Meet the team

Patrick Clark is the SCALE Project’s Research Associate at the University of Worcester, having formerly headed up the Specialist Learning Support service at the University. Now a freelance researcher, teacher and business inclusive practice consultant, in addition to his university role, Patrick draws on the voices of students and other groups to support organisations and individuals in assessing the effectiveness of their practice and taking action to improve. As part of the team for the SCALE Project he has been involved in researching and writing the ten case studies and the various scenarios within these. Throughout the project Patrick identifies that he has learned more about the different European contexts within which inclusion operates as well as deepening his understanding of the experiences of a wide range of learners within the UK and beyond. 

Sam Luffman is an Assistant Psychologist with Worcester NHS secondary care and an MSc student in Psychological Research with the Kate Woodcock Research Group at the University of Birmingham. Her research interest is focused on the impact of complex trauma that children in foster care often experience. As Research Assistant for the SCALE Project, she has been involved in resource identification and quality assessment. Throughout the project Sam has developed an understanding of inclusivity in Higher Education environments in the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland.  She has learned about the challenges lectures face in implementing  inclusive teaching practices including issues surrounding the practicality and availability of quality resources. Sam has also developed an understanding surrounding best practice and the challenges some students may face during their Higher Education journey due to having a variety of additional needs. 

Sharon Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Worcester and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She currently teaches on a range of courses including undergraduate as well as postgraduate. Sharon is particularly involved in the development of the practice of new lecturers into Higher Education. Sharon has been involved with all aspects of the SCALE Project and says it has enabled her to develop her thinking about the pedagogy of Higher Education . She has gained a greater understanding of European perspectives of special education as well as culture perspectives because of the project.   

Richard Woolley is Professor and Head of the School of Education at the University of Hull, UK. During the SCALE Project he was Professor of Education and Inclusion and Deputy Head of the School of Education at the University of Worcester, UK. His teaching and research interests relate to diversity, equality and inclusion in both schools and universities. He is a UK National Teaching Fellow and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. As lead for the SCALE Project he has been involved in all aspects of resource development, research and evaluation as well as budget management and reporting. Throughout the project he has learned more about how lecturers approach inclusion in a variety of settings across Europe.

Serena Borzoni is a project manager specialised in project management for international cooperation. She has worked in the education sector in Latin America and Italy, focusing on inclusion, accessibility and innovative teaching methodologies. As a team member for the SCALE Project, Serena researched best practice examples of inclusion in Italian universities. She identifies that the project helped her to understand inclusion policies all over Europe, and how much more we need to do to achieve equal education for all.

Rok Vukcevic has been involved in educational projects dealing with innovative approaches and methodologies since 2009. His work has brought him to different European countries such as Denmark, Slovenia, Hungary and Italy. Rok’s professional interests involve social inclusion, accessibility and the development of digital teaching methodologies to enhance the wider participation of students and learners of all levels. His educational background is Pedagogy. As a team member of the SCALE Project he has coordinated the work on behalf of the Italian partner organisation Aforisma.

Aleksandra Cegiełka-Mendelbaum works in the department of the Centre for European Educational Initiatives as a coordinator of European projects. She is in charge of establishing relations with other institutions in Europe and collaborating with them on projects. Aleksandra is a graduate of the University of Lodz, Master of Science in Geography. Previously she worked in the areas of marketing and PR. As the institutional project coordinator she was responsible for taking care of organisational issues, reporting and the project dissemination strategy. In cooperation with other partners she was involved in dissemination activities. She identifies that through her work on the SCALE Project she found a greater need to include students with specific needs in academy activities.

Aneta Orska is a psycho-pedagogue, involved in the implementation of international educational projects. Currently, she conducts training and workshops for young people in the field of developing social and emotional competences. She also runs administrative actions within the framework of international projects. Aneta has been involved in the SCALE Project from the very beginning and has actively participated in all its substantive stages at the national level in Poland. Thanks to the project, she says that she got to know new methods of working in inclusive Higher Education: the exchange of experiences between European countries is especially instructive.

Tomas Serrano holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) with a year in Ku Leuven (Campus Brussels). He is Project Manager of the European Department at CECE with experience working in business development, social inclusion and the facilitation of integration. Tomas has experience of working with refugees in arrival points and in back office developing alternatives to build social connectors. He is currently developing European Projects from different European programs (ERASMUS+ KA2 and KA3; Life; Knowledge Alliance).

Gastão Oliveira holds a Masters in Psychology in Business and Economics from the Católica University of Lisbon. Gastão worked for more than four years in the development and monitoring of paid marketing campaigns focused on CPA performance, campaign management, budgeting, and social media account management. With experience in project management tasks at CECE, he is currently helping the company developing European Projects from different European programs (ERASMUS+ KA2 and KA3; Life; Knowledge Alliance).