iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We had an excellent seminar today by Yun Sheng on experiential learning. It was wonderful to see the coding projects that Yun’s students had developed - I thought they were a great example of how this approach to learning can align very naturally with the activities that students are working on.

An education research seminar at the Queen Mary Centre for Education Research by Yun Sheng on experiential learning at the Queen Mary Hainan campus.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Back home after such a great time at #ViCEPHEC26. Wonderful to see such depth and breadth of education research from all across the country. Thank you so much to the LOC and everyone involved at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social for such an excellent meeting - already looking forward to #ViCEPHEC27!

A plenary talk at the University of Nottingham ViCEPHEC 2026 by Kevin Morgan from Queen's University Belfast.

A panel discussion held at the University of Nottingham at the Institute of Physics Higher Education Group 2026 summer meeting.

A talk at a parallel session at the University of Nottingham ViCEPHEC 2026 by Alan M. Lewis from the University of York.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Oto-obong Inyang ended the session with a superb talk on work with Abigail Peel (both from @durham.ac.uk) on the hidden curriculum in physics. So much that students learn isn’t directly assessed, so it was great to see practical recommendations to help all students benefit.

A talk at the ViCEPHEC 2026 parallel session on Equity, Inclusion and Student Experience at the University of Nottingham by Oto-obong Inyang on the hidden curriculum in physics degrees.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Litka Milian presented work with Aida Chang and Alger Wang (all from @durham.ac.uk) on disability and belonging in chemistry students. Excellent to see constructive solutions coming from students, and the emphasis on making sure they are readily available to those who need them.

A talk at the ViCEPHEC 2026 parallel session on Equity, Inclusion and Student Experience at the University of Nottingham by Litka Milian on the impact of disability and belonging on chemistry students.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Sweta Ladwa from @uniofgreenwich.bsky.social, Samaneh Aranji from @qmul.bsky.social and James Wilton-Ely from @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social presented brilliant work on overlooked scientists in chemistry.

A talk at the ViCEPHEC 2026 parallel session on Equity, Inclusion and Student Experience at the University of Nottingham by Sweta Ladwa, Samaneh Aranki and James Wilton-Ely on the representation of overlooked scientists in the chemistry curriculum.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Ellen Oldershaw from @liverpooluni.bsky.social started the session with an excellent talk on the awarding gap in physics degrees. Fascinating to see her research on the factors associated with this gap, and the need for more work to understand this effect.

A talk at the ViCEPHEC 2026 parallel session on Equity, Inclusion and Student Experience at the University of Nottingham by Ellen Oldershaw on the awarding gap in physics degrees.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Fascinating talk at #ViCEPHEC26 by Ross Galloway on the performance of #ChatGPT on the FCI test. Amazing results on the standard test, but much lower performance on 'isomorphic' questions. I think it's so important that students still learn to apply physics in new situations when using LLMs.

Ross Galloway from the University of Edinburgh presenting a talk at ViCEPHEC 2026 on evaluating the performance of Large Language Models on the Force Concept Inventory test.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Excited to be at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social for @vicephec.bsky.social and the @iop.org Higher Education Group satellite meeting! Looking forward to the excellent programme and learning about the latest developments in Physics Education Research. Let me know if you'll be at #ViCEPHEC26 too!

View of the University of Nottingham's Trent Building and clock tower above green trees, across Highfields Lake, with a small boat on the water.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Back home after a wonderful time as an enrichment lecturer observing the #SolarEclipse aboard #RegentCruises #SevenSeasNavigator. Sharing the event with the brilliant crew and wonderful passengers was an extraordinary experience - I'm so grateful for the opportunity.

A smiling group of ten people posing together in a lounge aboard the Seven Seas Navigator, including performers dressed in evening wear standing alongside cruise guests and staff.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I had an extraordinary time observing the #SolarEclipse from the deck of the Regent Cruises Navigator! We had an incredible view of the event, and there were some brilliant questions from the passengers. I thought the eclipse cakes were a lovely touch, too!

