Her main focus is teaching design history and dissertation supervision but she also has experience teaching professional practice and business planning on the BA (Hons) Illustration programme.

Thomas’ collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, research and private design practice exposes her students to current production developments and new technologies in the design industry.

Thomas’ wide research interests are linked through her focus on design networks and exchange processes. Through her active membership in the Design Research Group, Thomas collaborates on a series Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) that have had a direct impact on the lives of others – including her KTP work with palliative care charity Sue Ryder Care – and on providing employment opportunities, including an award-winning KTP Associate.

Vicki Thomas (AKA Battle) is Senior Lecturer in Design History and Cultural Theory, and part of the Design Research Group in the School of The Arts.

From an academic background in Sociology and Design History, Thomas teaches on the BSc Product Design and BA Interior Design programmes. Understanding the social and historical context of design practice is a core principle of Thomas’ courses. As a practicing designer, Thomas’ students benefit from her industry experience and her knowledge of current design practice and technologies.

Thomas has used the School of The Arts’ specialist Osborne Robinson Poster Collection in her teaching and has also drawn on its resources for research and publication in order to secure the Collection as resource for future students and researchers.

She also curates touring exhibitions and initiated A 1000 Words, an online research network for individuals and organisations interested in understanding the process of globally exchanging design and illustration theories.