Dr Heba Elsharkawy

About

I am Associate Professor in Architecture and Head of Department of Architecture and Landscape at the School of Arts, Kingston School of Art. I have been working in HE more than 20 years starting as a Teaching Assistant, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, then Reader. I am a registered Architect in the MENA region, and hold a BSc in Architecture, MSc in Architectural Studies and PhD in Architecture (University of Nottingham, UK). I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and Fellow Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (FCIAT).

Besides my ambition for ensuring excellence in my learning and teaching approaches, I am an active researcher in the area of environmental design and sustainability. I have published peer reviewed articles in high impact journals and conferences. I am Principal Investigator (PI) to a British Council funded project Towards Net Zero Carbon Campuses for Climate Change Mitigation and Resilience. I am also Co-Investigator to a Medical Research Council funded project Healthy Energy Efficient Dwellings in partnership with two other UK universities. I was PI to a British Council funded project; Building Capacity for Sustainable Development of the Built Environment (total £288K).  

I am External Examiner at Manchester Metropolitan University – British University in Egypt and was an External Examiner at Anglia Ruskin University, External Expert to develop new courses at University of Bradford, and CIAT Accreditation Review Panel member at the University of Salford, and University of Huddersfield. I joined the Advisory Group to develop the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Architectural Technology published in 2021. I am a member of the SCOSA Council (Standing Conference of Schools of Architecture) leading the Climate Literacy Working Group which aims to enable Schools of Architecture embed the RIBA Climate Literacy Knowledge Schedule into UG and PG Architecture curricula.  

Academic responsibilities

School Head of Department

Qualifications

  • PhD in Architecture, University of Nottingham, UK
  • Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning (PgCUTL), Cardiff University, UK
  • MSc in Architectural Studies
  • BSc in Architecture

Teaching and learning

In my teaching practice, I have always ensured I intently reflect on students' feedback and comments and introduce appropriate adjustments in response to their needs and expectations. My Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning programme and recognition as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) has also developed my critical reflection on my teaching practice and has underpinned my teaching activities. I have also achieved the Senior Fellowship status SFHEA. 

With climate literacy, sustainability and environmental design at the heart of my teaching and research endeavours for more than 20 years, I have been passionate about creating curricula which are linked to and informed by diverse research methodologies. Through my teaching practice, I have taken the initiative to apply my research in education for sustainability via subject material delivery by experimenting with and disseminating project-based learning (PBL) approaches and pedagogies. I have led and contributed to various modules in undergraduate and postgraduate courses at 4 UK HEIs, which included:

  • Design studio tutoring
  • Net Zero Carbon, and environmental design of buildings
  • Architectural research methods
  • Architectural representation (digital and analogue)
  • UG and PG dissertation supervision

Prior to joining Kingston University, my experience in teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate courses includes course leadership of:

  • BSc (Hons) Architecture at University of East London
  • BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology at University of East London
  • MSc Sustainable Mega Buildings at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University

External innovation and Impact on HE pedagogy and practices:

  • Member of the Advisory Group developing the new 2021 QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Architectural Technology Subject. 
  • Council member of the Standing Conference of Schools of Architecture (SCOSA), leading a Working Group on Sustainability and Climate Literacy. The Working Group aims to enable UK Schools of Architecture to embed the RIBA Climate Literacy Knowledge Schedule into UG and PG Architecture curricula. 
  • External Examiner and Validation Activities:
  • Appointed as External Examiner to Manchester Metropolitan University – British University in Egypt dual degree in BA Interior Design (2023-2026)
  • External Assessor for validation of dual degree in BA (Hons) Interior Design Manchester Metropolitan University – British University in Egypt (2022)
  • External Examiner for BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology at Anglia Ruskin University (2016-2020) assisting colleagues with constructive criticism and feedback associated with the external examination process.
  • Validation panel member at the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT)
  • Validation panel member at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Qualifications and expertise

  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Undergraduate courses taught

Postgraduate courses taught

Research

Besides my ambition for ensuring excellence in my learning and teaching approaches, my key research expertise and interest lie in the area of environmental design and education for sustainability. I have gained this knowledge through my wide and significant exposure to complex practices and precedents within my academic and research practice. I have published around 40 peer reviewed articles in high-impact journals and conferences. I have been leading and contributing to applications for research funding throughout my academic career. I have been actively exploring interdisciplinary opportunities to apply for substantive UKRI funding bids on climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

I am currently leading a  British Council funded  project: Towards Net Zero Carbon Campuses for Climate Change Mitigation and Resilience. The project enables universities establish a clear pathway to achieve Net Zero Carbon Campuses by 2050 by developing a robust Climate Action Framework, building staff and student capacity to enable actions to reduce carbon emissions and disseminate awareness within their wider communities. 

