Eddie has significant experience in Film/Television education, having taught for over thirty years at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Eddie is also a practising Producer/Director and as manager of his own production company for many years, an employer. Eddie’s teaching in film is motivated by a desire to support a diverse range of students into the screen industries profession, which is still underrepresented by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people from low socio-economic backgrounds. In response, he has developed approaches to learning and teaching film production which promote the concept of personal agency, encourage critical engagement with interpersonal skills and cultivate more supportive and inclusive approaches to film production education, underpinned by practice/problem-based pedagogy and industry knowledge.
Over his career, Eddie has significantly affected the teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate students, often well beyond the expectations of his position. If he is not employing graduates full-time, he is offering them placement opportunities. He has engaged with students and academics outside of his university, encouraging the sharing of resources and best practice. He has pioneered the creation of co-designed, co-created and co-delivered curriculum content, with many different industry practitioners, including psychologists, business advisors, policy strategists and sustainable filming consultants. In 2020, Edward was the driving force behind the ‘Covid-19 Guidelines for Student Productions’. Distributed free to all higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education (FE) colleges, the guidelines were co-written with several academics from universities across the UK and key industry stakeholders.
Having completed a Doctorate in 2016, Eddie undertook a ‘Listening Tour’ of animation/visual effects studios, production companies and post-production houses, to gauge their thoughts on graduate employability and HEI curriculum provision. His report was to lead directly to several unique high level meetings of c. 70 industry/academic representatives, who regularly come together to discuss shared issues and shared solutions. In 2020, Eddie launched a UK-wide ‘Connected Campus for Creative Industries’ initiative. Designed to include HEIs, FE Colleges, Law and Business Schools, the initiative will work in partnership with industry practitioners to address skills gaps, curriculum development, innovation and enterprise.