Professor Alastair Irons

Professor Alastair Irons is Professor of Computer Science and Deputy Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor at Abertay University. Before coming to Abertay in July 2022 he was Academic Director for Digital Education at the University of Sunderland, having previously been the Dean for the Faculty of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Sunderland in 2008 he worked at ONE North East, Northumbria University and ICI having moved to the north east of England from Scotland after graduating in 1984 from Edinburgh University. Alastair became a National Teaching Fellow in 2010. Alastair was a visiting scholar at the University of Cape Town in South Africa from 2013 – 2017 and is currently a visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg and at the British University in Egypt.

His research interests focus on digital education and digital pedagogies, but also on digital forensics and cybersecurity. His current research includes digital skills frameworks for students and academics, digital skills for all and digital poverty, as well as cybersecurity in the classroom and learning safely in the classroom of the future. Alastair has over 20 refereed journal publications and has over 40 conference papers in the last 5 years. His recent book publications include a book on assessment and feedback in 2021 and an anthology of issues in higher education in a post-Covid world in 2022.

Alastair is currently Vice President (academic) of the BCS and is chair of the BCS Academy board (recently re-elected for a second three year term), he also sits on BCS Council and BCS Trustees, is a member of the BCS Academic Accreditation Committee and is a founding trustee of the BCS Foundation. Whilst in the North East he was chair of the Newcastle Branch of the BCS and since moving to Dundee has been elected chair of the Tayside and Fife Branch of the BCS. He is also currently the UK representative on IFIP and serves on the IFIP Board.