I have recently been successful as a Co-I in securing a Medical Research Council grant (total £150K): Healthy Energy Efficient Dwellings (HEED). The project explores the variables affecting people's health conditions, and the implications of building design and performance on occupants' comfort, health and wellbeing in council homes.

I was Principal Investigator to a British Council Newton Institutional Links funded project; Building Capacity for Sustainable Development of the Built Environment (total grant £288K). I organised and led two international conferences, four professional training programmes, undertook world class research, and developed international dual degree programmes.

I am currently Director of Studies to one PhD student and supervising MArch Architecture students' dissertations. I have been Director of Studies of 3 PhD students to completion at UEL, besides supervising 3 PhD students and 11 MSc students' dissertations at WSA. 

Areas of specialism

  • Environmental design
  • Designing for net zero carbon
  • Education for sustainability and climate literacy
  • Pro-environmental behaviour
  • Building performance and occupants comfort

Publications

Number of items: 24.

Article

Farouk Rashed, H and Elsharkawy, H (2020) To what extent can solar control be effective in enhancing indoor comfort in a fully glazed office building? IOP Conference Series : Earth and Environmental Science, 588, 032081. ISSN (print) 1755-1307

Elsharkawy, Heba and Zahiri, Sahar (2020) The significance of occupancy profiles in determining post retrofit indoor thermal comfort, overheating risk and building energy performance. Building and Environment, 172, p. 106676. ISSN (print) 0360-1323

Taher, Hashem, Elsharkawy, Heba and Newport, Darryl (2019) The influence of urban green systems on the Urban Heat Island effect in London. IOP Conference Series : Earth and Environmental Science, 329, 012046. ISSN (print) 1755-1307

Ozarisoy, Bertug and Elsharkawy, Heba (2019) Assessing overheating risk and thermal comfort in state-of-the-art prototype houses that combat exacerbated climate change in UK. Energy and Buildings, 187, pp. 201-217. ISSN (print) 0378-7788

Zahiri, Sahar and Elsharkawy, Heba (2018) Towards energy-efficient retrofit of council housing in London : assessing the impact of occupancy and energy-use patterns on building performance. Energy and Buildings, 174, pp. 672-681. ISSN (print) 0378-7788

Elsharkawy, Heba and Rutherford, Peter (2018) Energy-efficient retrofit of social housing in the UK : lessons learned from a Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) in Nottingham. Energy and Buildings, 172, pp. 295-306. ISSN (print) 0378-7788

Shi, Wei, Abdalla, Hassan, Elsharkawy, Heba and Chandler, Alan (2017) Energy saving of the domestic housing stocks : application development as a plug-in for energy simulation software. International Journal of Parallel, Emergent and Distributed Systems, 32(sup1), S114-S132. ISSN (print) 1744-5760

Elsharkawy, Heba and Rutherford, Peter (2015) Retrofitting social housing in the UK : home energy use and performance in a pre-Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP). Energy and Buildings, 88, pp. 25-33. ISSN (print) 0378-7788

Conference or Workshop Item

Elsharkawy, Heba and Zahiri, Sahar (2018) Evaluating the building performance of an office building in London to improve indoor thermal comfort. In: PLEA 2018 : 34th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Smart and Healthy Within the Two-Degree Limit; 10 - 12 Dec 2018, Hong Kong, China.

Zahiri, Sahar, Elsharkawy, Heba and Shi, Wei (2018) The impact of occupants' energy use behaviour on building performance : a case study of a tower block in London. In: PLEA 2018 : 34th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Smart and Healthy Within the Two-Degree Limit; 10 - 12 Dec 2018, Hong Kong, China.

Ozarisoy, Bertug and Elsharkawy, Heba (2018) Assessing energy use and overheating risk for retrofitting a residential tower block prototype in Northern Cyprus. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2018); 12 - 13 Sep 2018, London, U.K..

