Centre for Education Research
We bring together educators, researchers and practitioners to study, design and share high-impact teaching practice.
The Centre for Education Research (CER) was established in 2023 to support and enhance educational practice across the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences (SPCS).
The Centre focuses on practical aspects of teaching and learning, encouraging colleagues to design, test and share approaches that help students think critically, communicate effectively and develop with confidence.
Our work spans a range of perspectives and methods, aiming to connect classroom experience with broader discussions about effective and inclusive education.
Together, these aims guide the Centre’s activities and define its role within the School and the wider educational community.
To deliver this mission, the Centre:
- Advances scholarship and education research
by promoting innovative methodologies that broaden disciplinary perspectives and generate impactful insights to inform pedagogy, theory and practice in education. - Enhances visibility and impact
by supporting activities that extend research beyond academia and foster national and international engagement. - Fosters a collegial environment
through regular opportunities for colleagues to connect and share insights, supporting meaningful knowledge exchange across the academic community. - Introduces new ideas
across the School and the wider university by hosting workshops, seminars, research events and outreach activities that support academic rigour and promote adaptability in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.
Our Projects
Our projects span assessment, curriculum design, AI in education, inclusion, data science education and student experience. Below are current and recent initiatives.
The Podcast Project
Lead: Ebru Burcu
People Involved: Ebru Burcu, Elenora Pitta, and Faith Nightingale
Year: 2024 –
Enhancing Data Science Education through Competitive-Based Learning and AI-Driven Assessment
Lead: Pengfei Fan
People Involved: Pengfei Fan, Jesus Requena Carrion, Nikesh Bajaj, Jordan Smith, Ebru Burcu, Gloria Molinero, and Reza Moosaei
Year: 2024
Pedagogical Framework for Teaching JavaScript Programming & SQL Modules
Lead: Reza Moosaei
People Involved: Reza Moosaei and Anum Masood
Year: 2025
AI in Mathematics Education: An Overview
Leads: Nivedita Viswanathan and Dimitris Chiotis
People Involved: Nivedita Viswanathan and Dimitris Chiotis
Year: 2025
Similarity of Jupyter Notebook for Assessment Report
Lead: Nikesh Bajaj
People Involved: Nikesh Bajaj, Dimitris Chiotis, Reza Moosaei, Pengfei Fan, and Jesus Requena Carrion
Year: 2024–2025
Students' Approaches to AI-Based Tools: A Framework to Aid Learners and Practitioners with the Learning Markers in the Use of AI
Lead: Gloria Molinero
People Involved: Gloria Molinero, Anum Masood, and Nivedita Viswanathan
Year: 2025
TNE Learning Practices and Motivations Using AI-Based Technologies in STEM
Lead: Gloria Molinero
People Involved: Gloria Molinero and Anum Masood
Year: 2024 –
Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Level Education: Trends, Challenges and Recommendations
Lead: Anum Masood
People Involved: Anum Masood
Year: 2024 –
People
CER brings together colleagues across SPCS who are actively engaged in education research, curriculum innovation, assessment design, student support and digital pedagogy.
Leadership
- Director: Prof Jesús Requena Carrión — Executive Vice Dean and Director of Queen Mary School Hainan
- Past Director: Prof Lesley Howell
Members
| Name | Title | Centre Role |
| Craig Agnor | Senior Lecturer in Astronomy | Member |
| Andrea Alessandrini | Lecturer in Interaction Design | Member |
| Nikesh Bajaj | Lecturer In Data Science | Member |
| Ebru Burcu | Lecturer In Language & Academic Skills | Member |
| Giorgio Chianello | Reader in Chemical Education | Member |
| Dimitris Chiotis | Lecturer In Mathematics | Member |
| Alex Cline | Senior Lecturer In Info System Management | Member |
| Fabricio De Oliveira Ourique | Lecturer In Digital Signal Processing | Member |
| Pengfei Fan | Lecturer In Data Science And AI | Member |
| Eva Galante | Lecturer in Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry | Member |
| Alim Gias | Lecturer In Programming | Member |
| Richard Gunton | Senior Lecturer In Data Science | Member |
| Jonathan Jackson | Senior Lecturer In Software Engineering & Management | Member |
| Ed Macaulay | Lecturer in Physics and Data Science | Member |
| Anum Masood | Lecturer In Computer Science | Member |
| Matteo Mazzamurro | Lecturer In Data Science | Member |
| Gloria Molinero | Lecturer In Language Skills For Science & Engineering | Member |
| Reza Moosaei | Lecturer In Computer Science | Member |
| Manesha Peiris | Senior Lecturer in Reflective Practice & Project Management | Member |
| Elham Rezasoltani | Lecturer in Mathematics Education | Member |
| Ana Salvi | Lecturer In Language And Academic Skills | Member |
| Yun Sheng | Lecturer In Computer Science | Member |
| Tippu Sheriff | Reader and Director of Chemical Sciences Programmes | Member |
| Jordan Bennett Louis Smith | Lecturer In Audio Signal Processing | Member |
| Maariyah Suleman | Teaching Fellow | Member |
| Nivedita Viswanathan | Lecturer In Mathematics | Member |
| Peter Wyatt | Senior Lecturer | Member |
| Kaushal Yadav | Teaching Fellow | Member |
Working Groups
Our thematic working groups provide spaces for focused collaboration. Each group explores challenges, pilots interventions and shares practical outputs back into teaching.
