David Flatman-Fairs

I originally qualified as a chemist but later retrained in the area of forensic science. I have been lecturing at all levels since 2002. My main roles within the University are teaching and course management.

From 2008-2011 I project managed the EDULINK project. Which was supported through the EDULINK ACP-EU Academic Co-operation in Higher Education programme with a budget of 566,815 Euros. The project was a partnership between Staffordshire University, the University of Technology, Jamaica and the University of Mauritius. It was aimed at developing education, skills and capacity in forensic awareness and forensic skills in the Southern African Development Community and Caribbean. The project was very successful and several educational programmes (both degree level and short course for professional development) were implemented. In addition to forging strong links with the two institutions.

 More recently I have been involved with the Staffordshire Forensic Partnership (SFP) which is a formal collaboration with Staffordshire Police's Forensic Department that launched in 2016. I am the University lead from the ‘traditional’ forensic science side (i.e. everything not digital or cyber based). The partnership has set aims and to achieve theses several Work-Streams were developed to ensure academia addresses real life Forensic challenges. Each work stream is assigned leads from within both Staffordshire University and Staffordshire Police to prioritise and oversee the projects that sit within it.

Additionally, the partnership offers a number of student placement opportunities which include six-week summer placements, three-month MSci placements and potentially 12-month sandwich year placements, to undertake short, medium- and long-term projects. There are also opportunities for students to undertake research projects (both undergraduate and postgraduate) in areas of specific interest to the partnership, during their degree studies.

The partnership is nationally recognised as a model to follow and has won two awards for its work. In 2017 the University won the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) with the work of the partnership a fundamental factor in the award and in 2019 the partnership won the National Undergraduate Employability Award for the best collaboration between a university and an employer.

The partnership is overseen by a Programme Board with senior representatives from the contributory organisations chaired by the current Deputy Chief Constable.

More information on the partnership can be found by visiting its website www.staffs.ac.uk/sfp