Yolanda celebrates passion for teacher education, research, and promoting girls’ and women’s participation in STEM
Yolanda Rendón-Guerrero, an Innovation Fellow with the ϳԹ’s (ϳԹ) Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC) in Swansea, has celebrated her graduation from the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PCGE) programme.
After studying architecture at the University of Seville (Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (ETSA) Sevilla), Yolanda, aged 33, from Cádiz, Spain, moved to Swansea seven years ago. She has worked for over four years as a researcher in user-centred research on assistive design and technologies, with a focus on how people experience the virtual and built environment.
Yolanda studied for her PCGE in Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET), which is delivered at ϳԹ through the Athrofa Professional Learning Partnership (APLP), through part-time study over two years, alongside her busy role as a researcher with ATiC.
In addition to her research and teacher education studies, Yolanda is actively engaged with supporting initiatives including organising and delivering workshops for secondary school pupils in the locality,
She has worked in collaboration with social mobility charity The Mullany Fund, on a series of workshops held at ATiC’s state-of-the-art facilities at the University’s Swansea Innovation Quarter in SA1, which focused on prototyping bespoke solutions, additive manufacturing and user experience (UX) research.
She has also participated in the University’s Widening Access programmes Girls into STEM and Girls into IT, presenting sessions on career stories from women at the University, as well as the University’s Women in Tech group.
Yolanda said: “During the last couple of years I have had the opportunity to investigate transferrable links between my career as a researcher and teaching, where I was able to inspire younger generations and people from different fields to engage and experiment with technology.
“I have collaborated with colleagues at the University’s Swansea College of Art to bring digital skills, such as 3D printing and 3D modelling, and real-world research examples to their students.
“My team at ATiC have always been very supported of my professional development, which led me to actively engaging with other colleagues at the University, such as the Women in Tech Group, who have also supported me in challenging the stereotypes that endure in my field.
“I am passionate about a future in education that enables inter-disciplinary learning, which I try to transmit to my students during my lectures and workshops.”
Dr Sean Jenkins, Associate Professor and ATiC’s Research Director, added: “We warmly congratulate our colleague Yolanda on her achievement and graduation from the PCGE PCET programme.
“ATiC comprises a diverse multidisciplinary team, working with our partners and collaborators to develop innovative solutions for health and wellbeing that transform lives. Yolanda plays a key role in our team, and in addition to her research activity has engaged and participated in several outreach initiatives both within the University and with external organisations and partners, inspiring the next generation.
“As she celebrates this well-deserved success after two years’ hard work, we look forward with interest to what her next challenge will be!”
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Rebecca Davies
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Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk
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