Meet the team

Helen has worked in Higher Education (HE) for over 25 years and began leading the Student Engagement in 2017. Helen particularly enjoys using quantitative and qualitative data to critically evaluate and improve the UniSkills service provision and plan new student-centred academic skills interventions.

“I feel lucky to manage a team of staff who put the student at the heart of everything we offer.”

Helen Jamieson

Joining Edge Hill in 2015, Julie oversees the operational management of the Student Engagement team. She is responsible for student engagement initiatives, events and campaigns including welcome, induction and transitional support. Julie is also the strategic lead on student communications for the three Catalyst Services: Library and Learning Services, Student Services and Careers.

“I love learning more about students and helping to make their university journey unforgettable!”

Julie Nolan

Claire joined Edge Hill University in 2016 and has since supported hundreds of students who have struggled with their academic writing. She finds great satisfaction when a student suddenly grasps criticality or reflection and can apply it to their work successfully. Claire is also passionate about building academic resilience and the impact this can have on student success.

“I am always excited to experience the buzz of a new academic term and supporting students to develop the skills they need to succeed.”

Claire Olson

Helen Briscoe

Helen has been part of the Student Engagement team since 2018, and has worked at Edge Hill for over 20 years. She loves the variety that comes with her role as an Academic Skills Advisor and particularly enjoys meeting and supporting a diverse range of students. Helen is responsible for the development of the Returning to Learning student community of practice, which supports students who have had a break from education to develop their confidence.

Kat Molesworth

Kat is usually based at Manchester St. James’ and enjoys discussing academic skills with a wide range of students both at St James’ and online, through one-to-one support and UniSkills workshops. Her favourite topics are academic writing (especially grammar and formulating an argument) and critical thinking.  The best part of the role for her is learning more about what students are working on, helping them to express their ideas, and most of all seeing their hard work recognised in their feedback and results.

Andy Tomkins

Andy is a qualified Librarian and has worked at Edge Hill for over 16 years. His role involves helping students with referencing, finding academic information and developing their academic writing. This involves one-to-one support, workshops and embedded delivery across the campus. Andy finds it very rewarding to help students problem solve something they may have struggled with and to see their understanding develop.

Adam Paxman

Adam was the first person in his family to go to university and, prior to joining the team, has supported learners and taught in FE and HE. When he is not delivering study skills support to students his focus is on induction and transition. Adam loves the day-to-day aspects of his role, supporting students with academic writing or information skills through appointments, workshops and delivering embedded sessions on a wide range of topics.

Emily Pennington

Emily joined the team in September 2022, having spent 10 years as a HE Lecturer. Throughout her career she has gained valuable insights into students anxieties as they transition into HE and is passionate about helping alleviate those concerns, helping to guide students to be the best researchers and writers they can possibly be.

Maisie Prior

Maisie has been an Academic Skills Advisor at Edge Hill for over 5 years. Her favourite part about working in the Student Engagement team is being able to help students realise their potential and achieve their best grades. Maisie was instrumental in the creation of two toolkits and is excited to continue developing new workshops and resources in the coming year. Maisie is currently on maternity leave.

Emma Harrison

Emma joined the team in 2024 after working in libraries for over 7 years. She was recognised as one of the CILIP125 in July 2023 for her contribution to libraries as a young professional. She enjoys the variety her role brings and is passionate about helping students develop their academic skills. When she is not delivering appointments and sessions, Emma’s focus is on evaluating the feedback and impact of our academic skills support to help improve the services we offer to students.

Christine Anderton

Christine has worked at Edge Hill for 19 years in a variety of roles within Student Services and Learning Services. She is responsible for managing the team of Student Advisors, co-ordinating campaigns and student engagement activity, social media communications and much, much more. Christine particularly enjoys how varied her role is, so no two days are ever the same.

Daniel Cole

Dan is the newest member of the team and joined us in September 2024. With over 10 years of experience in Higher Education, Dan brings a wealth of knowledge from previous roles working in student support and marketing, and as student sabbatical officer for his students’ union, where he represented over 24,000 students. His passion for supporting students grew from tackling key community-based issues such as accommodation, mental health and wellbeing and cost of living.

Dan holds an MSc in Digital Marketing and will be instrumental in enhancing student experience by delivering on Catalyst Communications priorities, collaboratively providing essential information from Catalyst Services: Library and Learning Services, Student Services and Careers. He will also support management of Catalyst communication channels and student engagement campaigns, events and initiatives ensuring students are connected and informed.