Dr Claire Ancient

Biography

Dr Claire Ancient is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science in the Department of Digital Technologies, having joined the University in 2018.  She is currently the programme leader for BSc (Hons) Software Engineering and BSc (Hons) Cyber Security with Law and has previous experience of leading the undergraduate Degree Apprenticeship programmes within the Faculty (including the Digital and Technology Solutions suite).  Currently, Claire is an active member of the Digital and Technology Solutions Trailblazer group working on the renewal of the associated Degree Apprenticeship standard.  Claire is also a member of the Faculty Academic Development Committee and represents the Faculty at the University Academic Regulations, Policies, and Procedures Committee as well as the Technology-Enhanced Learning Advisory Group.  Claire obtained her Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in December 2017 and is currently working towards her Senior Fellowship application and a Masters in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

Claire obtained her PhD in 2016 from the University of Portsmouth, investigating the potential for technology to support people living with dementia to engage in reminiscence activities.  She has since continued to consider how technology can be used to support people in everyday life.  Since 2014, Claire has been a member of the Design, User Experience and Usability (DUXU) Conference Program Board.  In addition, she has organised and facilitated invited sessions at the DUXU conferences in 2014 and 2020, both considering interface design for inclusivity.

Most recently, Claire has worked as part of the University of Portsmouth work packages on the UNITAR-led CommonSensing project (https://www.commonsensing.org.uk/), which obtained from the UK Space Agency.  As part of this, Claire has been using her expertise in Human-Computer Interaction and Software Engineering to propose the use of a mobile application to highlight areas at risk from hydro-meteorological hazards in Small Island Developing States such as Fiji, The Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu?.  Although the CommonSensing project has now reached its conclusion, Claire continues to work with colleagues to investigate how the mobile application can be further developed for wider use to support understanding of Disaster Risk Management and Reduction.

Continuing with a theme of using technology to support people, Claire is interested in researching how she can use technology-enhanced learning to support emancipatory and inclusive education.  She is an advocate of Universal Design for Learning and is always looking for ways to develop her teaching practice to be more inclusive, with the aim of supporting people to reach their full potential both in their studies and in their future careers.