Dr Heba Elsharkawy

I have been working in academia since 2001 started as a Teaching Assistant, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader / Associate Professor. I have been leading and teaching in BSc (Hons) Architecture since 2018, and BSc Architectural Design Technology since 2016 at the Department of Architecture and Visual Arts (AVA), University of East London. I have been awarded for Outstanding Contribution at UEL in 2020. I was also awarded for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (L & T), funded by Pearson, at UEL in 2018. Prior to this, I have been teaching MSc Sustainable Mega Buildings, and MSc Environmental Design of Buildings at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. I created and validated the MSc in Sustainable Mega Buildings in 2014. 

I have been working on maintaining and developing the academic portfolio of the Department of AVA, UEL making significant contribution to innovation in the curriculum, course design, learning and teaching, assessment and internationalisation. I led the Cluster validation proposal which included 9 UG and PG courses to be aligned with UEL's Vision 2028. The programmes were redesigned to be career-driven and future proof, where graduates acquire the knowledge and skills sought after by employers. I also led a University of East London (UEL), and Ain Shams University (ASU), Egypt Dual Degree Programmes transnational education project resulting in 13 UEL-ASU dual degree courses. 

I have been recently invited to join the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement review panel for Architectural Technology subject. I have been successful in applying for course accreditation of the BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology programme in 2016 by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT). At WSA, Cardiff University, Together with the MSc team we prepared the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) accreditation documentation for MSc Sustainable Mega Buildings, successfully achieved in 2016.

In my teaching practice, I have always ensured I intently reflect on students' feedback and comments and introduce appropriate adjustments in response to their needs and expectations. My Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning programme and recognition as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) has also developed my critical reflection on my teaching practice and has underpinned my teaching activities. I have also achieved the Senior Fellowship status SFHEA.

Qualifications and expertise

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Undergraduate courses taught

• Architecture BA (Hons)

Postgraduate courses taught

• Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 2) MArch

Besides my ambition for ensuring excellence in my learning and teaching approaches, my key research expertise and interest lie in the area of environmental design and education for sustainability. I have gained this knowledge having built on a sound understanding of concepts and principles through my wide and significant exposure to complex practices and precedents within my academic and research practice. I have published around 40 peer reviewed articles in high-impact journals and conferences.

Climate change mitigation and resilience requires collective global, national and local action. I am currently leading a  British Council funded  project: Towards Net Zero Carbon Campuses for Climate Change Mitigation and Resilience. The project enables universities establish a clear pathway to achieve Net Zero Carbon Campuses by 2050 by developing a robust Climate Action Framework, building staff and student capacity to enable actions to reduce carbon emissions and disseminate awareness within their wider communities. 

I was Principal Investigator to a British Council Newton Institutional Links funded project; Building Capacity for Sustainable Development of the Built Environment (total grant £288K). Together with my team: I organised and led two international conferences, four professional training programmes, undertook world class research, and developed international dual degree programmes.

I have been supervising PhD students, as well as MSc students' dissertations at UEL and Cardiff University. I have been Director of Studies of 3 PhD students to completion at UEL, besides supervising 3 PhD students and 11 MSc students' dissertations at WSA. I have also been Principal Investigator with 4 UEL researchers to a British Council Newton Researcher Links project: Cities in transition: locality, identity and experience of place - issues for migrant and minority ethnic groups in rapidly emerging urban developments and typologies (total grant £39K), Izmir, Turkey.

Areas of specialism

• Environmental design
• Education for Sustainability
• Building performance and occupants comfort
• Pro-environmental behaviour

Publications

I designed and validated an international summer course (10 credits) at the University of East London (UEL) which started in 2016. This two-week programme was designed around a series of lectures and field trips in the field of historical/contemporary architecture and design, feeding into project work. The programme facilitated an integrated learning experience and wide exposure to contemporary issues in architectural research and practice for the students. 

