Just before the winter break, Cat met with Melanie Christou, the newest member of TELT.
Introduce yourself
My name is Melanie and I have recently joined TELT as a Learning Technologist in the Enhancement strand, having previously worked at QMUL. Learning and teaching has always been a passion of mine, and in early 2023 I decided to make a career change into learning technology, initially joining the HSS faculty on a contract-basis specialising in digital accessibility, before joining TELT on a permanent basis in November 2023.
Tell us a bit more about your previous role at QM
I previously worked at Queen Mary in Careers and Enterprise, on a range of employability programmes. As mentioned, I also worked in HSS as a Digital Accessibility Assistant, and I’m keen to bring that knowledge into TELT and contribute centrally in terms of impacting our students.
Projects you’re currently working on
I’m still settling in, but I’m particularly excited about the Community of Practice. I attended the summer event in my previous role, and we’ll be looking at five threads as a follow on from that event. I look forward to influencing how the community moves forward.
I’m also keen to carry on the conversations around generative AI to support teaching.
Hobbies
Outside of Queen Mary, I am an educator for a Pilates teaching training certification programme, and I coach professional Pilates teachers on various topics concerning their development. When not working, some of the things I like doing are baking sourdough bread, and playing PS5 – I’ve just finished Dead Island 2 and about to start Spiderman 2 in case there are any fellow gamers at QM!
Quick fire questions!
- Coffee or tea?
Coffee. - Cats or dogs?
Dogs. - Books or movies?
After much deliberation, movies. - Favourite app on your phone?
Instagram. - Favourite music genre or artist?
Too eclectic to pick one. I broke the Spotify algorithm – I listen to too many different styles so it didn’t know what to pick. - Favourite cuisine?
Szechuan. - Any hidden talents?
Too observant… - Favourite holiday destination?
Japan. - Favourite game?
Red Dead Redemption 2.
