Jennifer George has been a teacher for 28 years, with 18 years in higher education. She is the head of a highly successful and growing Computing Department at Goldsmiths. The department is known for its innovation, ever broadening the scope of teaching and research. Jennifer’s passion for making education accessible to people with disabilities drives her research on human computer interaction with its focus on the use of assistive technology in the context of disability.
This passion exerts a large influence on the teaching delivery of the department, as well as becoming a new strand of the department’s research. Jennifer has used her expertise to instigate and drive changes to improve inclusion and accessibility at several universities, including Goldsmiths and her previous institution, Anglia Ruskin University. She has been a champion for disability inclusion and accessibility, identifying shortcomings in existing systems and processes and developing, promoting, delivering and leading technical and practical solutions.
New solutions include creating templates and guidance on digital formats and virtual learning environments, running staff development sessions and inclusive assessments. Her work has influenced institutional curricula review and digital strategies. Her leadership on these issues has made significant changes for students and staff and led both Goldsmiths and Anglia Ruskin to adopt new policies and strategies on accessibility and inclusion.
Jennifer is an active ally and seeks out opportunities to influence areas of HEI, such as classroom design, institutional documents and resources. She oversees and inspires the work of other staff and students in this area of non-traditional pedagogic research. Jennifer’s work has been published internationally and she is a regular guest speaker at other HEIs and conferences on her work. Having grown up in Sri Lanka, Jennifer is now also collaborating with universities in Sri Lanka and Singapore to explore how accessibility and inclusion can be improved in non-UK contexts with very different challenges.