Michael is Director of The Digital Humanities Institute. He has nearly 30 years of experience in developing, managing and delivering large collaborative research projects and technology R&D in the humanities and heritage subject domains. During that time the DHI has been the technical partner in over 120 national and international projects with over 100 clients.

He is currently Principal Investigator (UK) on the project C21 Editions: Scholarly Editing and Publishing in the Digital Age (AHRC and Irish Research Council) and Co-Investigator on the project Scoping Future Data Services (AHRC).

He was Principal Investigator on the following projects: Connecting Shakespeare (HEIF), Dewdrop (Jisc), Reinventing Local Public Libraries (HEIF), and Manuscripts Online (Jisc); Co-Investigator on the following projects: Intoxicants and Early Modernity (ESRC/AHRC), Linguistic DNA (AHRC), Beyond the Multiplex (AHRC) and Ways of Being in the Digital Age (ESRC); and has been the technical lead on a wide number of projects such as Digital Panopticon (AHRC).

Michael oversees the work of the DHI which includes:

  • Responsibility for the development and delivery of its research projects.
  • Initiating and developing research funding proposals.
  • Overseeing the DHI’s postgraduate degree programmes.
  • Leading and developing the DHI’s operations and strategic objectives.
  • Managing the DHI’s team of research software engineers, digital humanities lecturers, research associates, project managers and professional services personnel.
  • Managing the DHI’s relationship with its clients and stakeholders.
  • Developing new relationships and business opportunities.
  • Representing the DHI nationally and internationally as well as within the University more widely.
  • Overseeing the online resources which the DHI hosts on behalf of its partners.

Michael serves as the main point of contact for project partners undertaking a collaboration with the DHI and he bears responsibility for the DHI’s commitments to its projects.

Research interests

  • Data ontologies
  • Scholarly digital editions
  • Research infrastructure
  • Information systems design
  • Online publishing

Teaching interests

  • Cultural data
  • XML, databases and data models 
  • Social media data mining
  • Project management

Teaching activities

I have overall responsibility for the DHI’s masters programmes and I have co-designed and co-taught the following modules:

  • IPA61001 Introduction to Cultural Data
  • IPA61002 Managing Digital Projects
  • IPA61006, Digital Culture and Cultural Data e-Portfolio