Dr Joanne Pike
Acting Associate Dean Enterprise, Partnerships and Employability
Joanne is a Principal Lecturer and Professional Leader with a lot of experience working in higher education. She has research design skills, lecturing (subjects: Advanced Clinical Practice, professional practice and research methods), and curriculum development.
Dr. Pike’s approach to teaching and learning is supportive and encouraging and she says:
“There is nothing better than supporting a student to achieve their master’s degree! Students usually come to us working full-time in very highly stressful and demanding jobs, and often doubt their abilities. We help and encourage them on their academic journey through the course to achieve their goal, and that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning each day.”
Research is important for the development of professional practice, and one of Joanne's main interests is spirituality and expression in nursing care, which she has been researching since 2009.
More recently she has been working with Computing colleagues in the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology exploring the impact of companotics (pets that are robots) on well-being, for people with dementia.
Outreach Activities
| Title | Description | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Robot pet companions for people with dementia: connecting with 'Companotics' today and in the future | Joanne started with the concept of therapy pets and how various animals are used in various ways to support humans. Attention was drawn to the fact that the wellbeing of both the human and the animal comes into play throughout these interactions and that some people experiencing health concerns may not be in a position to meet the needs of the animal. Joanne then introduced us to companion devices through the years, from the simple traditional teddy bear to electronic pets such as Tamagotchi™ to the more complex futuristic robot companions. The acquisition of the robot cats was explained, and Joanne then shared the very personal inspiration behind the research which set out to find out what it was like for people on a journey with dementia to have robot cats in their homes. An overview of the participants was shared, and the audience was then introduced to Jean and her time with the robotic cat. Without the need for a spoiler alert, we can say that the cat definitely gave Jean a reason to get up in the morning, which was so heartwarming. Joanne closed by talking through the benefits identified for those with dementia using robotic cats and detailing what she would like to do next with the research. Audience members posed some interesting comments/ questions at the end of the lecture, with one member commenting that is one of the few lectures that they had attended that had been delivered with love. | Wrexham University Public Lecture |