Rebecca is now Course Director and Senior Lecturer at the School of Jewellery at Birmingham City University. Working with a great team to deliver the Jewellery and Objects BA with honours course.
‘Our internationally renowned School of Jewellery is the largest in Europe, with excellent facilities and expertise to develop your career in this exciting specialist sector.’
https://www.bcu.ac.uk/jewellery/about-us
Rebecca is also an External Examiner at Brighton University, for the BA with Honours Designer Maker course based at the Station Palza Campus in Hastings.
Rebecca has also been the College Academic Lead for Employability and Mobility. Working with university teams to develop opportunities that are embedded into the curriculum, offered as extracurricular activities and opportunities offered upon graduating and for alumni. The opportunities were for students and alumni to develop skills, knowledge and understanding and gain experiences that allow them to have a higher level of success in gaining the career path of their choice.
During 2020 Rebecca became a Core Athena Swan Committee Member, this meant as part of the working group and the small core writing team, reviewed, researched and created an action plan to act on and support others to ensure the actions take place to create a positive impact on the communities across the Institute of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles in relation the Athena Swan Charter. BCU Institute of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles received the Bronze Award in September 2023. This led to being part of the Equality, diversity and Inclusivity working group and then leading and working with a small team to develop an opportunity for two Diversity Champions in the School of Jewellery. The project was a De Beers and Birmingham City University collaboration. Colleagues include Kate Thorley, Dauvit Alexander and Bridie Lander. Where Kate Thorley took over the mentoring and support of the Diversity Champion from 2023 to 2025.
Rebecca was previously the Course Leader for Post Graduate Courses in the School of Crafts and Design at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. This involved the coordination and management of the School’s taught postgraduate courses at Farnham, maintaining and developing recruitment, retention, curriculum and assessment. Responsibility for the effective delivery of the schools’ MA programme undertaking a significant teaching role and managing the input of specialist tutors. Rebecca was also a member of the Schools Management Team, an ex-officious member of the School Board of Study and an active member of the teaching and learning working group.
Rebecca was also a Senior Tutor for the undergraduate Glass, Ceramics, Jewellery, Metalwork course and the Jewellery and Metalwork Pathway Leader at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. This enabled her to teach and lecture at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, on continually developing courses, working & sharing knowledge with the Designers, Makers and Crafts Professionals of the future.
Working on a multidiscipline course has allowed Rebecca to develop her interest in other materials, working closely with the students who have chosen glass and ceramics as a specialist area, as much as the students working with jewellery, silversmithing and metalwork. Introducing projects that encourage the cohort to consider combining materials in their final designs and expanding their knowledge of materials research and cross-disciplinary activities.
Rebecca is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has completed and graduated from a Postgraduate course in Teaching in the Creative Arts for Higher Education. She completed her Master of Arts at Central Saint Martins in 2001 in Design by Project.
(https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/recognition-accreditation/hea-fellowships
‘Senior and Principal Fellowships are typically awarded to experienced staff who are able to demonstrate impact and influence through leading and managing within a learning and teaching context. Principal Fellows must be able to demonstrate a sustained and effective record of impact at a strategic level in relation to learning and teaching.’)
Rebecca contributes regularly by writing articles for publication, collaborates with various organisations to manage and contribute to symposiums, conferences and exhibitions and has built up an online profile by setting up and continually updating three Network pages for the Association for Contemporary Jewellery. Rebecca has also been a regular participant on selection and judging panels such as Rising Stars, the Crafts Council Hothouse programme, Craft and Design awards, Farnham Art Society annual exhibitions and the Festival of Crafts.
Rebecca has taken part in a variety of internal and external validations and reviews at West Dean College, The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, Birmingham City University, Plymouth College of Art and Design and at the University for Creative Arts.
Rebecca’s continuous development in teaching and her specialist area highlights her dedication and enthusiasm for the crafts and the sharing of knowledge and information. This all feeds into her teaching, working closely with students, academics and technicians developing a variety of teaching activities to make their experience enjoyable and effective.
Rebecca lectures, teaches and demonstrates at a variety of levels from short courses, weekend and evening classes to ad hoc sessions. As part of sharing information, Rebecca has recently written a book for beginners on soldering. Soldering for Jewellers is published by The Crowood Press. Rebecca also regularly reviews publications for Boomsbury publishers.