Providing commentary during the solar eclipse.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Thrilled to have boarded the Regent Seven Seas Navigator as an Enrichment Lecturer on a voyage to view the #SolarEclipse. I'll be presenting talks on astronomy and space exploration, and providing commentary during the eclipse. So excited to be onboard to witness the event!

Eclipse glasses in a cabin on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I had an amazing time running an outreach activity at the #ReachForTheCosmos event at the @rigb.org. Thank you so much to everyone who organised such a fantastic day, our brilliant Queen Mary student ambassadors, and everyone who visited the activity and tried a #BiteOfSpaceTime!

Discussing relativity at the Bite of Space-Time activity, as part of the Reach for the Cosmos event at the Royal Institution.

A biscuit decorated with space-themed sweets at the Bite of Space-Time activity, as part of the Reach for the Cosmos event at the Royal Institution.

Demonstrating length contraction at the Bite of Space-Time activity, as part of the Reach for the Cosmos event at the Royal Institution.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

We had an excellent education research seminar by my colleague Richard Gunton on objectivity and subjectification as pedagogical devices. I co-teach a module on AI and Statistical Data Analysis with Richard, so it was especially interesting to learn more about his approach to these concepts!

An education research seminar at Queen Mary University of London by Richard Gunton on 'Subjectification as a Pedagogical Device in Statistics'.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I had a great time at the @sephysics.bsky.social #WRIPA workshop on #STEM employability. Excellent to hear from academia and industry on the challenges and prospects for recruitment. Do let me know if you have any experience with STEM recruitment - I'd be keen to hear your perspective!

A presentation by Professor Samantha Pugh from the University of Leeds on 'Physics Careers and Skills' at the SEPnet-WRIPA workshop on 'STEM Demand vs STEM Supply'.

A presentation by Tim Wise from High Fliers Research on 'The Physics Employability Paradox: Exceptional Skills, Difficult Outcomes' at the SEPnet-WRIPA workshop on 'STEM Demand vs STEM Supply'.

A presentation by Bethan McAulay from Astroscale on 'Making Space for the Future' at the SEPnet-WRIPA workshop on 'STEM Demand vs STEM Supply'.

A presentation by Ewan MacPhie from Lynk on 'The Job Hunt: What Nobody Teaches You' at the SEPnet-WRIPA workshop on 'STEM Demand vs STEM Supply'.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

I had a great time at the #DERI Research Day - so impressed by the range of #AI research at @qmul.bsky.social and involvement from #Dell and #NVIDIA. I’m always keen to explore opportunities across academia and industry on our new #AppliedAI degree - let me know if you’d like to know more!

A panel discussion at the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) research day at Queen Mary University of London. The subject of the panel is 'From Al Research to Real-World Impact: Deploying Al at Scale'. The panel consists of Evangelia (Lina) Kyrimi and Natalia Efremova (both from Queen Mary), Mozhgan Kabiri Chimeh (from NVIDIA), Arshad Farhad (from Dell Technologies) and is chaired by Greg Slabaugh (from Queen Mary).

A talk at the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) research day at Queen Mary University of London by Dr. Jaimie Lee Freeman. The title of the talk is 'Young People, Al, and Health Sense-Making'.

A talk at the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) research day at Queen Mary University of London by Enrico Camporeale. The title of the talk is 'The challenge of Machine Learning for Space Weather forecasting'.

A talk at the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) research day at Queen Mary University of London by Ira Shokar from NVIDIA. The title of the talk is 'AI Physics at NVIDIA'.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Great to hear from @chieadachi.bsky.social about the Centre for Excellence in AI in Education, and from @iamjonjackson.bsky.social about #GenerativeAI to help students reflect. We had a really productive discussion about the role of AI in #assessment - let me know if you've seen any good examples!

A presentation as part of the Centre for Excellence in AI in Education by Professor Chie Adachi on the future of AI in education at Queen Mary University of London.

A presentation at Queen Mary University of London as part of the Centre for Excellence in AI in Education by Jon Jackson on the use of generative AI to help student reflection.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Like the rest of planet Earth, I'm mesmerised by incredible images like this NASA photo from #ArtemisII. I'm thrilled to be going on LBC News (@lbc.co.uk) tomorrow morning to discuss the latest from the mission with Simon Conway. We're scheduled for 6:45 am - I hope you can join!

