Dr Tim Amsdon

Profile

Tim joined the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering in 2017, initially to work on the SWJTU-Leeds Joint School project, based in Xipu, China. During his time on the project, he was instrumental in establishing and developing the laboratories and teaching capabilities for the Electronic and Electrical Engineering Programme delivered at the Joint School, and was a key contributor to the programme's successful IET accreditation in 2021.

Tim has broad teaching expertise, covering communications networks and systems, digital electronics, embedded systems, high frequency electronics, and RF and microwave engineering, and is an ardent proponent of blended-learning, student-centred, and project-based teaching approaches.

At present, Tim is a lecturer in embedded systems, module leader for the ELEC/XJEL 2645 Embedded Systems module, Deputy Director of Student Education (Taught Programmes), and team member of the University's Curriculum Redefined project which is embarking on a University-wide review to refresh all undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes over the next five years.

Prior to joining Leeds, Tim spent 4 years at the University of Huddersfield as Head of Engineering at the International Study Centre, and prior to that, 16 years in industry working for several leading-edge electronics companies, where he held positions at principal engineering and management levels. Furthermore, he has extensive international experience, having lived and worked in the US, Germany, South Korea, and China.

During his time in industry, Tim worked in numerous engineering roles covering design, system architecting, applications development and consultancy. He has designed and developed numerous RF and microwave products, as well as several broadcast video receiver products for leading-edge TV and set-top-box manufacturers.

Tim is registered with the UK Engineering Council as Chartered Engineer and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and holds a bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering and a PhD in visible light communications from the University of Huddersfield.

Responsibilities

• Module Leader for ELEC/XJEL2645 Emdedded Systems Project
• Deputy Director of Student Education (Taught Programmes)
• Curriculum Redefined

Research interests

Tim is interested in embedded systems, VLC, RF and microwave engineering, broadcast video systems, and is a contributor to research into VLC for peer-to-peer robot communications in potable water pipes.

Qualifications

• PhD in Visible Light Communications
• BEng(Hons) Electronic Engineering

Professional memberships

• UK Chartered Engineer (CEng) registered with the Engineering Council (CE)
• Fellow of the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Senior Member of the US Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (SMIEEE)

Student education

Tim has experience delivering the following undergraduate modules:

• Level 1: XJEL1405 Communications Networks and signals, XJEL1420 Communications Systems, XJEL1620 Digital Electronics and Microcontrollers
• Level 2: XJEL2140 High Frequency Electronics, ELEC/XJEL2645 Embedded Systems Project (Module Leader)
• Level 3: XJEL3360 RF and Microwave Engineering

Note: the XJEL prefix denotes modules delivered at the Leeds-SWJTU Joint School and ELEC denotes those delivered at Leeds.

Tim is also a supervisor and assessor of projects at MSc level, and has presented pedagogical research at the following teaching and learning conferences:

1. University of Leeds, UK, Student Education Conference and Digital Festival (05/01/2018), titled ‘Adapting Teaching Methodology’;
2. Southwest Jiaotong University, China, CPD Symposia (23/11/2019), titled ‘Adapting Teaching Methodology in Engineering to the EMI Situation’

Research groups and institutes

• Institute of Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Sensing