Will Allen Consultant Trainer

Contact Will

Tel: 0191-222-5000

Netskills,
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
UK

Read Will's Workblog

Find Will elsewhere

Will believes that the web is all about communication and is interested in the effective use of web technologies, both established and emerging, for this purpose. He joined Netskills in 2005 and has developed and delivered a wide range of training, including a more advanced CSS workshop and a programme of training specifically for postgraduate research students. Will's friendly, open and flexible approach to training and facilitation helps attendees to feel at ease and gain maximum benefit from the training and events he delivers.

Will, a qualified MSP practitioner, has also led and worked on a number of funded projects. Working alongside Helen Blanchett, he has worked on two projects about Scenario Planning, and with Chris Young he has undertaken a number of user testing projects.

Current work

Will is currently working on four major projects:

Web2practice
Funded by the JISC Users and Innovation programme, Will and Steve Boneham are are developing guides to emergent web technologies and innovative practice, specifically for researchers, teachers and administrators.
Will's role: Project manager
Institutional Responses to Emergent Technologies (IRET)
Will and Steve Boneham are again working together on this supporting studies and synthesis project for the JISC IRET programme. They are writing a landscaping document, synthesising outputs from the six pilot projects and developing practical guidance materials for HEI managers.
Will's role: Project manager
Scenario Planning
Will is leading this project, funded by the JISC JOS Committee. Through research, consultation and events, new scenarios are being built about changing roles and responsibilities in Higher Education as a consequence of technological change.
Will's role: Project manager
Trialling of Collaborative Online Tools for BCE
Working closely with colleagues from other JISC Advisory Services, Will is part of the management team for this major project that includes nine trial projects.
Role: Project Co-ordinator

Feedback from Will's workshops...

Well done for running the workshop so well, being so helpful and making it so accessible to all members of the group. CSS workshop attendee

This has been the best postgraduate professional development training course i've attended to date ... it was very clear and the course presenter was very flexible. Postgraduate training attendee

The course was well presented and the instructor was clear and precise in his delivery with a very pleasant manner. I felt at ease and not at all pressurised. Accessibility workshop attendee

When Will joined Netskills, he didn't have to move far, having been a Research Associate at Newcastle University for four years, working on a resource enhancement project that made a vast corpus of local Tyneside speech recordings available online. Having come from a research background, Will is aware that the modern research community is truly global; ideas are exchanged, working papers written and data presented - all online.

Will has a keen interest in the outdoors, a passion for travel and good food. He is a keen spectator and player of sport, particularly cricket, rugby union and golf. He's a qualified cricket coach and feels nervous about the forthcoming Ashes series!