I am an Associate Professor of Practice in Educational Development at the Academy of Future Education, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, China. I hold several prestigious distinctions, including being a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fulbright Fellow, an NRF Y2 Rated Researcher, a Future Professor Programme Scholar, and a Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellow. Before joining XJTLU in May 2023, I worked as a Dental Technology academic, practitioner, and researcher in the Dental Sciences department at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in Durban, South Africa. I remain connected with DUT as an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Operations and Quality in the Faculty of Management Sciences. My research interests include virtual exchange to internationalize the curriculum, industry-based transdisciplinary projects to enhance students' learning experiences, AI-enhanced teaching and learning, and promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry. I have presented numerous papers, workshops, and seminars on my research interests in various national and international settings. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0164-9114.

• Global Virtual Exchange through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).
• Industry-based transdisciplinary projects to enhance students' learning experiences.
• AI-enhanced teaching and learning.
• Supporting Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Inquiry.
• Innovative pedagogies through game-based teaching and learning.

Y2 NRF Rated Researcher (2019 - 2024)

Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellow - Sponsored by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) designed to promote and sustain the Scholarship of Teaching Learning (SOTL) at South African Universities. (2015 - 2016)

Future Professors Programme (Phase 1: Cohort 2) The Department of Higher Education and Training initiative in South Africa aims to produce a critical mass of academic excellence and leadership within South African Higher Education (2021 to February 2022)).

Fulbright Fellow (mid-July 2021 – February 2022) Title of Project: Advancing the Undergraduate Research – Teaching Nexus, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, USA

Educational Developer at XJTLU: Joined in May 2023

Academic Practitioner, Researcher, Dental Technologist at DUT: 2003 - Feb 2023

Before joining XJTLU in May 2023, I had 23 years of extensive teaching in Dental Technology and Educational Research at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in Durban, South Africa. 

2022: Recipient of the Chancellor’s Award – Impactful Category, which is awarded to an innovative initiative that equips students for the best part of their careers (26 November, in Durban, South Africa). This was based on the recognised merits of SURE.

2022: Recipient of the KIC/NRF Grant for the ‘Hosting a Visiting Scientist’ Category. The Amount Awarded is R 50 000.

2019: Recipient of the ‘2018’ Vice-Chancellor’s Award in Recognition of Innovative Excellence in the Category of ‘Networking the University’ for the 4Ps of Digital Business Practices in Dental Technology: An Online Pedagogical Intervention to Enrich Student Learning. Received at DUT Council Awards 2018 Ceremony, which was held on Friday, 29 November 2019 at the Durban Country Club in Durban.

2019: One of 11 successful applicants for the ‘2019’ 5th e-Learning Excellence Awards: An Anthology of Case Histories 2019, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, 7-8 November 2019.

2019: Runner Up for the ‘2019’ Innovation in Teaching of Research Methodology Excellence Awards at the 18th European Conference on Research Methodology (ECRM), 20-21 June 2019, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.