alexheathreed.com
Teaching and learning
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Heath brings rich and integrated approach to university-level teaching, grounded in his broader work disseminating research and design practice across public, academic, and professional domains. His contributions span internal and external teaching collaborations, encompassing undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels. Within Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), Heath has contributed to curriculum design, course validation exercises and teaching delivery through lectures, face-to-face supervision, and group critiques across BA (Hons) Design and MA programmes in Product and Furniture, Jewellery and Metalwork, Graphics, Illustration, and Packaging. His teaching integrates his practice-based experience and learning with module specific lectures on design principles, strategic and interdisciplinary design, prototyping, and sustainable design.
SHU operates a structured framework for monitoring doctoral researcher progress through a Review and Feedback (RF) system. It includes two key progression points: RF1assesses the viability of the research and the candidate’s preparedness to proceed. RF2, usually undertaken mid-way through the doctorate, evaluates the development of the research, methodological rigour, and the candidate’s capacity to complete on time (with an RF3 constituting the viva exam). Each stage involves submission of work, a formal review panel, and feedback to support academic development and ensure research quality. Following completion of PhD Supervisor Training Programme, Heaths doctoral-level contributions include roles as; Viva examiner, Director of Studies (1 PhD), Primary Supervisor (3 PhDs/Professional Doctorates), Advisory roles (5 PhDs/Professional Doctorates) across Fine Art and Design, and as Independent Rapporteur for SHU’s RF1 and RF2 doctoral progression reviews. He maintains strong interdisciplinary links with Materials and Engineering departments at SHU and the University of Sheffield (UoS), where he has supervised and assessed MEng and BSc (Hons) student submissions. Further extending his academic leadership, Heath has served as External Examiner for the Master of Design programme at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), contributing to international curriculum quality assurance and academic standards. He has taught at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level internationally delivering modules at the University of Lapland (Strategic Design, Logitech Power Mouse Project), at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Indonesia (Making Things Better: Applied Design Methods, Principles and Practice), developed student briefs with the School of Design, IIT Bombay (Jugaad Assistive Technology Project), delivered lectures including at the University of Technology Sydney (Industry and University Collaborations) and with the Design team at the University of South Australia as Designer for Health in Residence.
Ryan (Design Research Assistant) and Chloe (Undergraduate Student Intern, Product Design Student) explore body movement contraction zones as part of the Light Armour project. Involving Net Composites, Airbus Helicopters and Cranfield University, and funded by Dual Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE), the project was a public sector, industry and academia collaboration that aimed to create lightweight and flexible body protection to respond to a variety of first responder threats.
In practice Heath pursues hands-on making alongside formal lectures as essential to cultivating meaningful research and development pathways in design education. Engaging directly with materials, processes, and iterative prototyping enables students to move beyond abstract theorising and into embodied inquiry. Through making, students encounter constraints, discover affordances, and generate insights that are often inaccessible through conceptual work alone. At each R&D stage, material engagement can allow students to uncover latent problems, ask more precise questions, and generate insights grounded in physical experience. The act of making externalizes thought, allowing ambiguity to be shaped, challenged, and clarified. In early stages, making helps students identify and frame problems by revealing tensions, constraints, and user needs that may be obscured in abstract analysis. As ideas evolve, iterative prototyping can become a vehicle for testing hypotheses, informing and exploring alternatives. Each cycle of making invites reflection, prompting new questions and refining direction. This tactile engagement fosters critical reflection, allowing students to refine ideas and articulate design intent with greater clarity. It also supports the development of transferable skills including problem-solving, adaptability, and technical fluency, vital within and across disciplines. By embedding making within research-led teaching, Heath guides students to identify and pursue clear, evidence-informed trajectories for innovation. Whether in social, commercial, or speculative contexts this promotes the value of making beyond merely a mode of production, rather its consideration as powerful epistemological tool that enables students to navigate the full arc of research and development. Embedding making throughout the research journey, students develop a robust, evidence-informed pathway from inquiry to impact. These processes culminate in validation, where form, function, and context are critically assessed, ultimately in the resolution of a final product that embodies both conceptual integrity with practical viability.
Working as a Design Consultant Heath has extensive, multi-sector industrial exposure and played a pivotal role in bringing the first UKRI Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) funding to his department. KTPs are collaborative projects between a business, universities or research institution and a graduate, known as a KTP Associate. These partnerships aim to help businesses innovate, improve productivity, and solve strategic challenges by transferring academic knowledge, technology, and expertise into the company. The KTP Associate works with the business for a period of 12 to 36 months to implement solutions. Heath has secured (circa £400K) and supervised two UKRI KTPs, one in forensics, co-developing devices that enhance forensic science, and one in manufacturing, co-researching and developing new products promoting environmental social awareness, Playponics. As Academic supervisor his role includes guiding Associates through the intersection of academic research and commercial innovation. His supervision has focused on embedding design-led research methodologies within industry settings, enabling Associates to translate academic insights into tangible, high-impact outcomes for partner organisations. Through regular mentoring, strategic planning, and reflective dialogue, Heath has supported navigating complex design challenges, aligning project goals with both academic rigour and commercial viability. His approach emphasizes iterative development, user-centred design, and the articulation of clear research and development pathways ensuring that Associates not only deliver measurable value to host companies but also develop as independent, practice-informed researchers. His involvement in KTP supervision reflects a broader commitment to translational research and the cultivation of design leadership within applied contexts, reinforcing the role of design as a driver of innovation across sectors.
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MA Design student Tan Tingwei’s outcome from the Integrated Medical Imaging project that explored how different medical imaging technologies may be combined in support of rapid comprehension and diagnosis of physiological conditions. Project brief developed by Heath Reed in collaboration with SHU Biomedical Science and Sheffield Teaching Hospital Trust teams.
School of Design, IIT Bombay, MA Design student outcomes from the Jugaad Assistive Technology Project that explored solutions to challenges faced by people diagnosed with MND/ALS and their carers undertaking everyday tasks. Students undertook the elective study module that stemmed from our collaborative research with Design staff, patients and carers attending Neurogen Brain and Spine Institute, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.
External links
Light Armour project
https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/case-studies/dute-lightarmour-project
https://compositesuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/20160811_CompositesUK_DEF_DUTE_RELv1.pdf