Q&A with FoNS Vice-Dean for Education, Professor Richard Thompson

by Claudia Cannon

08 October 2020

Professor Richard Thompson took on the role of Vice-Dean for Education in the Faculty of Natural Sciences back in August.

Teaching preparation for the new academic year has developed in a very different context during summer 2020, in the face of COVID-19 and its evolving global repercussions. We asked Professor Richard Thompson what it’s been like to take on the role of Vice-Dean for Education (VDE) during this extraordinary time. Here he shares reflections on, and insights from, a whirlwind two months as VDE.

Hi Richard – first of all, perhaps you can tell us a bit about your background. How long have you been at Imperial?

I came to Imperial in 1986! I’d been at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington before that. My research is in the area of quantum optics and technology, which straddles the use of lasers and optical techniques, for the study of atoms. My teaching has always been – and still is – in those broad areas.

I’ve always been particularly interested in education – in fact, it was a big influence on me wanting to steer my career towards working in a university rather than pursuing a position in an industry or research institute environment. I was Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Physics for six years, and following that, was elected as a College Consul. A large part of the Consul role is to do with ensuring the quality of the education we provide, so VDE feels like a natural development.

What does the Vice-Dean for Education do?

It’s a role that coordinates and oversees all the teaching activity in the Faculty, at all levels, ensuring that everything is in place for us to deliver the high-quality degrees that we want to provide. I work closely with the other people in the Education team, the Ed Tech and AV teams, Heads of Departments, Directors of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Study, and of course the Student Representatives from each department.

You’ve taken on the role at a particularly challenging time, mid-global pandemic – what have you been up to since you started?

I started in the role in August, after Professor Emma McCoy became Interim Vice-Provost for Education and Student Experience, and it’s been extremely busy! It’s been great to take things over in such a good state – Emma did an incredible job, supporting the Faculty’s departments in adapting to the situation which we quite suddenly found ourselves in at the beginning of lockdown. I’ve been trying to continue her great work!

At the moment we’re obviously focused on preparation for October. There’s been lots of activity around the exceptional admissions process this year, and letting students know what their education will look like in a multi-mode teaching model, taking into account what might happen with the evolving COVID-19 situation.

We’ve been supporting our teaching staff in designing and preparing materials that will ensure each programme continues being taught to a high standard, in a way that allows students to meet their learning objectives. It's also really important that the new materials allow students to engage with each other and their tutors effectively, whether they’re taking the course multi-mode or fully remotely. Teaching staff in Departments have been working very hard together with the Faculty teams to get everything ready in time for the start of term, in very challenging circumstances.

Can you provide more detail about the role technology will play in education going forward?

We’re developing tools and designing courses in ways that we’ll take forward way beyond this current crisis... The incredible hard work that’s been happening over the summer across the Faculty is without doubt an investment, which will pay off in the coming years. Professor Richard Thompson Vice-Dean for Education, Faculty of Natural Sciences

Preparation this summer has obviously been very different in many ways, and the Ed Tech and AV teams have been most crucial in this process because we’ll be relying so much more on the innovative use of educational software and hardware. The quite sudden increase in the involvement of educational technology has been a big development, and one which we’ve been in a good position to explore, as we already had well-established Ed Tech teams in place prior to the pandemic.

Much of this technology has exciting potential beyond the immediate necessity to transition to a remote teaching model. The situation has forced us to think creatively about teaching, whether that’s exploring the possibilities of virtual reality, designing innovations like labs-in-a-box to send to students wherever in the world they are, or remote field trips that actually utilise the fact that students are based in different places as an advantage for everyone.

We’re developing tools and designing courses in ways that we’ll take forward way beyond this current crisis. Rather than just recording a lecture, we’re thinking really hard about how best to present the material – so that might be shorter video segments rather than hour-long lectures, and creating virtual spaces and projects that allow students to make connections and interact with one another effectively, despite the physical distance. Being forced to think in this way is hopefully going to allow us to be more effective in our teaching. A huge effort has gone into preparing materials this summer, but I think those materials are going to have a lasting benefit beyond this year. The incredible hard work that’s been happening across the Faculty is without doubt an investment, which will pay off in the coming years, and is certainly not being seen as something that’s just getting us through this one year.

Tell us more about the role of Student Reps – why are they invaluable and how can students get involved in this aspect of the College experience?

The Student Reps really are important, mainly so that we have a way of finding out what’s going on in departments from the student perspective. They put in a huge amount of effort, which directly informs the decisions that we make. The Education Team meets every month or so with the main Student Reps and the RSCU, and we also get involved with the Departmental Reps in Faculty Staff-Student Committees – both at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level – covering academic and wellbeing issues. These meetings are vital in allowing us to actually do our job, ensuring that we receive feedback about what’s happening locally in departments and doing all the things we need to do, to make the student experience a good one.

In the first few weeks of term the Union gets in touch with students about opportunities to get involved as Departmental Reps. Some of the students end up contributing to these committees in various roles over several years, making an important contribution to the College and gaining huge experience along the way.

Imperial is a very multidisciplinary, research-intensive university – how does this kind of environment benefit its students?

I think that our students really enjoy being in an environment that has such a strong research reputation. In my experience they gain so much from their final year projects in particular, when they’re supervised, or working alongside, researchers at the forefront of their fields. Our students are also able to engage with the research culture through lectures and talks, and initiatives like the UROP Scheme, so it’s a really strong aspect of the experience we provide. Our academic staff’s research expertise undoubtedly influences their teaching, feeding both their enthusiasm for their subject, and engagement with their students.

Any advice for students as they embark on this new, multi-modal educational experience?

Connections, between students and their peers and tutors, are incredibly beneficial and important, and it might be more challenging to do that this year because you can’t just knock on somebody’s door. I really encourage students to take – and make – opportunities to talk to members of staff during office hours, and individual sessions with tutors and personal tutors, even if that’s via a virtual platform.

I’d extend that idea also to contexts beyond the purely curricular – engaging with others socially through Union clubs, but also via initiatives like The Enterprise Lab, and the Advanced Hackspace. Though the pandemic may have changed how certain initiatives are run, there’s still such a lot on offer at Imperial to get involved in – my advice is to make the most of it, and to reach out to the communities beyond those that are immediately around you.

Any advice for teaching staff?

Take advice from the professionals! I’m in the situation where I’m starting to prepare for my own lecture course, which takes place in the second term. The Ed Tech team is extremely helpful and supportive – and they really know what they’re talking about.

I’ve been incredibly impressed by the volume of work that’s gone into preparations for this term, from people across the whole College and Faculty – it’s been a really enormous united effort to get us ready for October. Our departments are in a really good position to welcome students to the new academic year.

Find out more

Professor Richard Thompson welcomes new students to Imperial's Faculty of Natural Sciences.