Dr Umran Ali
Founder
Profile
Dr Umran Ali is Principal Consultant & Managing Director at ZC Conculting. He is an award winning published academic who has worked in Education & consultancy roles for over 15 years.
He has worked in a a variety of senior management roles including as a programme leader, and Director of Creative Media, managing the University of Salford's largest directorate's move to it's new flasgship campus at MediaCity UK.
As an experienced Higher Education academic he has personally mentored over 1,000 individuals, transforming many to high achieving performers working in a range of creative and media industries. He is an experienced coach and mentor and has refined his mentoring ethos over the course of a decade in Higher Education.
He is also a passionate advocate for widening access and equality, having worked as a lead in Equality & Diversity for several years, as well as organising and running a range of aspirational workshops and programmes across the UK
Key Qualifications
-
Ph.D A Practice Based Exploration of Natural Environment Design in Computer & Video Games
-
Senior Fellow SFHEA (Higher Education Academy).
-
PgCert Higher Education Research & Practice
-
M.A Creative Technology
-
B.Sc (Hons) Computer & Video Games
Key Publications
Authored Books
Exhibitions
Key Presence
Conference Organisation
-
BBC Fusion Games (MediaCity UK, United Kingdom, December 2012).
-
BBC Fast Train North (MediaCity UK, United Kingdom, November 2012).
Conference Presentations
-
Ruskin, Geology and Mountains: The Future of Games Design, Innovation and Research (Gaming Exchange PechaKucha, University Of Salford, United Kingdom, April 2013). www.slideshare.net/unisalford/gaming-by-umran-ali-part-of-the-research-innovation-enterprise-exchange-powered-by-pechakucha
Consultancy Roles
-
Design & Technology/Product Design A Level Specifications Redevelopment (Edexcel/Pearson , December 2012 to January 2013).
External Examiner Duties
-
University of Teeside (United Kingdom, November 2016).
-
Birmingham City University (United Kingdom)
-
University of Coventry/Hong Kong Design Institute (China, December 2015).
-
Northern Region College/University Of Ulster (Ireland, November 2014).
Honours and Awards
-
Game Developer Profile http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,153169/
Media Appearances
-
WarCraft Movie: Expert Opionion (BBC Radio Live 5, United Kingdom, June 2016).
-
Ruskin inspires Salford academic to improve virtual landscapes (The Times Education Higher, United Kingdom, January 2016). www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ruskin-inspires-academic-improve-virtual-landscapes
-
George Osborne's tax credits for video games producers (Mancunianmatters, United Kingdom, June 2012). http://www.mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/090666431-george-osbornes-tax-credits-video-games-producers-may-not-be-enough-manchester
-
Salford students create commercial computer game (Gamasutra, United Kingdom, December 2010). www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/146756/Salford_students_create_commercial_computer_game.php
-
In The Night Garden (BBC Radio Live 5, United Kingdom, September 2010).
-
Children & Violent Video Games: Discussion (BBC Radio Live 5, United Kingdom, July 2010)
-
May the Dark Force triumph! (Manchester Evening News, United Kingdom, August 2004). http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/may-the-dark-force-triumph-1147868
-
The Virtual Adventurers (Manchester Evening News, United Kingdom, July 2004). http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-virtual-adventurers-1118670
-
The Games Collector (interview) (BBC North West Tonight, United Kingdom, August 2003).
-
Sci-fi Channel Ultimate Gamer Finalist (Sci-fi Channel, United Kingdom, June 2003). www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/sci-fi-teams-ang-lees-hulk-find-top-uk-gamer/177229