The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Physicist breaking educational barriers awarded fellowship
A Dundee University physicist has won a prestigious Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Fellowship that will see him visit two of the world’s top universities to further his ambition of developing the next generation of science superstars.
Dr Paul Campbell, from Dundee’s School of Science and Engineering, will work alongside a Nobel laureate and other leading figures from Harvard and Stanford universities to learn about innovative teaching strategies that have led to improved student outcomes.
He will visit Harvard next month and Stanford in early 2021 and speak to both students and staff about the success of initiatives focusing on enhanced engagement, with a particular focus on those that have led to a reduction in dropout rates.
It was Dr Campbell’s determination to ensure vulnerable groups are not excluded from higher education that led him to apply for the Churchill Fellowship.
He said: “Dropout rates remain too high across the board.
“Factors such as gender, educational background and social demographics may all have a role to play and I hope that my analysis allows us to identify the dominant risk factors and develop suitable counter-measures.
“Whilst a student’s particular background circumstances may represent one risk factor here, it should be recognised that another is the environment within universities themselves.
“Research in the US has been successful in addressing the problem and my plan is to visit the innovators who have led this improvement.”