Dr Dom Henri’s first teaching position was as an associate lecturer at the University of Exeter in Ecology, half a year before completing his PhD at the institution in 2014. The experience was so rewarding that he decided to focus on a career in higher education teaching, using this as a platform to apply directly for lecturer level positions at institutions with career pathways for education-focused academics. Five and a half years later, he is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Hull, Department of Biological and Marine Sciences. He has been the Director of Studies and Deputy Head for the department since the beginning of the 2019 academic year. Mirroring his personal journey with mental health, Dom has adopted a eudaimonic-approach to education by creating systems that help students find the wellbeing fundamentals of value, belonging, and self-esteem. The excellence of this approach has been recognised throughout his career, where he has a track record of nominations and awards for teaching at institutional and national levels (including the Royal Society of Biology's Teacher of the Year in 2018). The awards reflect his work ensuring that everyone, irrespective of personal history or circumstance, can achieve their aspirations.
Dom’s teaching is ecology-focused, aimed at guiding students into careers in conservation, ecological consultancy and environmental management as many of the students want to make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing environmental crisis. However, much of his work is at the departmental level, overseeing curriculum reform across multiple programmes, supporting the design of authentic learning experiences with external partner organisations that represent students’ future employers. He is an active member of the University of Hull’s Biosciences Education Research Group, a community of biology lecturers involved in scholarly curriculum reform that provides a basis for pedagogic research on student employability, equality and wellbeing.
Dom is also a founding member of the Royal Society of Biology’s Early Career Lecturer forum, leading on the Academic Wellbeing working group. Work that underpins his national efforts to support academics on education-focused career pathways.