Nuala has a proven track record of implementing and delivering successful change across Libraries, Student Support Services, Careers & Employability Services, Education Services, Registry Services and Academic Partnerships. Her work is underpinned by innovative use of digital solutions and removal of process redundancies.
She has helped to incorporate and embed views across stakeholders from students to academic teams to professional services and to employers. Nuala aligns strategy and change to the student voice, delivering excellence in the student experience. She helps to influence and gain support from executive teams to drive implementation, and gives a voice to operational teams to ensure 360 input into successful implementation.
Starting in academic libraries, Nuala’s experience expanded across all of student experience. Most recently she worked as Academic Registrar at the University of Leicester with responsibility for Student Support Services, Education Services (including Quality Assurance and Enhancement), Careers & Employability, Academic Partnerships and Registry. Prior to that, she was Dean of Students at Staffordshire University with a similar portfolio of responsibilities. Previously, at Sheffield Hallam she began as Director of Library & Information Services, then Director of Libraries & Student Support Services leaving as Group Director, Student & Academic Services.
How has Nuala recently supported institutions?
- Ideation and implementation of RFID technology for issue and return of book stock, making Nottingham Trent the first UK university to do this and revolutionising the student and staff experience
- Leading the student facing services element of the transformational Professional Services Operating Model project at Sheffield Hallam. Reducing costs by innovative use of digital solutions, providing a one stop help service for students and standardising roles and responsibilities to allow efficient use of staffing resource
- At Staffordshire University, working with Digital Services to expand the use of AI to support student success adopting a data driven approach to support and interventions via the in house development of the Beacon Bot
- Review of processes to support UKVI student tracking and reporting at University of Leicester. The swift and thorough review ensured readiness for the UKVI audit which returned a view that the end to end process was an example of best practice.
Outside of work Nuala has recently rediscovered back packing, but prefers sun loungers if she’s honest. Since leaving full time work she loves walking the lanes where she lives and has a ridiculously high step count! The four cats also keep her busy and her teenager supposedly ‘keeps her young’.