Congratulations to Jackie Carter, Professor of Statistical Literacy at the University of Manchester, who has been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by Advance HE.
The National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) Scheme celebrates and recognises individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession in higher education. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Scheme and just 56 fellows from Universities nationwide have been awarded the Fellowship.
As Co-Director of the University of Manchester Q-Step Centre, Jackie has led the development of a living-wage paid work placement programme, from which 250 social science and humanities undergraduates have benefited to date. Participating students undertake a two-month summer internship in a host organisation, ranging from local government, charities, think tanks, national government departments, data/polling consultancies, media organisations (BBC, The Times), to the World Bank. The projects they undertake reflect real-world, data-driven, analytical research that matters to the host.
Work placements are a distinctive feature of Q-Step, a programme developed by the Nuffield Foundation and the ESRC to create a step-change in quantitative social science teaching and learning in higher education. Participating universities across the UK are delivering specialist undergraduate courses and modules that provide a deep and secure grasp of the quantitative research methods needed to evaluate evidence and analyse data.
Jackie’s work has been integral to the success of Q-Step, and she is now using her expertise to extend the placement programme beyond the UK to support the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Her EmpoderaData project explored data capacity in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, and is now focusing on developing this in Colombia. Jackie will also introduce ‘immersion activities’ in Social Policy and Business degrees in Sao Paolo, with the aim of developing data skills training to support data and statistical capacity in Latin America.
Jackie has made a huge contribution to Q-Step and has empowered hundreds of students to become critical data consumers and well-informed citizens. We offer our warmest congratulations on this well-deserved award.
