About Professor Gary C Wood
I am a National Teaching Fellow and senior academic leader specialising in learning, teaching, and educational transformation. My work focuses on the design of high-quality, inclusive learning and assessment, and on developing educational systems that enable students to build capability, apply knowledge in meaningful contexts, and progress successfully into professional roles.
I am currently Visiting Professor of STEAM Education & Curriculum Innovation at Birmingham City University, where I am supporting the ‘Reimagining Engineering’ programme, transitioning engineering education to studio, block-based, industry-linked learning experiences. Alongside this, I am working as an independent consultant in HE, leading a landmark project with the Engineering Professors’ Council to capture and share innovations around generative AI in engineering education. Prior to this, I held the role of Academic Director & Principal Academic of NMITE (New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering), Hereford, UK, where I provided strategic leadership for teaching, learning, curriculum, and academic portfolio development within a specialist, start‑up higher education institution. I co-led the successful application for New Degree Awarding Powers and led the transition to operation as an autonomous HE provider. My role combined leadership of distinctive curriculum design – including challenge-led, industry-linked programmes delivered through block delivery – with oversight of academic quality, registry, and student services, ensuring coherence, standards, and a high-quality student experience. I also contributed to regional skills development through NMITE’s mission in employability, entrepreneurship, and skills.
Prior to joining NMITE, I held teaching and leadership roles at the University of Sheffield. As Head of the Sheffield Engineering Leadership Academy (SELA), I led the strategic development of a distinctive co-curricular programme focused on leadership, professional capability, and student agency. I was also professional skills lead in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where I designed and embedded a programme-level approach to professional skills development, integrating capability development across degree programmes and strengthening students’ ability to apply their learning in authentic contexts. Through this work, I acted as a curriculum advocate, extending applied, practice-focused approaches into mainstream provision.
I began my career as a linguist, completing my PhD in language development at the University of Sheffield and teaching for seven years in the School of English. This work informed a sustained interest in how people learn and develop capability, and in how educational design can support that development. I have applied this perspective across disciplines and contexts, including through education and academic development roles, supporting colleagues to enhance their teaching practice and embed innovative approaches to learning and assessment.
My work has also had an international dimension. I have led and contributed to EU‑funded projects across Central Asia (UNIWORK) and Vietnam (V2WORK), supporting the development of employability provision and influencing policy at institutional and national level. I am an active contributor to the higher education sector through research, publication, and conference presentations, and have delivered over 60 invited workshops, talks, and keynotes in the UK and internationally.
I have been recognised through a University of Sheffield Senate Fellowship in 2012, Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2015, and a National Teaching Fellowship in 2019.
Current Roles
Visiting Professor of STEAM Education & Curriculum Innovation, Birmingham City University
Chair, Emerging Stronger Project Group, examining the impact of AI on engineering education, Engineering Professors' Council
Committee Member, Education, Employability & Skills Committee, Engineering Professors’ Council
Committee Member and Logistics Lead for UK Linguistics Olympiad
Chair, Enactus UK University Adviser Steering Group
UK Lead, Enactus Worldwide Faculty Forum
Awards and Recognition
National Teaching Fellowship (2019)
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2015)
Jisc Top 50 Most Influential Higher Education Professionals using Social Media (2015)
Senate Award Fellow for Early Career Excellence in Learning and Teaching (Sheffield, 2012)
Winner Google/ALT competition for Innovative Use of Google Apps in Learning & Teaching (2012)
Sheffield Students’ Union Academic Awards for Teaching (2010, 2011, 2012)
