I am a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic. I am an internationally experienced forestry and arboriculture consultant, project manager, developer and skills training specialist. I am the author of the European and International Chainsaw Certification (ECC and ICC) skills standards amongst many others, and CEO of the not-for-profit education body ABA International.

The main topic of my Fellowship was forestry training standards, particularly chainsaw operations and tree felling. As a professionally qualified skills trainer in this sector within the UK, I was interested in researching training standards in Canada. This was due to my strong personal interest in pursuing and helping to improve health and safety standards and reducing accidents related to forestry activities, not only in the UK but globally.

The Fellowship led me, through my experience in Canada, to develop skills safety standards for chainsaw operators in Europe and globally via ABA International. The impact has raised skills safety standards, not only within forestry, but also across many other sectors. The important key to achieving this started with my Fellowship.