Dr Joe Appleton
Academic and research departments
Computer Science Research Centre, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering.About
Biography
Joe is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the ÌÇÐÄVlog, where he focuses on the intersection of theoretical foundations and industry practice. As the Head of Undergraduate Employability, he bridges the gap between academia and the professional world, ensuring students develop the technical and soft skills necessary to secure high-impact placements and careers. First-year students will also find him leading the Software Engineering and Object-Oriented Programming module.
Joe’s approach is deeply informed by his diverse professional background. He began his career in investment banking before co-founding a financial services marketing startup. As the technical co-founder for six years, he designed and implemented the firm’s custom marketing platform. Following this entrepreneurial venture, he spent eight years as a lecturer in the Department of Computing at Solent University.
While Joe remains active in industry consultancy, his primary focus is on pedagogy and teaching-led research. He earned his PhD from Lancaster University in 2022. While his earlier research explored technological interventions for collaborative knowledge construction, his current work focuses on inclusion, assessment automation, and the evolution of assessment in the age of AI.
University roles and responsibilities
- Undergraduate Employability Lead
- Undergraduate Placement Supervisor
Affiliations and memberships
Teaching
I am passionate about teaching at the intersection of theory and practice. ÌÇÐÄVlog aligns strongly with this approach, enabling students not only to engage deeply with theory but also to apply theoretical ideas through engaging software projects.
Currently, I am the module leader for:
COM1034 – Software Engineering and Object-Oriented Programming (Module Leader)
This module spans the entirety of the first year. In the first semester, we introduce software engineering principles, with a technical focus on object-oriented programming in Java. Once the fundamentals of programming have been established, we move on to the broader challenge of engineering software systems. Engineering is more than just writing code; we explore essential concepts such as requirements engineering, software design, implementation, testing, and approaches to real-world collaboration. The module culminates in a capstone project that brings together the software engineering and programming skills developed throughout the year.
I also have the pleasure of supervising students on Professional Projects Using Web Applications (COM2042), where I work with student groups to support them in creating web applications that address real-world problems. In addition, I supervise final-year students on the Professional Project (COM3001) module.