Clough, Jack, Elsharkawy, Heba and Zahiri, Sahar (2018) Developing a framework for embedding Education for Sustainability (EfS) within the built environment sector in Egypt. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2018); 12 - 13 Sep 2018, London, U.K..

Elsharkawy, Heba, Zahiri, Sahar and Ozarisoy, Bertug (2018) Improving the building performance and thermal comfort of an office building to reduce overheating risk. In: 4th Building Simulation & Optimization Conference 2018 (IBPSA 2018); 11-12 Sep 2018, Cambridge, U.K..

Zahiri, Sahar, Elsharkawy, Heba and Shi, Wei (2018) The importance of occupancy and energy use patterns on predicting building energy performance : a case study of a residential building in London. In: 4th Building Simulation & Optimization Conference 2018 (IBPSA 2018); 11-12 Sep 2018, Cambridge, U.K..

Taher, Hashem, Elsharkawy, Heba and Newport, Darryl (2018) A state of the art review of the impact of Vertical Greenery Systems (VGS) on the energy performance of buildings in temperate climates. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2018); 12 - 13 Sep 2018, London, U.K..

Carter, Beth, Elsharkawy, Heba and Zahiri, Sahar (2017) Building performance evaluation of an office building in the UK – a case study of a university office building. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2017); 20-21 Dec 2017, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Zahiri, Sahar and Elsharkawy, Heba (2017) Building performance optimisation for the retrofit of a council tower block in London. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2017); 20-21 Dec 2017, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Ozarisoy, Bertug and Elsharkawy, Heba (2017) Passive cooling design strategies for retrofit of residential tower blocks in Northern Cyprus. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2017); 20-21 Dec 2017, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Shi, Wei and Elsharkawy, Heba (2017) An innovative energy efficiency application development: through the evaluation of occupants’ behavioural issues and its impact on domestic energy consumption in the UK. In: International Conference for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SDBE 2017); 20-21 Dec 2017, London, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Zahiri, Sahar and Elsharkawy, Heba (2017) Building performance evaluation for the retrofit of council housing in the UK : a case study of a tower block in London. In: PLEA 2017 : 33rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Design to Thrive; 03-05 Jul 2017, Edinburgh, U.K..

Elsharkawy, Heba and Zahiri, Sahar (2017) Education for sustainable development of the built environment : problem-based learning approach for embedding sustainability. In: PLEA 2017 : 33rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Design to Thrive; 03-05 Jul 2017, Edinburgh, U.K..

Ozarisoy, Bertug and Elsharkawy, Heba (2017) Retrofit strategies for the existing residential tower blocks in Northern Cyprus. In: PLEA 2017 : 33rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Design to Thrive; 03-05 Jul 2017, Edinburgh, U.K..

Shi, Wei, Elsharkawy, Heba and Abdalla, Hassan (2017) An investigation into energy consumption behaviour and lifestyles in UK homes : Developing a smart application as a tool for reducing home energy use. In: PLEA 2017 : 33rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Design to Thrive; 03-05 Jul 2017, Edinburgh, U.K..

Taher, Hashem and Elsharkawy, Heba (2017) The window to wall ratio for high-rise office buildings in a temperate climate : assessing façade embodied energy and building operative energy (life cycle energy) in London. In: PLEA 2017 : 33rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture : Design to Thrive; 03-05 Jul 2017, Edinburgh, U.K..

This list was generated on Wed Sep 13 06:53:57 2023 BST.

Business, knowledge transfer and international

Owing to my genuine interest in knowledge transfer, business, innovation and internationalisation, I have initiated and developed various successful initiatives and projects at all HEIs I have worked at. Those projects range from international partnerships to support the enhancement of research output, to others which enhance student learning, employability and graduate prospects, and developing short courses to raise KU's profile, diversify income, and increase student recruitment. 

  • Creating the Net Zero Carbon Architecture international summer school at KSA in 2022: The programme ran in July 2022 with 90 students and programmed to run in July 2023 in its second year.
  • Initiating a Cairo University, Egypt – Kingston University collaborationthe collaborative partnership may cover several Transnational Education (TNE) models on undergraduate and postgraduate levels (dual degree / joint degree / franchise). 
  • University of Johannesberg collaborative partnership: an MoU in progress to involve other KSA Departments.
  • Catholic University of America, Washington DC: working with dep't colleagues to progress a potential collaboration (and MoU). 
  • BIG South London Partnership: I have been actively involved in KSA's Business Innovation and Growth South London partnership.

