Dr Stuart Cunningham
Programme Leader for MSc Advanced Computer Science
Biography
Stuart is a Senior Lecturer, specialising in User Experience (UX), and teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University. Stuart is programme leader for the MSc Advanced Computer Science, REF Unit of Assessment 11 co-ordinator, and Senior Postgraduate Research Tutor. He has been working in higher education for 20 years in a variety of academic, research, and leadership roles. Through his career, Stuart has taught a variety of subjects in computer science and related creative technology domains. In addition to working with undergraduate and postgraduate students, he has been involved in the design and delivery of degree apprenticeships. He is author of research articles, book chapters, and several music and artistic pieces, reflecting his broad range of interdisciplinary interests when it comes to research and external collaboration.
Teaching and Supervision
Stuart’s teaching focus is primarily on topics relating to user experience, interface design, software development, and web systems across undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In addition, he supervises final year and dissertation project students in these areas. Stuart is a proponent of interactive and collaborative learning approaches and portfolio-based assessment.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Dr Cunningham’s interests cover a range of computing and creative hybrids, including audio compression; affective technologies; human-computer interaction, sonic interaction; and user experience. He has interests in person-centred approaches to sound design and ways in which biofeedback sensors from humans can be analysed to determine their emotional states. To date, his work has been predominantly technical and scientifically driven, but he has also produced creative works such as music, sound, and images, in relation to these fascinations. He is Chair of the Audio Mostly steering committee and is a regular review for many international journals. Stuart was a member of the MPEG Music Notation Standards (MPEG-SMR) working group, which developed ISO/IEC 14496-23:2008.