Background

I am based at the Newcastle University Business School within the Centre for Knowledge, Innovation, Technology and Enterprise (KITE), a Newcastle University research centre.

My teaching and research centres on medical technology innovation, the methodology and benefits of open source software within NHS Dentistry, promoting and teaching methodical innovation / design-thinking based entrepreneurship outside of the business school.

Engagement activities

I am the university liaison for First for Pharma, the North East pharmaceutical company community organisation.

Teaching

I have taught innovation in the medical and health field and as well as business enterprise.

•             MEC8050: Med-Tech Innovation at the Masters level on the MSc programme in Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering. I am also the module leader.

•             Lecturer for BUS2011 Business Enterprise at the Newcastle University Business School

•             MKT3096: Contemporary Marketing Dissertation Supervisor at the Newcastle University Business School

Research

PERFORM: A Horizon 2020 project. “Personalised Risk assessment in febrile illness to optimise Real-life Management across the European Union” WP5. I am part of the Newcastle University team examining emergency care pathways and stakeholder engagement. http://www.perform2020.eu/

The influence of teaching Innovation for commercialisation on the Entrepreneurial Intention of postgraduate biomedical students? My MPhil (Bus) is on “Understanding Entrepreneurial Education among Reluctant Cohorts: The Case for Biomedical Sciences.

Open Odonto: Collaborating with Dr Rebecca Wassall. First project funded through the CIC Open Odonto (Apperta supported) since 2015.

Most recent activity:

Feb to May 2017: Referral Management System for dentistry. Translate Odonto research into prototypes for Referral Management Software and present this – ongoing consensus building/requirements elicitation while iterating software as opposed to “specify and procure” – as the alternative approach to the development of a Referral Management System to the NHS North in February.

October 2016: NHS Hackday Newcastle. Present a “problem worth solving” arising from Odonto. 2 projects completed. 1. Find a community dental clinic near you. 2. Digital tool to capture complexity “case mix” at the end of dental care.

September 2016: Health Wise Workshop, Healthcare Management: Groningen University. Demonstrating Value: Developing User Needs for NHS Community Dental Services Software

June 2016: International symposium on healthcare improvement and innovation: Prato. The video prototype as convergent output while preparing user needs for special care dentistry software – co-creation with the clinicians of four NHS Trusts.

March 2016: UK MedEnterprise training network workshop at Imperial College London. On Teaching Med-Tech Innovation to postgrad biomedical engineers at Newcastle University.

Much of my work uses the Living Lab as a methodology.

Through Odonto I am interested in contributing to agile software methodologies and Living Lab based discovery for addressing wicked problems in dental health systems.

Other research areas:

The Innovation eco-system in the North East of England

Establishing a learning community of community dentists for the Open Odonto CIC.

2013: Executive Education: "Managing Innovation" at Stanford University's Program for Biodesign. With the purpose of establishing a biodesign-related course at Newcastle University.

2013: MOPAN conference paper: The role of visible regional networks in inspiring entrepreneurship in the North East.

Affiliate member of IOEE

Background

I joined Newcastle University in 2012.

I have co-created a couple of small publishing businesses. Earth Pathways Diary is now in its 10th year and the 2018 diary will have a print run of 7000 books. I have published two short stories and, in 2014, an essay "On Play" in Conversations with Philosophers, the Newcastle Philosophy Society journal.

Before coming to the UK I was the South Africa business analyst for a New Zealand software company for 12 years. We developed banking, pump control and shop sales software for petrol stations, on behalf of Shell, BP and Total in South Africa.

As a chemical engineering researcher for the CSIR in Pretoria, South Africa I was mainly involved in process development of minerals extraction from complex materials.

Events: Entrepreneurs and Innovators on the Life Sciences.

Seminars: Entrepreneurship for Scientists

Co-curator TEDxNewcastle 2014

Qualifications

MPhil (Bus), Newcastle University, 2018

Process Guide for Stanford University’s Biodesign methodology

MA in Creative Writing, Northumbria University

BSc (Computer Science and Operations Research), UNISA

HND Chemical Engineering, Cape Town and Vanderbijlpark

Diploma in Project Management for IT, Cape Town

Informal Interests

Philosophy in Literature at the Newcastle Philosophy Society

Co-operative member of the Earth Pathways Diary since 2007

My lads, Cycling, Science fiction, Writing, Food growing at the allotment, Knitting, Marmalade, The ukulele.

I speak English to my mother, but I spoke Afrikaans to my father. I learned French in high school.

Research

My practice and research centres on medical technology innovation and enterprise and entrepreneurship in the wider field of health.

The methodology and benefits of open source software within NHS Dentistry.

The effects of methodical innovation and design-thinking based entrepreneurship.

My MPhil (Bus) is on “Understanding Entrepreneurial Education among Reluctant Cohorts: The Case for Biomedical Sciences.”

Recent projects:

The Innovation eco-system in the North East of England

Establishing a learning community of community dentists for the Open Odonto CIC

Reflecting on the development of a Dental Referral system in the North East England

The barriers and facilitators of IT Innovation in the NHS

PERFORM: Better prescription of antibiotics to febrile children

Teaching

2017/18

I contribute to teaching at the Newcastle University Business School. I teach on:

•             BUS2011: Business Enterprise

I supervise the dissertations of marketing students at the Newcastle University Business School

•             MKT3096: Contemporary Marketing Dissertation

I contribute to teaching at the Masters level on the MSc programme in Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering. I am module leader, and I teach, on:

•             MEC8050: Med-Tech Innovation

2016/17

MEC8050: Med-Tech Innovation for Biomedical Engineers in the School of Mechanical Engineering, SAgE Faculty, Newcastle University - Module leader and lecturer

MKT3096: Contemporary Marketing Dissertation – Supervisor

2015/16

MEC8050: Med-Tech Innovation for Biomedical Engineers in the School of Mechanical Engineering, SAgE Faculty, Newcastle University - Module leader and lecturer

MKT3096: Contemporary Marketing Dissertation – Supervisor

2014/15

MMB8039: Med-Tech Innovation for MRes Biomedicine in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University – Module co-founder and lecturer