The University for the Creative Arts has appointed Leigh Garrett as Director of the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) – a research group specialising in the collection, preservation and usage of images.

The Visual Arts Data Service, based in Farnham, currently provides a national data service to support and enhance learning, teaching and research in the visual and creative arts sector across the UK.

Now in its twelfth year, it provides a national online hosting service for a wide range of collections, which are provided freely for educational use.

Leigh currently works at the University for the Creative Arts as a Senior Lecturer in Learning Technologies. He has worked in the field of learning technologies in higher education for eight years.

He said: “The last eight years have taught me that technology offers us enormous potential to transform our current learning, teaching and research practices. I am therefore delighted to be offered the opportunity to support the outstanding work of VADS, to preserve and enhance its nationally recognised collections and to lead its development as a Research Centre.”

Dr Seymour Roworth-Stokes, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Development, said: ”I am delighted that Leigh is joining us to take forward VADS as an internationally recognised centre of excellence for the collection and digitisation of visual arts images.

“We have a wide range of archives and collections across the University and this field of research plays an increasingly important role in making these resources accessible to a wide range of audiences.”