I led a University of East London (UEL), and Ain Shams University (ASU), Egypt Dual Degree Programmes transnational education project resulting in 13 UEL-ASU dual degree courses. This agreement developed in the light of existing links between ASU and UEL through the British Council funded BC-SDBE project and supported by political leadership in Egypt with the aim to improve HEIs by partnering with selected UK HEIs

At the WSA, I created an international summer school, recruiting 240 international students between 2013 and 2015. I was appointed as Director of International and was nominated at the College of Physical Sciences Directors of International forum to lead on College-wide summer schools to promote student recruitment across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I have been proactive in setting up and delivering marketing strategies for the WSA and at the College-level. I was able to contribute effectively to the Internationalisation strategy, promote excellence and lead and manage internationalisation activities in the School and University. I led the School collaboration with the British University in Dubai (BUiD) which was recognised as a new model for Transnational Education with strategic support and guidance from an alliance of UK Russell Group Universities. I was an active member of Cardiff University Athena SWAN Steering Group and have taken an active role within the institution's submission in 2015 which achieved a Bronze Award. 

I have also been working across other departments and schools to create new cross-disciplinary activities, courses, and research initiatives, both at UEL and Cardiff University.  

• Newham Climate Change Citizen's Assembly: I have been invited to deliver a talk at Newham Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change in February 2020, following on from the council declaring a Climate Emergency and introducing a raft of measures to tackle global warming, poor air quality and waste earlier this year. The title of the talk was ‘How can the council and residents work together to reach the aspiration of being zero carbon by 2050 at the latest?'.
• Newham Council collaboration: In partnership with the London Borough of Newham, a research project investigating building energy performance, occupants' thermal comfort and associated energy use behaviours in council housing started in 2016. The outcome of the project is a comprehensive diagnosis of building performance issues and a study of the retrofit options that would reduce energy demand and mitigate the risk of overheating. The results have been included in peer reviewed papers and supported research-led teaching.
• Training programmes: Creating and delivering 4 training programmes (12 days each) on Sustainable Development of the Built Environment to Ain Shams University (partner institution in Egypt) academics and researchers as part of the Building Capacity research project funded by the British Council. The development and delivery of the training programmes have strengthened the skill set of the partner institutions' researchers as well; having designed and planned such intellectually stimulating events.
• Planning and organising two international conferences: The first International SDBE conference was held in 2017, whilst the second conference was held in 2018. Both conferences received over 521 paper abstracts from over 40 countries. 215 papers were accepted for publication to ensure novelty and rigour. The conferences encouraged international research dissemination, and facilitated an opportunity for knowledge exchange, networking and an increase in research capacity in the built environment sector. 

I have joined Kingston University (KU) in October 2021 as the Head of Department of Architecture and Landscape, School of Art and Architecture, Kingston School of Arts (KSA).

Before joining KU, I have been a Reader in Architecture, Cluster Leader for Architecture and Design and Course Leader for BSc (Hons) Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 1), Department of Architecture and Visual Arts, University of East London. I have been an active member of the School Leadership Team (School of ACE, UEL) supporting and contributing to the School strategic planning. I have been a panel member at various instances in recruiting and interviewing academic and research members of staff at the School of ACE, UEL. In my capacity as Cluster Leader, I have monthly meetings with Senior Management Team to plan staffing, course development, PSRB updates, students' experience, and recruitment on the cluster courses. I have been proactively supporting team building by ensuring members of staff are allocated teaching-related tasks which make the most of their expertise, strengths and interests, as well as to ensure they are supported to undertake their roles, and are provided with appropriate support (training and equipment). 

I have been responsible for the Performance and Development Review (PDR) of colleagues at the Department of Architecture and Visual Arts (AVA); managing teams and working collaboratively with colleagues on the development and implementation of UEL's Vision 2028. In my capacity as Cluster Leader and Course Leader, as well as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator of research grants; I have been managing financial and human resources effectively; ensuring adherence to regulations, policies and procedures, and value for money.