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Dr Sam Hughes

Teaching

My involvement in education includes teaching and supervision on a variety of our undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes within the disciplines of surveying and geology.  I also provide project supervision with a Southwest England theme, and I am an academic tutor for undergraduate geology students.

I am also programme director for the undergraduate geology programmes. This role includes overseeing organisation and management of the degree programmes to ensure an excellent standard of education and student experience.

Programme Director for UG Geology

As programe director for the undergraduate geology programmes at CSM, my role is to oversee the organisation and management of these degrees to ensure an excellent standard of education and student experience.  This role includes allowing the student voice to be heard from within each cohort, ensuring a clear line of communication with academic and professional services staff, the Student Union and Education Executive.  It also involves reviewing and coordinating the taught programmes to ensure they run effectively, and managing programme accreditation by the Geological Society of London and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3).

Surveying teaching

I teach all undergraduate surveying courses at CSM, including the 1st Year Surveying and Digital Mapping module (CSM1045; module leader), the Summer Survey Course and the Underground Survey Course.  I also teach Land Surveying (CSMM134; module leader) on the MSc Surveying and Land / Environmental Management (SLEM) programme.

All of my modules provide detailed learning resources including eLectures, and have a large practical component allowing students to fully engage with a variety of surveying equipment and skills.  I also organise an external setting out course for students and provide surveying short courses for other programmes in the University.

Geological Fieldwork

I contribute to more than 60% of the undergraduate geology fieldwork programme at CSM.  This is primarily part of the following modules:

  • CSM1036 Field Geology and Geological Maps
  • CSM2182 Structural Geology and Tectonics
  • CSM2184 Geological Mapping Techniques (module leader)

Fieldwork within these modules include:

  • One day fieldclasses around Cornwall during the 1st and 2nd Year
  • Residential fieldclasses to Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Skye
  • Historically, I have also been on the 2nd Year Devon and Dorset (CSM2183) and 3rd Year Cyprus residential fieldclasses (CSM3048), and helped on the 3rd Year geophysics course (CSM3151).

My main contributions are leading trips in Southwest England with a granite, mineralisation / mining or structural geology theme.  I also provide support during field-based training in data collection and geological mapping.  I am a qualified outdoor first aider and have a D1 (minibus) driving licence classification.

Summer Vacation Project

I am the module leader for the CSM3379 Summer Vacation Project (SVP), a 3rd year module undertaken by all undergradute geology students and includes their 3rd year dissertation.

The SVP is principally an independent project, designed to give students the opportunity to put in to practice the specific and transferable skills they develop during their degree to date. The SVP is likely to be one of largest and most important aspects of a student's undergraduate degree, giving them an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to organise and undertake a substantial scientific project to potential future employers.

There are three main pathways through the SVP:
  1. A geological mapping project, based on data collection from fieldwork during the summer vacation between the 2nd and 3rd year;
  2. A field- or laboratory-based research project, working with one of CSM’s research groups;
  3. An industrial placement, carrying out a research project with an appropriate geoscience, environmental, engineering or minerals industry company

I coordinate the module structure and assessment, and help all of the students to find and organise their projects (mapping areas, research topics and industrial placements) and assign them with an academic supervisor. I also supervise student projects, particularly those with a research focus coinciding with my research interests.