Tiffany Chiu

Dr Tiffany Chiu serves as Principal Teaching Fellow in Educational Development at Imperial College London's Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship (CHERS) and Academic Head of the StudentShapers partnership programme. She teaches across all levels of Imperial's MEd in ULT programme while supporting academic staff in enhancing learning, teaching, and assessment practices across disciplines.

• PhD in Applied Linguistics (Academic Language and Literacy), King's College London
• MSc in Education (TESOL), University of Pennsylvania
• BA in English Language & Applied Linguistics, Yuan Ze University, Taiwan

Her research centers on critical transitions in higher education, examining how student identity development intersects with assessment practices and institutional expectations. She investigates how marginalized students navigate academic cultures through projects like SIDUS (Supporting Identity Development of Underrepresented Students), which addresses attainment gaps for STEMM students from non-traditional backgrounds. Her work challenges dominant narratives of the 'ideal student' through qualitative analysis of student experiences and institutional policies, particularly focusing on how academic language expectations impact equity.

Her sole documented publication analyzes tensions between mandatory free speech frameworks and student belonging, revealing how marginalized students cultivate 'positive not-belonging' through alternative communities that resist competitive academic cultures. This work demonstrates her focus on power dynamics in educational spaces and the intersection of identity with academic success metrics.

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

As Principal Investigator for multiple pedagogical research initiatives including the FLAIR Project (AI-assisted feedback) and Learning Well Project (study strategies and wellbeing), she secures institutional funding to develop evidence-based interventions. Her advisory role extends across Imperial College through StudentShapers, where she mentors students in co-creating curriculum enhancements that bridge academic skills with employability competencies. Current grants focus on digital education capacity building and wellbeing-integrated learning frameworks.

Based at CHERS within Imperial's Central Faculty, she leads collaborative teams across student support services and academic departments to implement programmes addressing transition challenges, feedback literacy, and identity-affirming pedagogies. Her NVivo expertise supports rigorous qualitative analysis of student experiences, particularly regarding academic language socialization.