I am a doctoral student pursuing a PhD in CS Education at the University of Glasgow under the supervision of Dr Maria Kallia, Assistant Professor in the Centre for Computing Science Education**.

My PhD aims to explore students’ conceptual understanding of programming concepts during the transition from primary to secondary education using grounded cognition theories.

My research interests include broadening participation in computing and physical computing.

I hold a first-class BSc (Hons) in IT & Computing from The Open University and a MSc with Distinction in Computing Education from Nottingham Trent University.

I have over 20 years’ experience of working in computing, starting as a network manager, systems analyst and project lead for a pharmaceutical company in the private sector. I then went onto manage networks and provide IT support for several Derbyshire primary schools.

My work in education led me to work on a programme called Code Club, a global network of coding clubs for 9 – 13 year olds where I managed the Code Club community regionally and around the UK. During this time, I also started postgraduate research study, which I now continue to pursue.

**In Scotland, the subject name for CS is Computing Science. My research will largely be carried out in England, where the subject is known as Computer Science at GCSE, A-level and in undergraduate degrees. I often use the abbreviation CS to mean both / either of these terms.