Alistair is one of 55, National Teaching Fellows announced by Advance HE, as part of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) which celebrates and recognises individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession in higher education.
Alistair is programme lead for the University’s Aerospace Engineering Programme. His teaching interests include aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, rocketry and propulsion. This is a sizable programme, taking in around 250 undergraduate students each year, and is ranked top for student satisfaction in the Russell Group in the National Student Survey.
Alistair has worked with colleagues on the ‘design stream’ as part of Programme Level Approach (PLA) in the department, which places the student’s experience of the programme as the central focus of our academic offer. The design stream uses practical projects to enhance student experience through learning by doing.
Extending this ethos beyond Sheffield, Alistair founded the Race 2 Space competition - a national education initiative to help boost the UK’s space sector, which sees student teams from universities across the UK and Ireland build and test rocket engines.
18 UK university teams recently came together to take part in the second annual competition which concluded on 18 July. The students hot-fired rocket engines they designed and built over a busy two weeks on test stands at Westcott Space Cluster, which is home to the National Space Propulsion Test Facility. The aim is to inspire students and give them the skills needed to join the space industry, which already employs around 50,000 people.
Through Race 2 Space and his wider advocacy work, Alistair has influenced learning and teaching at other UK universities, both directly and through influencing national policy. Through open educational resources he is reaching an international audience. He has designed the Race 2 Space competition and related events to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing and mutual support amongst student teams
At Sheffield, Alistair is the supervisor of the student rocketry team Project Sunride, who recently broke the European altitude record and became the first team in the UK to launch a liquid-fuelled rocket. Alistair also supported the team to test-fire the first student-built, 3D printed liquid rocket engine in the UK. This work has also been recognised through a Vice Chancellor’s Education Award at Sheffield, and through numerous local and national media appearances.
Alistair said: “I’m really pleased to receive this award and it’s great to see Race 2 Space being recognised. I’d like to thank Jessica Baily for all of her help with the NTF application and Rob Howell for all of his support and everything he has done for Aerospace at Sheffield over the last few years. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has supported making Race 2 Space a reality, and the students who make all of the effort worthwhile.”
David Forrest, Deputy Vice-President for Education, said:
“I’m delighted that Alistair has been awarded a well-deserved National Teaching Fellowship. Alistair embodies the principles of the Sheffield academic. His teaching is research-led, intellectually rigorous and grounded in real world problems and solutions. He helps to build communities of learning amongst his students and creates the conditions for them to grow academically and personally. He has shown great leadership and vision here at the university, and is now having a genuine national impact, having taken initiatives tested at Sheffield across the country.”