A view of the Moon through a window of the Artemis II Orion spacecraft. Image credit: NASA, Artemis II (2026).

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

We had a superb seminar this week by Tessa Baker from Portsmouth Cosmology on #GravitationalWave cosmology. Amazing to see the measurements of the #HubbleConstant and the first detection of the cross-correlation between GW sources and galaxies!

A seminar on gravitational wave cosmology at Queen Mary University of London by Professor Tessa Baker from Portsmouth Cosmology.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

I had a great time this weekend speaking at a 'brunch and learn' event on the #OverviewEffect and how it can shape our own view of life on Earth. I especially enjoyed hearing everyone's personal take on the #CosmicPerspective - thank you to everyone who took part!

A 'brunch and learn' event with people sitting around a long table and a lecturer standing at the end

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

I had such a wonderful end of year surprise from my data science students! It's been a real pleasure working with these brilliant students this semester, and this means more than I can say. I'm so grateful - thank you!

A lecturer standing next to a projector display showing 'THANK YOU ED!'

A thank you card, a bunch of flowers, a tub of chocolates, and a chocolate cake

A lecturer sitting in front of a desk with a thank you card, a bunch of flowers, a tub of chocolates, and a chocolate cake

A chocolate cake decorated with 'T Y ED'

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Overjoyed to have received the @sephysics.bsky.social Innovation Project Award for #outreach at the #LambethCountryShow! So grateful for support from @engageqm.bsky.social, help from our brilliant @qmul.bsky.social #physics student ambassadors, and everyone who tried #aBiteOfSpaceTime - thank you!

The Bite of Space-Time activity at the Lambeth Country Show - photo by Giorgio Chianello

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

We had a superb #physics lecture this week by Professor Takaaki Kajita on his work on #neutrino oscillations that led to his 2015 #NobelPrize in Physics. Fascinating to hear his first-hand account of the physics of the discovery woven together with the history of the #SuperKamiokande detector.

A physics lecture at Queen Mary University of London by Professor Takaaki Kajita on neutrino oscillations.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

I especially enjoyed the afternoon panel discussion on approaches to #AI in #HigherEducation - and it was brilliant to hear one of my #DataScience students share his experiences working with #AppliedAI at #PwC

A panel discussion at the 'AI for Educators: Sharing Current Practice, Shaping Future Directions' symposium, hosted by the Queen Mary Academy Centre for Excellence in AI Education.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

It was great to hear from Lilian Schofield on her 5-step model for aligning #AI in #CurriculumDesign - I thought it was especially helpful to emphasise starting with the Learning Outcomes - a really insightful talk!

A talk at the 'AI for Educators: Sharing Current Practice, Shaping Future Directions' symposium by Lilian Schofield on a 'GenAI Curriculum Alignment Model'.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Great to be at the Queen Mary Academy 'AI for Educators' event today - looking forward to exploring the opportunities at @qmul.bsky.social for including #AI in education!

An introduction to the Queen Mary Academy AI for Educators event by Professor Alastair Robertson

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

I had a fantastic time at the #AI Collaborative Workshop today - brilliant to hear about all of the amazing work going on at @qmul.bsky.social on applications of AI. I'm always keen to find interesting use cases of AI for our #AppliedAI degree, so please do let me know if you have any more examples!

A talk at the AI Collaborative Workshop at Queen Mary University of London by Søren Riis on 'Humanity's Last Exam: What Hard Questions Teach Us About AI'

A talk at the AI Collaborative Workshop at Queen Mary University of London by Amaranta Membrillo Solis on 'Finding shape and structure in data: geometry and topology in the natural sciences'

A talk at the AI Collaborative Workshop at Queen Mary University of London by Valentina Donzella on 'Do we need better AI or better data?'

