Ms Helen Keegan
School of Science, Engineering & Environment
Current positions
Senior Lecturer
Biography
I am a Senior Lecturer at the Â׸£ÀûƬ and a UK National Teaching Fellow, with over twenty years’ experience working with digital technologies and the intersection of curriculum innovation, emerging pedagogies, and networked learning. My academic career began in 1998, and since then my work has focused on reimagining how higher education can respond creatively, critically, and inclusively to technological and cultural change. I am particularly interested in how learning happens across disciplinary boundaries, public spaces, and digital networks.
My teaching centres around emerging technologies and digital cultures, with a focus on audio acoustics and artificial intelligence. My research spans areas including game-based learning, digital identity, participatory pedagogies, alternate reality gaming, and mobile technologies. I design and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate teaching across creative, technical, and research-focused programmes, and I supervise student research at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. A consistent thread throughout my work is a commitment to designing learning experiences that foreground curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and learner agency, while remaining grounded in pedagogic theory and research evidence.
From 2015 to 2017, I was seconded as Principal Innovation Lead at Coventry University’s Disruptive Media Learning Lab (DMLL). During this period, I provided intellectual and strategic leadership for large-scale teaching and learning innovations, working closely with senior leadership to align experimental practice with institutional strategy. I conceived and co-led GameChangers, an open game-design initiative that brought together students, educators, and external partners through playful, participatory approaches to learning. GameChanges has won multiple awards and continues internationally as a recognised model of innovative practice.
Alongside my teaching, I have been deeply involved in curriculum design, academic development and institutional change. At Salford, I work across schools and disciplines to support the development of new programmes and emerging pedagogic models, and I regularly contribute to staff development through workshops, mentoring, and strategic advisory roles. I have also served on university committees and worked with central teams to support digital education, quality enhancement, and cross-faculty collaboration.
My research has been published widely in the field of technology-enhanced learning, with over 70 peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. I have led and contributed to major funded projects supported by organisations including JISC, the European Commission, HEFCE, AHRC, and FP7, and I received an ‘Outstanding’ evaluation from the European Commission for my leadership of the ESMOS project, which pioneered the use of open, social platforms to support international student mobility. I am also regularly invited to speak internationally, having delivered more than 50 invited keynotes and seminars across Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Beyond the university, I contribute to the sector through advisory roles, peer review, examination, and public engagement. I have served on EPSRC assessment panels, editorial and awards boards, and have acted as an expert commentator for the BBC on digital cultures and web technologies. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Association of National Teaching Fellows. My work is motivated by a belief that higher education should be ethical and socially engaged.
Areas of Research
Emerging Pedagogies, Curriculum Innovation, Networked Learning, Mobile Learning, Digital Identity, Participatory Cultures, Interdisciplinary, Qualitative Research,
Recognitions
-
EPSRC Digital Economy Network Plus Assessment Panel
-
Master Instructor: Connected Courses, University of California
-
Expert Commentator (Web Technologies and Cultures) for BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Manchester
-
PhD Examiner - University of Wolverhampton
-
UNESCO Mobile Learning Research Committee