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Associate Professor Sean Preston

Associate Dean for Learning, Teaching and Student Experience

Phone
+44 (0)1473 338064
Email
sean.preston@uos.ac.uk
School/Directorate
School of Technology, Business and Arts
Sean Preston staff profile photo

Sean Preston is an Associate Professor in Computing and the Associate Dean for Learning, Teaching and Student Experience for the School of Technology, Business and Arts. He is responsible for overseeing all learning and teaching delivered across the school in addition to contributing to institutional learning and teaching strategy. Before becoming Associate Dean, Sean was Head of the Technology Department where he led the academic team responsible for all programmes of study in the fields of Computing, Cyber Security, Games Development, Network Engineering, Web Development and Artificial Intelligence. In addition to his position as Associate Dean, Sean is also a member of the University of Suffolk Senate and a Director on the University of Suffolk Board.

Sean is an External Examiner for technology degrees at the University of Roehampton and has previously held external posts at Sunderland University and Northampton University. Before joining the University of Suffolk, he was a Lecturer in Computing at the University of Worcester.

He has over 15 years of experience as a Web Developer creating applications for the news, tourism, education, e-commerce and banking sectors. Before becoming an academic, Sean was a Web Developer for Newsquest, one of the largest regional media companies in the United Kingdom.

Sean has a BSc in Computing, an MBA in Executive Leadership and Management and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a member of the British Computing Society (MBCS) and an accredited Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educator. He has won several awards for his lecturing and, in 2017, was invited to teach an intensive module in web development at Zhejiang University in Jinhua, China.

Sean’s previous technical, academic and business experience allows him to develop technical solutions to meet organisational needs. This has led to his increased engagement with the university’s Business Engagement team and Innovation Centre. He provides support to SMEs on digital marketing, web technologies and web accessibility.

Sean has successfully led, validated and re-approved a number of large programmes of study, including:

  • BSc (Hons) Computing (Validated, Course Leader)
  • BSc (Hons) Web and Mobile Development (Course Leader)
  • BSc (Hons) Digital and Technology Solutions Apprenticeship (Re-Approval)
  • MSc Advanced Computing (Validated)

In 2019, Sean was shortlisted for the Most Inspiring Lecturer Award at the University of Suffolk. In 2022, he won the Highly Commended Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community at the Celebrating Suffolk Awards.

Sean is an External Examiner for technology courses at the University of Roehampton and has held external roles at Sunderland University and Northampton University. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

Sean remains active in the web development sector and values the importance of combining business engagement with academic knowledge. In recent years, he has led the following business engagement and enterprise projects:

Completed:

  1. The development of an e-learning platform to support mental wellbeing (2019-2021)
    Suffolk Mind (EIRA Project)
  2. Improving web-based data collection methods for legal services (2020-2021)
    Suffolk Law Centre (EIRA Innovation Voucher)
  3. Cloud-based mobile lead generation and the use of SaaS subscription-based pricing models (2019)
    Blue Novation (Innovation Bridge)
  4. Bespoke keyword and SEO analysis (2019)
    Norton Taylor Nunn Ltd (Innovation Bridge)
  5. Web accessibility features for an audience with autism and ADHD (2018)
    Autism and ADHD (Innovation Bridge)

Sean has also recently presented on the following business engagement topics:

  1. Digital Marketing (Business Breakfast - 2019)
  2. Traditional vs Digital Marketing: The Showdown (Business Breakfast - 2019)
  3. Social Media Automation (Bitesize Talk - 2020)
  4. Lockdown Friendly Digital Marketing Strategies (UoS Together With Business - 2020)

Sean is a Professional Member of the British Computing Society (MBCS)

In October 2018, Sean was invited to Zhejiang University in Jinhua, China to teach students web design and development. He was responsible for leading a 2-week intensive module providing students with the knowledge to build web applications using front-end technologies. Many of the students he taught went on to complete their studies in the UK.

Since joining the University of Suffolk, Sean has represented the University of Suffolk at international events in Bucharest, New Delhi and Hyderabad.