Dr Denise MacDermott

Overview

Dr Denise MacDermott is a Reader in Social Work in the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences in the DLD campus. Denise is the recipient of a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship Award for 2025, in recognition of her outstanding impact on Higher Education.

Denise MacDermott completed her social work degree at the University of Strathclyde in 2003. During this time, Denise was employed by the Northern Ireland Association for the Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO) as a Project Worker and later a Senior Practitioner for a regional Mentoring programme. In 2008, she took up the post of Practice Learning Centre Manager with Bryson Care. In 2012 she completed the MSc in Professional Development in Social Work from Ulster University.

Denise MacDermott joined Ulster University in 2013 as a lecturer in social work, she has held a number of leadership roles including course director for the BSc (Hons) Social Work, Chair of the Practice Assessment Panel and Employability Lead for social work. From 2020-2025 Dr MacDermott was Subject Lead for social work and course director for the Pg/Dip MSc in Professional Development in Social Work. Dr MacDermott is Chair of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) Professional in Practice Approval Panel. Denise is active across social work education locally, nationally and internationally she is Deputy Chair of the QAA Subject Benchmarks Statements for Social Work (2025-2026).

Denise is committed to promoting civic engagement, volunteering and social justice, she was Chairperson for Le Cheile Youth Justice Support Services a national charity based in Ireland from 2009-2015. In 2018 Denise was recognised as a Civic Ambassador by the Centre for Flexible Education at Ulster University for her involvement in widening access projects with the community and voluntary sector. More recently Dr MacDermott received four Access Ambassador funding awards (Ulster University). The first for the DOIRE (Discovering Opportunities in Returning to Education) project in partnership with Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum. The second award for the Adults Learning Together (ALT Project) was delivered in partnership with St Peter's Immaculata Youth Club, Belfast. Her third project was Fuelling Futures a collaboration with Include Youth aimed at empowering young people to shape their futures through developing a rights based education manifesto. Denise’s most recent project is Youth Advocacy and Presentation Skills which has been developed into a credit bearing module at Ulster University.

Dr MacDermott holds the Leadership and Strategic Award in Social Work (2015) and is an Advance HE Senior Fellow. Denise was awarded Educator of the Year for the Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences in 2025. Dr Mac Dermott received the Senior Distinguished Educational Excellence Fellowship Award (2022). Denise received an Excellence in Educational Leadership Award from Ulster University (2019). She has extensive experience of External Examining of social work courses in the UK and Ireland. Denise is an experienced peer reviewer for several leading social work journals including International Social Work, Practice, British Journal of Social Work, Social Work Education, Health Promotion International and Trends in Higher Education.

She has published articles and book chapters making significant contributions to the field of social work education including collaborations with experts by experience, service users and the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.

Research Interests

Citizen educators and experts by experience involvement in social work education
Peer-Led learning in social work education
Professional identity and social work education

Innovations

Inclusive assessments within social work education.
Social Work Placement Professional Competence Model (2024)
Peer Learning Bubble Model (MacDermott & Harkin-MacDermott, 2021, revised 2025)
Shared Stories Narrative Model (MacDermott & Harkin-MacDermott, 2019)
DOIRE (Discovering Opportunities in Returning to Education) project in partnership with Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum.
Adults Learning Together (ALT Project) Community Engagement Project 2023.
Youth Advocacy and Presentation Skills (2025)