Samita Kirve

With 30 years of experience in Occupational Therapy (OT) and Higher Education, I am a dedicated academic and clinician with a passion for teaching and research. Throughout my career, I have consistently refined my teaching and research skills, working towards achieving academic excellence and promoting student success. I have taught a variety of courses in the fields of Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Nursing, and more, consistently receiving positive feedback from my students and peers.

My teaching philosophy revolves around active learning, experiential education, and collaborative engagement with students. I believe that learning should be inclusive and dynamic, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, which is essential for students to excel in their academic and professional endeavours. I ensure that teaching and assessment methods are suitable for students with diverse needs, and I support students in developing academic skills while fostering independent thinking. I also supervise students' research projects, and two of them presented their dissertation projects at the British Conference of Undergraduate Research and the Oxford Brookes Student Conference.

In April 2022, I was honoured with the Brookes Union Teaching Award for excellent partnership with students.

I have an in-depth understanding of the OT curriculum and validation of the OT programme. I am also an accreditor for RCOT Pre-reg programmes. Currently, as a Programme Lead for the MSc (pre-reg) OT programme, I designed and developed the new OT programme. As part of the validation and accreditation process, I collaborated with Professional, Statutory, and Regulatory Bodies, such as the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), as well as local placement partners such as NHS trusts, councils, GP services, private organisations, service user forums, and students. Previously, I designed a BSc (Hons) OT course and led the validation activities at another university.

My primary research interests include long-term neurological conditions, dementia, curriculum design, student experience and inclusivity in higher education. I have conducted various projects in both academic and clinical areas. My current PhD is focused on OT Higher Education, and previously, I conducted research projects focused on nursing and OT higher education in dementia. I have published articles and presented my research at national and international conferences.  I have received research grants and collaborated on joint research projects with Alzheimer’s Research UK, the University of Oxford, and an international research project with the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. Recently, I designed and delivered an intra-professional international collaboration to strengthen OT global education jointly with Pfeiffer University, USA.

I am a Fellow of Advance HE and am currently working on my Senior Fellowship application. I regularly attend academic conferences and seminars to present my research and collaborate with colleagues. I am an active member of various research networks, including the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) dementia research community, Alzheimer's Research United Kingdom Thames Valley Network, and the Higher Education in Dementia Network (HEDN).

I am a member of the Equality and Diversity Forum and the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team (RECSAT) at my current and past universities. I have made significant contributions to the development of new policies promoting staff and student inclusion and diversity.