  • Creating and validating the international Architecture and Design Summer Programme at UEL: This programme was introduced as one of the marketing and recruitment initiatives and managed to recruit more than 140 international students over 3 years.
  • Creating 4 training programmes on Sustainable Development of the Built Environment 
  • Creating the Low Carbon Architecture Summer Programme at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University: the programme recruited 240 international students between 2013-2015
  • UEL-Ain Shams University Dual Degree Programmes: The dual degree awards arrangement initiated with 3 courses and currently covers 13 courses generating significant income.
  • Cardiff University, Welsh School of Architecture and the British University in Dubai: I led the school collaboration with the British University in Dubai (BUiD) with strategic partnership of an alliance of UK Russell Group Universities to include dual MSc degrees, and a split-site PhD programme.

Areas of interest

  • Short course development
  • Transnational Education partnerships and models
  • Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
  • Degree Apprenticeships

Professional practice, knowledge exchange and impact

A key aspect to my role as Head of Department is to lead and manage the department's relationship and engagement with relevant Professional, Statutory and/or Regulatory Body (or Bodies) (PSRBs), subject associations, ‘communities of practice', and external public organisations that contribute to student success and employability, staff experience and Kingston's reputation, impact and profile.

The Department works closely with the following PSRBs, which accredit the courses:

  • Architects Registration Board (ARB) 
  • The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
  • Landscape Institute (LI)
  • The Royal Institution of Chartered Building Surveyors (RICS)
  • Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC)

The Department is an active member of the following subject associations:

  • Standing Conference of Schools of Architecture (SCOSA)
  • Association of Architectural Educators (AAE)

Leadership and management

As I am always keen to proactively contribute to University/Faculty/School strategy, I have been nominated to join the Town House Strategy - Future Skills Campaign Workstream where I am Associate Lead of Project 1: External Partnering. The project aims to develop a gateway and triage into the university for external partners to create fruitful partnerships for students and staff communities. I have also been nominated to join the Town House People Workstream Advisory Group focusing on Staff Rewards and Recognition.

Owing to my genuine interest in climate literacy and sustainability, I have been nominated to join the Net Zero Carbon, and Communications and Engagement Steering Groups. Together with both Steering Group teams, we are working towards ensuring Kingston University's commitments in achieving Net Zero Carbon (net zero Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 2038/39 and net zero Scope 3 CO2 emissions by 2050/51) are reached.

As Head of Department, I am responsible for the Department's academic portfolio, students' learning experience, and management of staff and resources. I am an active member of the School Management Group (SMG) supporting and contributing to the School strategic planning. I work closely with the Department Management Group (DMG) on staff planning and recruitment, academic portfolio development, PSRB reports and submissions, students' experience, and enhancing research, knowledge exchange, business and international initiatives. In my role, I have managed to:

  • Create innovative curriculum development (design and delivery) at UG and PG levels
  • Ensure quality of students' experience within the Department
  • Facilitate and improve the quality of teaching ensuring the curricula engage with research and practice
  • Champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all activities within the Department and across the School/Faculty
  • Develop and maintain subject expertise and excellence appropriate to meeting the University strategic objectives 

  • Lead on Department projects and maintain a track record of securing funding 

In my role as HoD, I have been managing financial and human resources; ensuring adherence to regulations, policies and procedures, and value for money. My responsibilities include:

  • Providing leadership and strategic direction for the Department, in consultation and collaboration with SMG
  • Management and operational activities of the Department, including line management of staff 
  • Overseeing the Department's allocation of workloads and timetabling 
  • Organising staff development aimed towards excellence in teaching, research and business and innovation 

  • Leading on all Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB) activities within the Department (RIBA, ARB, LI, RICS)

Qualifications and expertise

  • Leadership and Management training, Kingston University
  • Developing Leaders Programme, Cardiff University
  • Aurora leadership training by Advance HE
  • First Aid Qualification Course
  • Mental Health First Aid, MHFA England

Social media

LinkedIn