Debi Roberts is a Chartered Engineer and the Course Director for Engineering Distance Learning and Apprenticeships at University of Staffordshire, She brings 18 years of experience in academia and industry to her role. Prior teaching leadership positions include serving as Academic Group Leader for the Transport Engineering discipline area and a secondment to the role of Interim Head of Department (Engineering) for 12 months. She has also been Course Leader for various Aeronautical, Automotive and Motorsport courses during her time at the University.
She has developed and delivered a wide variety of course curriculum modules for Transport, Construction and Mechanical Engineering areas and have twice led on the development of revitalised engineering curricula, as well as leading on the accreditation of courses by engineering professional bodies.
She was part of the team at University of Staffordshire who received Office for Students Wave 1 Apprenticeship funding to develop new and innovative teaching apprenticeship courses, this was worth £974,000 across the University. She has authored articles for various journals and newspapers as well as providing engineering employability expertise to international newspapers such as the Deccan Herald.
Her research areas include automation of transportation, transport history and the history of health and safety in naval dockyards. She was also part of the Boulton Paul Heritage Project, preserving aviation history and was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service as part of the group in 2012. She is an experienced academic with a strong teaching and learning background and clear management and pedagogical experience.
Professional memberships and activities
- Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA)
- Chartered Engineer (CEng)
- Member of the IEEE (MIEEE)
- Member of the IMechE (MIMechE)
- Member of the IET (MIET)
- Member of the Women's Engineering Society (MWES)
- Affiliate Member of the Energy Institute (AMEI)
- Member of the International Association of Engineers (MIAEng)
- STEM Ambassador
Academic qualifications
- 2026 MA Naval, Maritime and Coastal Studies, University of Portsmouth (completing November 2026)
- 2012 PgCert Higher and Professional Education (PgCHPE), University of Staffordshire
- 2009 MSc Automotive Engineering, University of Staffordshire
- 2007 BSc(Hons) Aeronautical Design Technology, University of Staffordshire
Expertise
Debi has a keen interest in Transport Aerodynamics, Engine Design and Engineering History (specifically transport-linked) especially that of Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd and the Health and Safety of Royal Naval Dockyards during the Victorian Era. She is part of the Boulton Paul Heritage Project and as such was part of the team to be awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2012. The changing landscape of Transport Engineering means she has branched out to investigate the areas of autonomous, connected and future automotive engineering.
Research interests
Debi's research areas include Automotive and Aeronautical topics, mostly Aerodynamics and Engine related areas branching out into automation of transportation, transport history and the history of health and safety in naval dockyards.
Grants
- Co-PI: Developing knowledge of FEA, CFD and optimization across Engineering and Computing disciplines (August 2025 - August 2026) Ansys https://www.ansys.com/en-gb/academic/educators/funded-curriculum $24,649
- Team Member: Office for Students Wave 1 Apprenticeship funding to develop new and innvative teaching on apprenticeship courses (March 2024) £974,000 across the University.
Teaching
Debi currently leads and teaches on modules within the areas of aerodynamics and CFD, vehicle propulsion, small scale solid rocket motors, mechanical principles, UAV design and development, mathematics, and quality and project management. She also delivers stand alone lectures and tutorials on autonomous vehicles, ethics, and engineering history.
Publications
- S. Marimuthu, MM. Ardekani, SZ. Islam, DM. Roberts, M. Fahad, M. Asaduzzaman, A. Cash, SS. Ghidarry: "Design and implementation of an aerofoil flow simulation tutorial to improve student's knowledge and experience" 2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Charlotte, North Carolina. (2026) https://peer.asee.org/59356
- M. Fahad, MM. Ardekani, DM. Roberts, M. Billah, S. Islam: "Implementation of Simulation Focused, Problem-Based Learning in Engineering Apprenticeships" in Journal of Vocational Research and Practice (JVRP) 2 (1) (2025) https://www.staffs.ac.uk/research/journal-of-vocational-research-and-practice/pdf/jvrp-02-01-04-implementation-of-simulation.pdf
- T. Shafique, AH. Soliman, A. Amjad, L. Uden, DM. Roberts: "Node role selection and rotation scheme for energy efficiency in multi-level IoT-based heterogenerous wireless sensor networks (HWSNs)" in Sensors 24 (17), 5642 (2024) https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/17/5642
- D. Lewis, CC. Chibelushi, D. Roberts: “Cars will change more in the next decade than they have in the past decade” published on The Conversation (14 May 2019) and "Everything we know about car technology is changing in the next decade" The Independent (29 May 2019) https://theconversation.com/cars-will-change-more-in-the-next-decade-than-they-have-in-the-past-century-113585 https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/self-driving-cars-tesla-uber-car-technology-research-a8928831.html
- D. Roberts: “Careers in Motorsport Field’ published in the Deccan Herald Education section in Bangalore (10 November 2016) http://www.deccanherald.com/content/580240/careers-motorsport-field.html