and results speak for themselves in securing a professorship. We are pleased that we were able to support her in her journey and that the Doctoral Programme in Educational Research – Higher Education enabled her to progress."

Dawne’s dedication to raising the profile of Learning and Teaching, and commitment to teaching-excellence sits behind her decision to join the team at BBP University “with a proud history of supporting a wide range of learners and employers to access outstanding education, I am delighted to be joining the team at BPP University as Professor of Learning and Teaching”.

Dawne is Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), National Teaching Fellow (NTF) and proud to hold a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE). In recognition of her outstanding contribution to re-shape teacher education she received a National Award from her Subject Association. With a passion for visual-thinking and technology education, Dawne established The National Teaching Repository, an Open Educational Resource with proven reach and impact across the global Higher Education community.A platform where colleagues can share interventions that lead to real improvements in teaching and learning in a way that enables colleagues to secure recognition for their practice, making it citable, sharable, and discoverable