Dr Victoria McCollum

Overview

Dr Victoria McCollum is from the Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland, and is Associate Dean for Partnerships and Student Recruitment in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Ulster University. She holds a PhD in Cultural and Film Studies, an MA in Film Practice from Queen’s University Belfast, and postgraduate qualifications in Higher Education Practice and Global Business Leadership and Management (Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University).

An award-winning educator and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Victoria is known for her inclusive, creative and socially engaged approach to education. Her research, including eight published books, explores how storytelling across film, games and television can challenge dominant narratives around trauma, identity and conflict. She was elected to the Senate of Ulster University in 2023 and has taught internationally as a Visiting Lecturer at Kadir Has University (Istanbul), College of Charleston (SC), Syracuse University (NY) and at institutions across West and South Asia.

Alongside her research and teaching, Victoria has held senior leadership roles focused on partnership-building, student opportunity and widening access across the arts and humanities. She was part of the academic team that secured over £536k in funding for a new Virtual Production Facility at Ulster University and co-led The Witches of Islandmagee Creative and Digital Project, an interdisciplinary social justice initiative using film, games and immersive tech to recover marginalised histories and translate research into public-facing work with schools, museums, councils and international partners.

Much of Victoria’s work is driven by a commitment to widening participation. This includes developing international filmmaking field trips to Mumbai, enabling creative students from underrepresented backgrounds to gain hands-on experience within the global screen industries while building confidence, skills and global perspective.

Previously, Victoria held professional roles at BBC, ITV, MTV, and HBO (Time Warner Inc), and has collaborated on projects with organisations including Apple, Cartoon Network, Sky Atlantic, Sesame Street, Telltale Games, Twitter and Universal Music Group.

At a local level, she co-founded a mentoring programme for teenage girls in Derry City with YMCA, and led a landmark collaboration with the Irish Labour Party to name the University’s Derry-based film studio in honour of Mo Mowlam, launched by Keir Starmer.

Outside her professional work, Victoria is a qualified equestrian coach and is currently training in Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL), using human–animal connection to foster emotional resilience and wellbeing. She is guided by a deep belief in the transformative power of creativity, community and compassion to drive meaningful change.