Personal statement
I joined Strathclyde in January 1998 (EPSRC Grant Research Assistant) and secured a lectureship post in 2000. I gained a PhD in 2003 and this brought to a close a 23 year educational journey of part-time and full-time studies. On leaving secondary school with no formal qualifications (1980) I embarked on a 4 year apprenticeship as a plumbing and heating engineer and subsequently worked for a further two years applying my craft in domestic and industrial settings. Thereupon, I lectured (plumbing and building studies) in three Further Education colleges (1986-1992) before embarking on full time studies in construction management (BSc (Hons) 1st Class, Napier University, 1992) and (MSc, Heriot Watt University, 1996). Between 1996 and starting at Strathclyde in 1998 I lectured at the Robert Gordon University and Fife College.
I am currently a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering).I completed a Certificate in Education (Cert-Ed) in 1992 and a PG Certificate Learning and Teaching in HE (PGCLTHE) in 2016. I have been a Senior Fellow of the HEA (PR234083) since 2021.
Since 2013 I have been an active in pedagogical research and have published in several journals (i.e. Teaching in Higher Education; European Journal of Engineering Education, Higher Education Pedagogies; Industry & Higher Education) and have disseminated my scholarship and research through the Strathclyde Sharing Practice in Effective Learning & teaching (SPELT) webpage (https://spelt.strath.ac.uk/display/SPELT/Faculty+of+Engineering) and at QAA Scotland; Advance HE, and Engineering Education conferences:
Murray, M. (2022). An Industry-Student Mentoring Scheme 2010-2022, Engineering Professors Council Crucible Project, 16th February, Session 1: Collaborating with industry for teaching and learning, Video3470518334, http://epc.ac.uk/recent-events/ & Toolkit available (Members Portal) @ http://epc.ac.uk/crucible-project-toolkit/
Murray, M., Hendry, G, & McQuade, R. (2019). Workplace Experience: Co-curricular Learning for Undergraduates 2012-2019. In, New approaches to engineering higher education in practice, The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC). pp 36-39, http://epc.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/New-Approaches-Proceedings-Nov19.pdf
I am proposer and co-chair for an International Symposium of Engineering Education (ISEE), to be held 1-2nd September 2022 at Strathclyde, https://www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/iseeconference/
Teaching
Teaching Philosophy
I seek to deliver a student learning experience that promotes intellectual curiosity. My epistemic beliefs reflect a dominant constructivist perspective and the pedagogy that I deploy supports student agency through innovative Assessment for Learning activities (i.e. Flipped Learning / Book Jigsaw / Rich Pictures/ Vlogging for reflection).
As a Senior Teaching Fellow I have directed my efforts to creating reciprocal knowledge exchange between students and employers. This has resulted in significant ‘time in kind’ and direct financial contributions by employers for undergraduate curriculum & co-curriculum activities:
Graduate Mentoring 3rd year Students 2010-2022. As of May 2022, 974 student mentees have participated, 73 employers have assisted and 239 industry mentors have providing guidance to the mentees.
Constructionarium (ConStructEd Scotland) 2010-2022. Co-curricular 5 day summer camp (experiential learning) since where student teams project manage and build replica structures. As of May 2022 this has resulted in 241 undergraduates participating and this has created circa 9640 hrs. of voluntary student CPD and circa £140,000 of industrial sponsor support through materials, construction plant and management costs.
Civil Engineering 4 Real (CE4R 2012-2022) co-curricular problem based workshops facilitate peer (voluntary attendance, N=516) learning across all five years of the undergraduate course. As of May 2022, 112 workshops have been delivered by 201 engineers representing 66 employers. 2342 student attendances has resulted in 4684 hrs. of student CPD.
My pedagogy has been commended by the Quinqennial Review Panel (2015 & 2021) and recognized by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) Accreditation panels 2010, 2015, 2020; External Examiners Report 2020, and is explicitly referenced in the annual National Student Survey (NSS) free-text positive responses.
Teaching Awards
08/06/2021: Winner- Faculty of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Awards.-Excellence in Supporting Students during the 2020-21 academic year.
30/04/2019: Nominated (Long Listed) Most Enthusiastic Teacher. “It was great to have you as my teacher Mike. You are definitely one of the most enthusiastic lecturers I have ever known or will ever know, probably”.
11/05/2018: Most Innovative University Teacher & Shortlisted Best Teacher in Faculty of Engineering- “ The amount of different ways this man has found to engage students with the wider Civil Engineering community is too long to list and I hope he finally gets the recognition he deserves”.
17/05/2017: Shortlisted Best Teacher in Faculty of Engineering “He goes above and beyond his role as a lecturer. Mike encourages students to take part in further reading and broaden their education with site visits and workshops. His passion for the course and genuine interest in the industry really encourages students to have ambition whilst pursuing their career”.
14/05/2015: Shortlisted Best Overall University Teacher “I feel I owe an incredible amount to him. He has built relationships with companies, organises site visits and forwards job advertisement to us”…“He makes such an effort for his students, and I think he should be recognised for this”.
07/05/2014: Best Teacher in Faculty-Engineering “He has such enthusiasm and ensures his students know what working life is like”.