| Group Name | Lead |
| Digital Education and Learning Design | Ebru Burcu |
| Practitioner Research | Ana Salvi |
| Assessment Design | Nivedita Viswanathan |
| Data Science for Healthcare Professionals | Nikesh Bajaj |
| Data Science for the Humanities and Social Sciences | Matteo Mazzamurro |
| Inclusive Assessment | Eva Galante |
Recent Publications
CER members actively publish on pedagogy, assessment, AI in education, inclusive practice and discipline-specific teaching.
Selected 2025 outputs include:
- Soumya Prakash Rana, Maitreyee Dey, Preeti Patel, Jesus Requena, Colin Fu (2025). Prompting and RAG vs. Student Engagement and Comprehension in Educational Technology. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Nikesh Bajaj, Dimitrios Chiotis, Reza Moosaei, Jordan B. L. Smith, Pengfei Fan, Jesús Requena Carrión (2025). A Tool for Detecting Similarity in Jupyter Notebooks used as Assessment Reports. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Xiaohan Chen Na Li, Nikesh Bajaj, Pengfei Fan (2025). Enhancing Competition-Based Big Data Analytics Learning Through AI-Driven Distributed Scaffolding. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Areej Alatawi, Ebru Burcu, Dimitris Kalogiros, Jesús Requena Carrión (2025). Interactive Visual Learning in Machine Learning: A Cognitive Learning Theories-Driven Approach. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Yue Chen, Kok Keong Chai, Jonathan Loo, Reza Moosaei, Joel Obstfeld (2025). GenAI-Empowered Group-Based Authentic Assessment for Network Engineering Course. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Reza Moosaei, Gloria Molinero (2025). Pedagogical Framework for Programming Courses in Higher Education. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Anum Masood, Azka Umar (2025). Promoting Gender Balance in Computing Education: Development, Trends, and Challenges. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Anum Masood, Azka Umar, Raja Usman Tariq (2025). Using Blockchain-Based Immersive Virtual Reality Systems for Computing Education. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).
- Ebru Burcu, Nivedita Viswanathan, Anum Masood (2025). Teachers' Framework in Assessing Quality of MOOCs. IEEE DEMOCON 2025 .
Latest Events
We regularly host talks, workshops and practice-sharing sessions across SPCS. Recent sessions include:
Belonging and Science Identity among Physics and Mathematics Undergraduates: An Intersectional Mixed-Methods Study
Speaker: Toluwalase Akanbi-Akinlolu (King’s College London)
Date: 22 October 2025
Location: Mile End Campus, Queen Mary University of London
This talk explored how mathematics and physics undergraduates at a UK research-intensive university develop their sense of belonging, identity and confidence, with particular attention to underrepresented groups.
Supporting Student’s Learning using Recommendation Systems
Speaker: Dr Sonit Singh (UNSW Sydney)
Date: 17 September 2025
Format: Online seminar
This talk showcased recent projects on AI-powered language learning and course recommendation systems designed to enhance student learning and engagement.
Interested in contributing?
If you would like to present your work or lead a session as part of our seminar series, please contact the Centre for Education Research.