A talk at the AI Collaborative Workshop at Queen Mary University of London by Pat Healey on 'Artificial Companions and Relational Intelligence'

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

I've just reached a 1500-day learning streak with #Duolingo! I began just to learn a new language, but the great examples of #Gamification and #ActiveLearning have actually shaped my own approach to teaching. Let me know if you're a fan of Duolingo, too - and anything else you've learned from it!

An image from Duolingo celebrating a 1500-day learning streak.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

We had an excellent talk this week from Tolúwalàse Akanbi-Akinlolu - fascinating to hear about her work on belonging and identity in maths and physics students. Do let me know if you've seen any effective approaches that have helped students feel more of a sense of belonging with their subjects.

A seminar at the Queen Mary Centre for Education Research by Tolúwalàse Akanbi-Akinlolu from King's College London on belonging and identity in maths and physics students.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Fascinating cosmology seminar today by Harry Desmond on Exhaustive #SymbolicRegression - amazing to see the reconstructions of equations from cosmological data! Do let me know if you've seen other great examples of this kind of technique!

A cosmology seminar at Queen Mary University of London by Harry Desmond on Exhaustive Symbolic Regression

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

I loved all the brilliant questions and discussions with the sailors onboard #ScarletLady. There were superb questions about the #CosmicPieChart: What point in the universe does it show, and how does it change over time? We had a great chat about the evolution of #DarkEnergy!

A pie chart showing the proportions of Visible Matter, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy in the universe. The chart shows that about 5% of the universe is Visible Matter, about 25% is Dark Matter, and about 70% is Dark Energy. The chart is depicted with slices of real pies: vanilla for Visible Matter, pecan for Dark Matter, and chocolate for Dark Energy.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Back home from an extraordinary time as an enrichment lecturer onboard #ScarletLady. It was such a joy to meet the brilliant crew and share a little exploration of the universe with her wonderful sailors - thank you #VirginVoyages for such an amazing opportunity!

Departing Portsmouth Harbour, viewed from the deck of Scarlet Lady, showing Spinnaker Tower and HMS Warrior

A Guest Artist badge from Virgin Voyages

Sunset viewed from The Galley on Scarlet Lady

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Exciting news! I'm thrilled to be sailing with #VirginVoyages as an enrichment lecturer on #ScarletLady! Over the next 2 weeks, we'll explore #SpaceTourism, #SpaceOnScreen, #DarkMatter & #DarkEnergy, and the #SearchForLife in the universe. So happy to be onboard! #STEM #outreach

The top deck of Virgin Voyages' ship Scarlet Lady, with the running track and two radar domes.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Superb talk this afternoon by Dr Mohammed Meah from UEL on a Dragons' Den-style business project competition. Wonderful to hear the students taking ownership of their work, and lots of great advice for our own Dragons' Den-style project on our #AppliedAI programme!

A seminar at the Queen Mary University of London Centre for Education Research by Dr Mohammed Meah from the University of East London on a Dragons' Den-style business project competition for biomedical engineering and medical physiology students.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

I had a great time at our #OpenDays this week - wonderful to meet prospective students and discuss our new #AppliedAI programme with them. I'm so impressed with how they're already using #AI as a tool to support their education, and excited to see how this develops on our new degree!

The Queens' building at Queen Mary University of London, during an open day

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

I'm overjoyed to share that - thanks to a huge amount of help, support, and encouragement from friends, family, students, and colleagues, #FirstStepsInSpaceTime has just been published! It's been such a joy working with CRC Press on this book, and I'm so excited to share it!

The paperback edition of First Steps in Space-Time

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

I had such a great time at the #FestivalOfEducation yesterday - many thanks to Queen Mary Academy and everyone who stopped by my poster! I had some great discussions about small-group activities in large-group teaching sessions, and it was fantastic to hear about the amazing scholarship on #AI

Ed Macaulay next to a poster on small-group activities in large-group teaching sessions at the Queen Mary Festival of Education.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Such a great atmosphere at the #FestivalOfEducation poster session - wonderful to hear about all the amazing scholarship work at Queen Mary!