15/05/2013: In Recognition of Teaching Excellence “Not a week goes by when he doesn’t go beyond the call of duty as a lecturer to try to introduce something extra or new, not just to us students but to the department as a whole. He inspires us to set our goals high and engages with students as equals”.
24/03/2010: Award in Recognition of Outstanding Teaching “Mike Murray is one of the best lecturers I have met so far, and has helped immensely in my learning in the department”.
Research interests
My PhD studies and early publications have focused on construction management topics. However, since 2010, I have found a comfortable home within what I would consider to be ‘active’ pedagogical studies, grounded through my immersion in teaching and learning activities. My personal ontological (reality is subjective) and epistemological (knowledge creation is socially constructed) beliefs shape my approach to learning, teaching and research activities. Recent Publications:
Murray, M., Pytharouli, S & Douglas, J. (2022). Opportunities for the Development of Professional Skills for Undergraduate Civil and Environmental Engineers, European Journal of Engineering Education DOI/MS ID: 10.1080/03043797.2022.2031897 / 210690459
Murray, M. (2022). An Industry-Student Mentoring Scheme 2010-2022, Engineering Professors Council Crucible Project, 16th February, Session 1: Collaborating with industry for teaching and learning, Video3470518334, http://epc.ac.uk/recent-events/ & Toolkit available (Members Portal) @ http://epc.ac.uk/crucible-project-toolkit/
Pilcher, N., Galbrun, L., Craig, N., Murray, M., Forster, A., Tennant, S. (2021).'Role requirements in Academic Recruitment for Construction & Engineering’ European Journal of Engineering Education, 46(2):247-265.https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2020.1725451.
Professional activities
- International Symposium of Engineering Education (ISEE) 2022
- Participant
- 1/9/2022
- Centre for Engineering Education, UCL, Engineering Round table session on the priorities for Engineering Education Research in the UK.
- Participant
- 28/6/2022
- Crucible Project
- Speaker
- 16/2/2022
- External Examiner, MSc Construction Management programme,University College of Estate Management
- Examiner
- 20/10/2020
- 8th International Symposium of Engineering Education (ISEE)2020
- Chair
- 9/7/2020
- The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Engineering Professors’ Council (EPC) joint conference on New Approaches to Engineering Higher Education,
- Participant
- 30/11/2019
More professional activities
Projects
- Student Transitions through and/or beyond Strathclyde (to progress the QAA Student Transitions Enhancement Theme within Strathclyde). Transition to employment-Alumni stories about dyslexia from the Civil Engineering and Law disciplines.
- Murray, Michael (Principal Investigator) Murray, Frances (Principal Investigator) Paton, Steven (Principal Investigator)
- The proposed pilot project seeks to establish a benchmark for examining student transition to graduate (Alumni) employment with a particular focus on graduates with disabilities. For the pilot project we will focus exclusively on recent Alumni (up to 7 years post-graduation) in the civil engineering and law disciplines, who have dyslexia. Five graduates from each discipline will be targeted for interview and the primary data will be captured using a critical incident storytelling methodology. These life stories will chart the landscape through the student transition from university to (and through) employment and will seek to uncover rich personal testimonies that document the opportunities and barriers faced by Alumni with dyslexia. The output will inform academia and employers about the relationship between graduate attributes and equality and diversity issues.
- 03-Jan-2017 - 01-Jan-2017
- Student Transitions through and/or beyond Strathclyde (to progress the QAA Student Transitions Enhancement Theme within Strathclyde). Communities of Practice: A Case of civil engineering students in post-summer placement transition through university.
- Murray, Michael (Principal Investigator)
- To progress the QAA Student Transitions Enhancement Theme within Strathclyde. Applying the concept of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991) to the study of student summer placement learning and transition (return to university) within industrial and academic community of practices.
- 30-Jan-2016 - 30-Jan-2017
- ENTICE - ENhancing Transitions In Civil Engineering (HEA Student Transitions)
- Ferguson, Neil (Principal Investigator) Bertram, Doug (Co-investigator) Kenny, Michael (Co-investigator) Murray, Michael (Co-investigator) Switzer, Christine (Co-investigator)
- 11-Jan-2015 - 30-Jan-2015
- Scottish Enterprise & Applecross Developments
- Murray, Michael (Principal Investigator) Langford, David (Research Co-investigator)
- A Lean Design and Construction Methodology for Applecross Developments
- 10-Jan-2005 - 19-Jan-2007
- Tempus Project: CD_JEP-30047-2002 (SY) Developing an MSc Curriculum in Construction Management for the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Aleppo, Syria
- Murray, Michael (Principal Investigator) Langford, David (Principal Investigator)
- 15-Jan-2004 - 15-Jan-2006
- ESRC Transdiciplinary Seminars Award: People & Culture
- Murray, Michael (Principal Investigator)
- Establishing a network of academics and construction industry practitioners with an interest in work-life balance issues. Seven workshops held under the headings of Work & Quality of Life; Flexible Working Practices; Child Care Issues; Discrimination & Promoting Inclusive Employment Practices; Risk, Safety & the Working Environment and The Impact of Information Technology.
- 19-Jan-2004 - 15-Jan-2005
More projects
Address
Civil and Environmental Engineering
James Weir
James Weir
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