A head-and-shoulders shot of Paul facing the camera with a smile. burgundy jumper and the background is blurred.

Paul Goddard

, BSc (Hons), FHEA


I am a HCI PhD Student and Teaching Associate in the School of Computer Science and Informatics at Cardiff University. My research focuses on visual accessibility for people who are blind or visually impaired, particularly in the context of art. I am a Fellow of AdvanceHE (FHEA) and my teaching complements my decade of industry experience by focusing on software engineering, programming, and DevOps skills. I was the inaugural Lead Teaching Associate for the School where I represented the team of 28 Teaching Associates at management meetings and student experience panels. My efforts to promote collaboration and share best practices among the team were recognised with the Outstanding Contribution Award in 2023. I was previously a research intern and student at UWE, Bristol, where I worked on developing low-cost audio tour systems for museums and multimodal interfaces to improve navigation for individuals with sight loss. More information about my research and teaching can be found below, including links to my published works.

Research

Museums and art galleries play a crucial role in meeting our educational and social needs. However, people with sight impairments often feel excluded from visiting these places for various reasons such as lack of accessible mediums for viewing art and inadequately trained staff. Moreover, accessibility strategies and research for visual art mostly focus on non-visual interpretations, despite the fact that most people with a visual impairment retain some residual vision. My PhD, supervised by Dr Nervo Verdezoto Dias, Professor Yukun Lai  and Professor Tom Margrain, investigates how to improve the visual accessibility of visual art for people with low vision. My research has a HCI focus and uses mixed methods to explore this area of limited existing research.

Previous research covers working with tactile and audio interfaces for people with low vision at University of the West of England in collaboration with Dr Benedict Gaster, Professor Carinna Parraman, and Fabio D'Agnano.

Publications

2024

Lots of small strips of paper, with a coloured square sticky note above each group of strips.]{Four sticky notes are used as theme headings as sub-headings for groups of codes printed on small strips of paper. The theme headings are 'Museums have rules to follow' (on a blue note) and 'Infrastructure' (on an orange note), which contains two subheadings of 'Lighting must be just right' and 'placement must be just right' (both are on yellow notes). Codes under 'Museums have rules to follow' are: needs help from person to understand museum permissions; sometimes allowed to touch but inconsistent; touching allowed; no photography rules; not allowed to get close to text description; societial pressures prevent getting close to art; unsure if touching is allowed or not; not allowed to get close to art; touching only when supervised. The codes under 'Lighting must be just right' are: lots of lighting needed; lighting is inconsistent in museum spaces; reflections prevent photos; lighting is too much for cameras to handle; lighting is too poor for camera to pick up; lighting doesn't matter; need good lighting to read the description; time to adjust to lighting; reflections on glass covers make art hard to see. Finally, the codes under 'placement must be just right' are: codes to trigger accessibility tools are small or inconsistently placed (Note that the 'or' is crossed through in this picture); art is too high on the wall; art is too low on the wall.

Paul Goddard, Nervo Verdezoto, Tom H. Margrain, Yu-Kun Lai, and Parisa Eslambolchilar. 2024. Seeing Art Differently: Design Considerations to Improve Visual Art Engagement for People with Low Vision. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’24), July 1–5, 2024, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 13 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3660675
pdf

2021

A cartoon showing a person with low vision touching a street map, which has a highlighted route plan.

D'Agnano, F., Parraman, C., Goddard, P., and Roberton, N. 2021. Urban Lighthouses and a Tactile City - Bristol. In: AMPS Proceedings Series 26.2. Environments by Design: Health, Wellbeing and Place. Northumbria, UK. pp. 110-121.
pdf

Close-up of a tactile print, showing buildings and a park.

Parraman, C., Mandrille, C., D'Agnano, F., Roberton, N., and Goddard, P. 2021. The Engaged Surface - Prints for Visual Sensory Perception. In: IMPACT 11. Hong Kong
online

2020

Playshell in use outside. A hand holding a clear box is about to tap it onto a printed sign about badgers.

Goddard, P. and Gaster, B.R. 2020. PlayShell: a low-cost, fun audio experience for heritage centres. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Audio Mostly. Graz Austria: ACM, pp. 237–240. DOI: 10.1145/3411109.3411132
pdf | video

Funding / Grants

  • Cardiff University Research Culture Fund, Feb - July 2025, £920, - Competitive funding awarded to promote interdisiplinary networking and collaboration for PGRs with Rhianedd Collins

    • Conferences

    • South West UK Pre-CHI - Programme Co-Chair, Publicity Co-Chair - Bringing together HCI researchers from across Wales and South West England

    Invited Talks

    • Cardiff University, February 2025. Invited seminar and workshop on Accessibility in Augmented Reality.
    • UWE, Bristol, April 2024. Invited talk on Design Considerations to Improve Visual Art Engagement for People with Low Vision

    Teaching

    I deliver engaging and effective courses at Cardiff University's School of Computer Science and Informatics by designing and planning learning activities and programs, delivering engaging and supportive teaching, creating supportive learning environments, and continuously developing through professional growth and scholarly activities.

    As the inaugural Lead Teaching Associate (Jan 2022 – July 2024), I represented our team at the School Board and School Education and Student Experience Committee. I collaborated with School management, our Professional Services team, and TAs on teaching support organisation, internal teaching development, and fostering a culture of collaboration and inclusivity.

    Holding Fellow (FHEA) status, I provide high-quality education and support. Collaboration with colleagues and engaging in reflective practice is pivotal in this journey. We create a vibrant educational community that thrives on shared knowledge and innovative practices.

    Supervisions

    • Richard. MSc Dissertation, 2023, entitled Could AI do a NHS (Audiology) clinicians paperwork to help create a better patient experience. Richard is now doing PhD at Southampton
    • Mariia. MSc Dissertation, 2023, entitled Low Vision Webpage Layout Modifier: A Web Extension for People with Visual Impairments. Mariia is now a Project Manager at Oxford University
    • Louis. MSc Dissertation, 2023, entitled Application to Enhance Artwork in Real Time for Those with Low Vision Louis was hired as a software developer and is currently travelling.

    Honours and Awards

    • Nominated for 'Most Outstanding Learning Experience' in the Enriching Student Life Awards March 2024
    • Cardiff University Outstanding Contribution Award, October 2023
    • School of Computer Science and Informatics January 2023 PGR Conference - First Place (Student Scoring)
    • School of Computer Science and Informatics January 2023 PGR Conference - Second Place (Committee Scoring)
    • Bristol Futures Award 2019 - UWE
    • The Dean's Award for Academic Excellence - UWE - 2019
    • The Dean's Award for Academic Excellence - UWE - 2018