Academic Practice Directorate
The Academic Practice Directorate (APD) supports colleagues and students in the design, delivery and recognition of outstanding programmes and outstanding academic practice.
Our specialist team is here to support any academic development activity related to teaching, learning and assessment, to facilitate and promote an institutional culture of ongoing enhancement.

Activities and services
Our work includes:
- working directly with programme teams on the development and enhancement of their curricula and teaching practices
- providing individuals and groups with support and mentoring for internal and external recognition awards (eg HEA Fellowships, National Teaching Fellowships, Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence)
- promoting and facilitating educational enquiry, evaluation and development, through internal seed-corn funding awards, and supporting and partnering colleagues in the pursuit of external funding
- bringing staff, students and external partners together to exchange ideas and share expertise and experience through institution-wide events, such as the annual Festival of Learning and bespoke team-based development workshops
- working in partnership with experienced colleagues from across the University, we offer a range of Advance HE accredited programmes for achieving fellowship recognition, and specialist continuous professional development opportunities
- supporting a range of development and recognition opportunities throughout the learning and teaching career journey from Student Partners to Professors. Opportunities such as Introduction to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education programme, Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Professional Practice (PGCAPP), Programme and Module Leader Development programme.
Read more about our offer on the staff intranet (login required) and access our resources through the Education Essentials pages. If you have any suggestions or queries please email us at AcademicPractice@uwe.ac.uk.
Meet the team
Professor Helen King
NTF, PFHEA, SFSEDA, PhD, BSc(Joint Hons),
PGCert
Deputy Director of Academic Practice and Head of Academic
Development
Petia
Petrova
SFHEA, PhD, MSc, BA(Hons), PGCert
Associate Director of Academic Practice
Laura
Bennett
SFHEA, PhD, MA, BA(Hons), PGCert
Associate Director of Academic Practice
Paul
Redford
SFHEA, DPhil, MSc, BA(Hons), CPsychol
Associate Director of Academic Practice
Shaun
Mudd
FHEA, PhD, MA, PCAP, BA(Hons)
Senior Lecturer in
Academic Practice
Rebecca
Ward
BSc(Hons), Dip
CPD
Recognition and Framework Manager
Julia
Denman
BA(Hons), CDMP
Administrative Assistant
Louise
Mighall
LLB(Hons)
Administrative Assistant
Lauren
Rubery
BA(Hons), PGDip
Administrative Assistant
Katherine Curmi
BSc (Econ) (Hons)
Administrative Assistant
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Departments and services
Find out about more about our academic departments and schools within our three colleges.
Festival of Learning
The Academic Practice Directorate hosts the popular annual Festival of Learning event. Spread over four days in June, the Festival provides colleagues with an opportunity to share good practice and hear from keynote speakers across the sector.
Learning and Teaching at UWE Bristol
Our focus is to provide an outstanding student experience and to ensure our students have access to all the information and learning support they need.
HEA Fellowship (login required)
The UWECPD HEA Fellowships Scheme recognises those at UWE Bristol who have contributed to student learning experiences by awarding them with Higher Education Academy (HEA) fellowships.