Al originally studied mathematics at the University of Bath, followed by periods of working in industry and higher education in London. He then led the development and delivery of the first computing degree course in 1992, before undertaking teaching and learning and leadership roles in the Computing group.
Al's subject specialism is database systems, and this has been underpinned by substantial industrial secondments at British Gas Southern, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Compsoft plc. Furthermore, he has served on steering and programme committees of the HEA Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Databases (TLAD) annual conference since it started in 2003.
His current work includes research and practice into enhancing employability in collaboration with the b.i.b. International College in Germany. Al is the lead or sole author of many papers presented at British Computer Society, HEA and other conferences over many years.