High profile role for sports therapy lecturer

Mr Cole has been a director at the SST since 2021. It is the accrediting body for sports therapy courses at universities across the country. He teaches on the BSc Sports Therapy programmes at UEL, achieving Advance HE Principal Fellow status in 2015, and gaining their National Teaching Fellowship award in 2020.

He teaches modules on sports injuries and sports therapies, specialising in the role of exercise in performance, rehabilitation, the treatment of pain and dysfunction. Mr Cole has worked with Olympic athletes in elite sport including British Swimming/Team GB, and with several football clubs, including Queens Park Rangers FC.

Mr Cole said, “I have been an SST board director since 2021, and during this time, I believe this engagement has enriched the department’s profile, attracted students, served as a ‘USP’, and supported my own and colleagues’ professional development.

As part of the role, I have been able to introduce an organisational equality, diversity and inclusion committee, and have helped establish a national graduate careers mentoring scheme, involving several UEL alumni.

“I look forward to being able to support UEL students with further opportunities for professional development, networking and knowledge exchange through this role,” Mr Cole added.

He is studying for a PhD, with his research interests including interpersonal skills in healthcare, critical race theory, and the development of equitable, evidence-informed teaching and learning strategies. Mr Cole is also a member of the Race Equality Charter team at UEL, co-leading on learning and teaching staff developments using critical and equity pedagogy.

He is a past recipient of UEL’s Extra Mile Award for Inspirational Teaching and co-recipient of the Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award for Teaching and Learning.