About Me
Learning Technologist at UCL’s School of Transdisciplinary Policy and Practice (STEaPP) - building digital learning systems, AI tools, automation infrastructure and learner analytics for postgraduate education.
At UCL STEaPP my work spans the design and development of the fully online MSc programme, Moodle learning design, AI adoption and responsible use (including delivering the AI Efficiency & Ethics Workshop six times across UCL), learner analytics via a Power BI and Dataverse pipeline, and accessibility. I am CMALT certified and hold PL-200 Cert Ready status (Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant, exam preparation in progress).
My route to this work is genuinely multidisciplinary. I was called to the Bar in 2008, having completed an LLB (University of Sheffield), the Bar Vocational Course (Northumbria) and an LLM in Law (Northumbria) - before spending over a decade as a primary school teacher and Computing Coordinator, including a period as Acting Deputy at Holbrook Primary School. I completed a BSc in Computing at the University of Suffolk, moved into roles as Learning Designer and Web Developer there, then spent two years as Digital Training and Development Design Lead at IKON Training - building a complete training management and automation infrastructure from scratch. That breadth of experience across law, classroom teaching, commercial training systems, and higher education learning design is what shapes how I approach digital transformation, accessible design, and evidence-based learning technology.
Interests: Competitive robotics coaching (RoboCup and FLL), wildlife charities, and exploring with my family.
Qualifications & Certifications
- CMALT - Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT), March 2025. Member No. 252362.
- Microsoft AI Practitioner @ Bett 2026 - Issued by Microsoft, January 2026.
- PL-200 Cert Ready - Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant. MeasureUp practice certification, May 2026. Exam preparation in progress.
- Level 4 Data Analysis - Cambridge Spark. Applied data analysis and visualisation in a live professional context, including building an interactive Bokeh-based feedback analytics dashboard.
- BSc Computer Science - Web Development and Mobile App Design, University of Suffolk, 2022
- LLM - Master of Laws, Northumbria University, 2008
- LLB - Bachelor of Laws, University of Sheffield, 2005
- Bar Vocational Course (PGDip) - Inns of Court School of Law (Northumbria), 2007
- Called to the Bar - Qualified Barrister, 2008
- QTS / PGCE - Primary Education, The Open University, 2010
Publications
Orchestrating Engagement: An Inclusive Model for High-Growth Online Policy Education
CODE / RIDE Annual Conference, University of London, March 2026
Co-authored with Dr Maria Cross (UCL STEaPP). A conference poster and presentation exploring scalable, asynchronous, globally distributed postgraduate online learning design.
LinkedIn post ↗Fostering Students Engagement Through Gamification
University of Suffolk, July 2022
Research and presentation on gamification strategies for improving learner engagement in higher education contexts.
View on LinkedIn ↗I also contribute to the AI for Summative Assessment Sub-Group of the ALT Digital Assessment Special Interest Group (formed March 2025), supporting distribution of the group's large-scale staff and student survey on AI in summative assessment and helping disseminate its findings.
What People Say
Selected recommendations from colleagues and collaborators.
"Richard is a skilled volunteer and I've worked with him on two projects at the Scottish Tech Army. He brings his deep and wide technical knowledge to helping charities, generous with his time and collaborative in his approach. Richard is good at listening to and understanding client requirements and has a pragmatic approach to designing solutions that will be achievable and affordable. He successfully completed one project where the work was much appreciated by the charity. He is now in the midst of a much more complex second project where his ability to delve into and understand undocumented technical environments has been invaluable."
"Richard volunteered to update our legacy grant evaluation system; a process made trickier as we needed to keep some of the processes in the back end while redesigning it to be more user friendly and easier to manage through automation. Richard was up for the task and brought lots of great ideas to the table while also listening to our requests and feedback. He successfully delivered the project on time, and kept us in the loop as the project progressed. He was enthusiastic about the challenge and a pleasure to work with. Most importantly, the feedback from the evaluation panel was very positive about the improvements."
My Career and Education Timeline
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UCL
University College London (UCL) - STEaPP
2024 - Present
Learning Technologist
Moodle learning design, AI adoption and responsible AI guidance, learner analytics (Power BI/PowerShell/Dataverse pipeline), accessibility, staff development. Delivered the AI Efficiency & Ethics Workshop six times across UCL. Built and deployed the STEaPP Moodle Engagement Tracker.
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DX
Digital Xtra
Nov 2024 – May 2025 · Scottish Tech Army Volunteer
Automation Engineer
Rebuilt the legacy grant evaluation system for a Scottish digital charity. The automated process replaced a workflow that previously took weeks of manual effort, handling the full evaluation cycle through Microsoft Power Apps and AI. Presented outcomes to the organisation's directors on completion. The evaluation panel gave positive feedback and the project was fully delivered on time.
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IKON
IKON Training
Oct 2022 - 2024
Digital Training and Development Design Lead
Designed and deployed a fully integrated TMS using Arlo, Power Automate, Azure Logic Apps, Moodle and SharePoint. Built the Digital Development Strategy using the ADDIE methodology. Delivered Train the Trainer, partner training and eLearning content.
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University of Suffolk
Sep 2021 - Oct 2022
Learning Designer (Full-time)
Sep 2021 - Oct 2022Web Developer (Part-time)
Mar 2022 - Oct 2022 -
BSc in Computing
2020-2022
University of Suffolk
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The CREATE Education Project
Nov 2019 - Oct 2022
3D Printing CPD Trainer (Freelance)
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Kapow.com
Nov 2018 - Oct 2020
Content Author - Specialist Computing Skills (Freelance)
https://www.kapowprimary.com/specialists/richard-williams/
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ESPE Lille Nord de France
Spring 2015 – Spring 2018
Invited Speaker (Freelance)
Delivered invited talks on learning technology, digital tools in education and inclusive digital learning design to student teachers and faculty. Presented at campuses in Lille and Arras each spring over four years, under the ESPE name (the institution was later renamed INSPÉ in 2019).
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Suffolk County Council
Sep 2011 - Sep 2021
Class Teacher
Holbrook Primary School
Sep 2011 - Aug 2017St. Pancras Primary School
Sep 2017 - Aug 2018Otley Primary School
Sep 2018 - Aug 2019Wetheringsett Primary School
Sep 2019 - Oct 2022
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ECC
Essex County Council
Sep 2010 – Sep 2011
Class Teacher - Maldon Primary School
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QTS / PGCE
2009–2010 · Billericay S.C.I.T.T
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DCC
Derby City Council
2008–2009
SEN Teaching Assistant
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Master of Laws (LLM)
2007–2008 · Northumbria University
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Nabarro LLP
2007–2008
Business Researcher
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Bar Vocational Course (PGDip)
2006–2007 · Northumbria University
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Irwin Mitchell LLP
2005–2006
Personal Injury Assistant
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Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
2002–2005 · University of Sheffield
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A-Levels
2000–2002 · St. Benedict’s Sixth Form Centre, Derby
English, History, Sociology, Drama AS Level