Leah Ridgway
Dr
Leah was a 4 year old who knew what an axle was and wanted to be an engineer from a very young age! They studied for an MEng and then a PhD in Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham.
She has taught the subject at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo China (UNNC) and the University of Liverpool before returning to the University of Nottingham UK.
Back in Nottingham Leah joined the Department of Foundation Engineering and Physical Sciences (common entry year 0 for engineering, physics and computer science) - with a specialism in the electrical and electronic engineering areas. Working as part of a small interdisciplinary team, Leah learnt a lot about how to engage students with a subject that is not their main area of interest - teaching a group of Mechanical Engineering minded students about why electrical systems are important was a great challenge! Highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of modern engineering is a key theme in their teaching.
In 2017 Leah returned to the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. They worked with students from all year groups on the electronics side of the discipline with final year projects in intuitive control of electronic devices - the glove controlled 3D printed hand being one of the most popular and visible around the Department. Her teaching interests include ethics, sustainability and business planning for engineers.
Leah is now based in the School of Electronic Engineering at DCU and works on the BSc Global Challenges programme, aiming to produce the next generation of adaptive problem solvers our world needs. They are a Programme Chair for Common Entry into Engineering, which is delivered jointly between the School of Electronic Engineering and School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering.
Research Interests
Many engineers are uncomfortable working with qualitative data as it's not what we were primarily trained to work with!
To teach our students more effectively we need to reflect on what we do and what we can change. We need to work with our students and understand how they learn and that means talking with them.
I am interested in a mixed methods approach to understanding what makes for effective teaching and learning in engineering at university with my work sitting across both the electronic engineering and adult education disciplines. I have a particular interest in how students use diagrams within the discipline to demonstrate understanding of fundamental concepts and models.
Key words: Engineering education, qualitative methods in engineering education, third level teaching and learning
Teaching Interests
I believe that you can be the best engineer in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas to other people there's no point! The world we live in is complex and interlinked and more than ever it is not enough for engineers to be technically brilliant, we must engage with our broader world to really make an impact.
Consequently in addition to "traditional" technical material in electronic engineering, I've developed, written and evaluated curricula in ethics, sustainability and business planning for engineering undergraduates.
My individual projects are in the area of human-machine interaction, working to make the way people utilize computer interfaces more intuitive, or to innovate in how we interact with technology.