Mr Stan Windsor

BSc (Hons), MSc, AFHE

Lecturer / Employability and Vocational Qualification Lead

Department of Sport, Health Sciences and Social Work

Role

After graduating from the Sport & Exercise Science course at Oxford Brookes in 2013, Stan set up his own personal training technology company. As a result of working on this project for a period of 5 years, he gained a deep understanding of the fitness industry at all levels and is now using that knowledge to help develop and inform his teaching and research. Currently as well as teaching across all year groups within the three-degree programs available Stan is leading research within EU-funded, technology-based exercise interventions for pediatric oncology. Stan is also the CEO of a university start-up (HandHeld Health) that aims to deliver technology-enabled interventions to people living with long-term and chronic conditions. 

As well as the teaching and personal research portfolio Stan is also the vocational and employability lead for the department, mapping vocational personal training and coaching qualifications across all degree areas. He uses his personal and professional links the industry to actively promote strong employability opportunities for graduates and undergraduates. 

Stan also actively contributes to the wider research and public engagement of the university. Stan is currently the departmental lead for Public Engagement with Research as well as being a member of the faculty innovation team. Stan is a member of the health aging network, children and young people network, and the university artificial intelligence and data network.

Teaching and supervision

Modules taught

POR4007: Professional Skills in Sport & Coaching Science

This module introduces students to a range of academic and social competencies required for a professional in sport and coaching sciences. This module will equip students with the basic academic knowledge and skills for success in undergraduate study. The module will enable students to reflect on their existing skills and knowledge while also providing opportunities to apply and develop the competencies needed to become a successful sport professional.

SPOR5015: Work Experience

This advanced single module (which runs across Semester 1 and 2, from September 2021 to April 2022) aims to enable students to acquire professional knowledge, practical leadership / activity facilitative skills and vocational competencies involved in working in the related field of study. Students will engage with a self-discovered, tutor negotiated placement in a professional field. Students are expected to work with others and become cognisant with the wider workings of the host organisation in line with policy dictates. This module also aims to provide students with opportunity to apply the theory, concepts and content taught in other modules. Further, approved placements through situated learning will allow students to construct knowledge in situ. In addition, the placement will aim to enhance the student’s employability on competition of the programme. It is anticipated that students will gain a better understanding of their future career direction and be able to identify future professional development opportunities.

SPOR6013: Emerging Technology in Exercise and Health 

The aim of this module is to develop both your theoretical knowledge, technical, practical and translational skills in the area of exercise. More specifically you will be able to identify strengths and weaknesses of emerging, industry specific technology, be able to process and critically analyse their data, relevantly apply and use it within your field of expertise, be able to apply and translate the use of a device to real-world problems.

CIMSPA - Personal Trainer

Vocational qualiforcation that is mapped within the degree for personal training award.

Research

Technology-based exercise for people living with long-term health conditions: 

  • Exploring the efficacy of a phone application home-based exercise algorithm on adherence to pulmonary rehabilitation of people suffering with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

    This project aims to access the efficacy of strength-based exercise using a mobile phone application to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) to participants who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study will aim to recruit 100 participants to take part in the intervention, from already established contacts within ‘breathe easy’ support groups. During a 12-week intervention period, COPD sufferers will be asked to use the mobile phone application a minimum of three times a week and a maximum of five times per week. The application is powered by a novel algorithm that outputs recommend exercises for the participant to complete.

  • Get Strong to Fight Childhood Cancer: An Exercise Intervention for Children and Adolescents Undergoing Anti-Cancer Treatment (FORTEe)

    Cancer is the first leading cause of death by non-communicable diseases in children in Europe. During cancer treatment, patients’ morbidity is increased due to physical inactivity, cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Adapted exercise training in cancer patients, called exercise oncology, is an increasingly recognised, promising health care intervention. In adults, exercise oncology revealed notable effects on tolerance and completion rate of cancer treatment. However, in childhood cancer patients, strong evidence for exercise efficiency is lacking. Thus, precision exercise training is not part of standard care in paediatric oncology and does not reach the majority of patients. By pooling the leading expertise on a European level, the FORTEe project aims to evaluate a personalised and standardised exercise intervention for children and adolescents undergoing anti-cancer treatment. In the present randomised, controlled FORTEe trial, high evidence for an innovative, patient-centred exercise treatment will be generated. FORTEe promotes exercise oncology that aims at making patients “stronger to fight childhood cancer”. Supervised exercise training intends to increase muscle strength and reduce muscular atrophy due to bedrest. CRF and HRQoL can be improved and in the future, these benefits may help to fight childhood cancer by increasing therapy efficiency and survival rate. Within the project, digital, innovative technologies such as augmented reality will be developed and applied to make the exercise training more effective, age-adapted and personalised. Moreover, FORTEe will stimulate translational research to provide access to paediatric exercise oncology as a new health care intervention. As a progress beyond the current state-of-the-art, FORTEe has the ambition to implement paediatric exercise oncology as an evidence-based standard in clinical care for all childhood cancer patients across the EU and beyond.

  • Cancers Augmented Reality Environment (CARE)

    This pilot is to test the potential role of an augmented reality (AR) intervention to promote lifestyle management, initially in post cancer treatment patient volunteers, educating the patient of proven benefits of exercise and lifestyle choices using an avatar as a personal exercise therapist.

My current PhD research focuses on sports prevision and policy within primary school physical education. I have a particular interest in the current issues surrounding the declining activity level of young people within the UK, exploring the reasons this may be happening and using other countries' structures in comparative studies within the area. 
 

Research group membership

  • Departmental lead for Public Engagement with Research
  • Healthy Aging Network
  • Children and Young people network
  • Artificial intelligence and data network
  • Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity Research Group
  • Faculty Innovation Team 

Research projects

I am currently involved in active research looking at how technology can be used to assist people within rehab from medical treatment.

Groups

Projects

Publications

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Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA)

Areas of expertise

Health, Fitness, Sports Technology, Primery education sport and policy and Health & Fitness Industry 

Other experience

Co-founder & Director at Fitfix Ltd.

Further details

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleywindsor/