Professor Samantha Pugh

Profile

Professor Samantha Pugh is a National Teaching Fellow, Institutional Academic Lead for AI and the Deputy Director of Student Education in Physics and Astronomy. She has an outstanding track record for developing context-based learning and working in partnership with students in the Physical Sciences. She is also recognised for inspiring and mentoring colleagues to shape teaching through pedagogic research and scholarship at Leeds and beyond.

She has secured over £1M in PhD funding and teaching development grants from the National HE STEM Programme (HE STEM), Higher Education Academy (HEA), the Institute of Physics (IoP), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the Office for Students (OfS) and the Universities of York and Leeds, to lead educational enhancement.

In 2015, Samantha co-established the Pedagogic Research in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Group (PRiSME). The group consists of academics from across STEM that champion evidence-based curriculum development, pioneer undergraduate research in STEM Education, and organise practitioners’ seminars. She is also a founder of the TALENT network, which won a National Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) in 2024.

Samantha completed a ‘Leeds Excellence and Innovation Fellowship’ sabbatical at the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence in 2017/18. Her institutional project isl ‘Reimagining Assessment in Higher Education by learning from Secondary Education.’ Samantha believes that a programme-level understanding of assessment is the key to enhancing the career prospects of university graduates. She is currently co-leading Curriculum Redefined for Physics, with Gavin Burnell, putting findings from her research into practice.

Responsibilities

• University Academic Lead for AI
• Group Leader - PRISME

Research interests

My research interests are in pedagogic and educational research in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines. Some current projects include how students navigate their employability in Physics, developing synoptic assessment in undergraduate degree programmes, developing group work in undergraduate curricula, and the benefits and impact of employer engagement on the undergraduate curriculum. I am also interested in research relating to digital pedagogies (in particular digital assessment), and artificial intelligence.

I have a keen interest in developing commercially-focused, technology-based projects and case studies, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

I am a strong believer in developing commercial awareness within STEM degree programmes at all levels. I have also championed the development of Peer Assisted Learning at the University of Leeds, and beyond.

Qualifications

• BSc Colour and Polymer Chemistry
• PhD Colour Chemistry
• PG Cert in Teaching and Learning in HE

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Member of the Association of National Teaching Fellows

Student education

• Institutional Academic Lead for AI
• Deputy Director of Student Education (Physics and Astronomy)
• Module Manager: Physics Group Innovation Project
• Module contributor: Professional Skills in Physics

Research groups and institutes

• Physics Education

Current postgraduate researchers

• Raf Flores-Adrian
• Harry Richardson