The poster session at the Queen Mary Festival of Education

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

All set for the poster session at the #FestivalOfEducation - do stop by The Octagon this afternoon if you'd like to chat about small group activities in large group teaching sessions, and the effects on engagement, identity, and outcomes!

A poster at the Queen Mary Festival of Education on Small Group Activities in Large Group Teaching Sessions

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Great to be back for Day 2 of the Queen Mary #FestivalOfEducation - a fascinating session on Excellence in #AI in Education. I'll be presenting a poster this afternoon on Small Group Activities in Large Group Teaching sessions, hopefully see you then!

A session at the Queen Mary Festival of Education on Excellence in AI in Education

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

I had such an amazing time this weekend doing outreach at the #LambethCountryShow - together we made over 400 space-time cookies! Thank you so much to EngageQM for supporting the activity, Lambeth Council, our brilliant student ambassadors, and everyone who tried #aBiteOfSpaceTime!

The stage, tents, and visitors at the Lambeth Country Show.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Excited to be on my way back for Day 2 of the #LambethCountryShow - we had some great chats and questions at #aBiteOfSpaceTime on Day 1 - looking forward to more this afternoon! #LCS25

A cookie decorated with stars and a planet at the Lambeth Country Show

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

So excited to be at the Lambeth Country Show today! We're all set for A Bite of Space-Time! #LCS25 #LambethCountryShow #aBiteOfSpaceTime

The Science Big Top tent at the Lambeth Country Show

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Very happy to share a #physics #outreach activity I'll be running at the #LambethCountryShow - A Bite of Space-Time! I hope you can join us to decorate a cookie and discover the connections with the theory of relativity! #aBiteOfSpaceTime #LCS25

A cookie with 'a Bite of Space-Time!' written on it, and decorated with silver sugar decorations and blue stars. A bite is taken out of the cookie. Image generated with Google Gemini.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Excellent #cosmology seminar this week by Dr Paul Shah on supernova lensing and evolving #DarkEnergy - amazing to see a 6σ detection of SN lensing! Paul noted that SN lensing is now comparable to galaxy lensing ~20 years ago - exciting to see what's next!

A cosmology seminar at Queen Mary University of London by Dr Paul Shah from UCL on supernova lensing and evolving dark energy.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Excited to be visiting PwC to help with #DataScience vivas - looking forward to hearing about the projects that the #DegreeApprentice students have been working on!

The entrance to the PwC offices in Tower Bridge, London

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Brilliant seminar today at the Centre for Education Research by Dr Eva Galante - great to hear about her work when she was at UEL on teaching skills to support students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.

A seminar by Dr Eva Galante at Queen Mary University of London on teaching skills at the University of East London to support students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Such a fantastic discussion at the #PhysicsOnFilm event - brilliant to hear about the science and production involved in The Martian! @instituteofphysics.bsky.social

A discussion panel at the Physics on Film event at the Institute of Physics with Libby Jackson, James Fleming, Chris Lawrence, Matt Sloan, and Oliver Shorttle

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Great to be back at Department W today for another session of the #AcademicLeadership programme. We had a fascinating session from Dr. Kristian Hibberd about academic reputation. What factors do you think most influence the reputation of a university?

A talk by Dr. Kristian Hibberd on academic reputation at the Academic Leadership programme at Queen Mary University of London

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Excellent seminar this afternoon by Dr Nikesh Bajaj on detecting plagiarism in assessed #Jupyter notebooks. We use Jupyter notebooks in our #DataScience #DegreeApprentice programme for #MachineLearning projects, and I'm sure this is going to be a valuable resource!

A seminar at the Centre for Education Research at Queen Mary University London by Dr Nikesh Bajaj on detecting plagiarism in assessed Jupyter notebooks.

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Ed Macaulay @edmacaulay.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

I really enjoyed visiting Department W again today for the next session of the #AcademicLeadership Programme. We had a brilliant session with Amy Marston and Pooja Middleton from Edison Red - I thought it was a great approach to consider the values that we'd like to develop during the programme.

A session on the Academic Leadership Programme at Queen Mary Department W with Amy Marston and Pooja Middleton from Edison Red

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