New Fellow joins Downing as first-ever Head of Academic Skills
Downing College is delighted to welcome Dr Xose Rosales Sequeiros as a new Fellow, College Associate Professor, and Downing’s first Head of Academic Skills.
He was formally admitted to the Fellowship by the Master of Downing, Professor Graham Virgo, at a ceremony in the Master’s Lodge on 19 January.
Dr Rosales studied at University College London and the University of Cambridge. He has worked at a number of UK universities, including the Universities of Oxford, Liverpool and Leicester. He has also worked at universities internationally, including in China, Kazakhstan, and Qatar.
His research interests have been based around the broad area of pragmatics (verbal communication) and semantics (meaning), as well as translation and linguistics (the study of language) more generally. He has researched topics such as metaphor, irony, and the relationship between language and cognition (mental processes).
He has published widely, including several single-authored books and a broad range of articles in internationally refereed journals. He has contributed to UK Research Excellence Frameworks (where in the RAE 2008 - Research Assessment Exercise - he achieved the UK’s top overall average score in his unit of assessment). He has attracted external research funding from a variety of sources including the British Academy, European Union, and China.
Within academic skills, Dr Rosales has worked on a wide variety of topics, including academic language, essay structure, and academic argumentation, as well as the use of evidence in academic work and critical analysis. He has also delivered training in several research areas, such as methodology and discussion of research results. He has applied this work to undergraduate dissertations and projects as well as doctoral and master theses.
Professor Guy Williams, Senior Tutor at Downing, said: “We are delighted that Dr Rosales has joined the College, and will be bringing his talents to bear on our provision for our students alongside their main course content.
“Often students benefit from stepping back from their day-to-day courses and reflecting on how to present arguments, organise their thoughts or time, and consider other avenues which the knowledge they are gaining through their courses might lead them to in the future. Dr Rosales’ appointment represents a step change in what we can offer to students to support them in these areas”.
Dr Rosales added: “It is a privilege to work at Downing and to support Downing’s students. I have already interacted with many of them and have been very impressed by the level of commitment and self-awareness they have shown. I hope to be able to support them further in their college journey and beyond into their future lives through our work within academic skills and other life skills.”
Besides his academic work, Dr Rosales likes reading, walking, and sailing, as well as travelling more widely.
Published 31 January 2024