Steve holds an undergraduate degree in Astrophysics and Psychology from Keele University and earned a PhD at the Centre for Applied Mathematics and Computation (CAMAC) in Coventry in 2002; He is a Fellow of the HEA. After early experience developing software for a 3D scanning firm, Steve transitioned to academia, focusing on brain imaging research at Bangor University. There, he investigated the neural mechanisms of object recognition and the links between brain activity and human information processing capacity.
Following this, Steve lectured in Psychology at Brunel University before joining Swansea University in 2012 as Senior Lecturer. He became Head of School in 2019 and, in 2021, Associate Dean for the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science. In this role, Steve has led the delivery of traditional and professional healthcare programmes, driven curriculum innovation, andimplemented enhancement strategies informed by data-driven insights.
Joanne Newton has worked in higher education and degree apprenticeships, where she has developed and delivered various programmes across levels 4 -7, ensuring they align to current industry requirements and encompass the composite skills and accreditations required by professionals today.
With a background in industry, she started her own IT training and consultancy company offering advice and support to companies in various projects. As a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (CCSI), she has also had the opportunity to mentor and support many IT professionals in attaining the knowledge and certifications to further their careers.
Mina Katti joined Arden University in 2021 as a Programme Team Leader before being promoted to the position of Principal Lecturer in 2022 and then Deputy Head of School in April 2023. She has undertaken several duties external to her role such as External Examiner at the Open University and the University of Bedfordshire, and validation panel membership for various programmes.
Before joining Arden, Mina worked in various roles in the further education sector and gained expertise in a range of subjects. She is currently studying her Doctorate in Business Administration at the University of Northampton, researching digital strategy and innovation management. Whilst working in Further Education, she galvanised curriculum innovation to make courses more up-to-date and sought to instil employability and industry skills into courses. She champions micro credentials and professional certifications such as Cisco CCNA, CompTIA, MOS, MCE, and MTA alongside core curriculum modules.
Her current interest in DevOps emerged from her studies in cyber security and networking, however, she is equally conversant in software development. Mina is also experienced in training students to provide IT and business consultancy, and to local businesses in areas such as business analysis, user requirements, legal, technical, SLA, and service provisioning.
In her current role, Mina manages the School of Computing’s Distance Learning undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and is keen to improve the student experience and the quality of provision on the distance learning programmes.