Dr Justin Magee is the Research Director for the Belfast School of Art (UoA32) and a Senior Lecturer in Product Design at Ulster University (since 2006). HE received the Ulster University Distinguished Business Fellowship 2007, Research Excellence award for KE in 2017 and the Research Excellence Award for Business partnerships of the year under 250 employees in 2020.

His research focuses on digital human modelling, user experience and immersion for physical and digital product applications, in Arts and Health. His work was returned in the RAE2001, RAE2008 and REF2014 and he leads the UoA32 strategy in preparation for REF2021.

He has secured 16 external research awards totalling £7,055,314 from AHRC, RCUK, DCAL, Innovate UK, WHSCT, NHSCT, HSC R&D/PHA, RCUK and ConnectED. He is Co-investigator on one of the nine national AHRC Creative Industries Clusters (Future Screens NI). He has secured soft-funding or in-kind income related to research and impact totalling £67,552. 

As a design consultant he has worked for LEGO Systems, Denmark, GE Plastics (Germany and UK) on contracts with Mercedes, Audi, Porsche etc., Smart Car and as a design consultant on over 85 commercial projects with SME’s in Ireland and the UK. He has generated >£271,518 through Innovation Ulster Ltd. He has been involved in nine Invention disclosures, 3 patents and is an IP stakeholder in 3 collaborative research projects with HSC Innovations.

His recent KTPS with CDE Global and Axial3D received Innovate UK Certificates of Excellence (2017, 2020). One featured as a case study for the NCUB State of the Art report (2018) and a finalist at the THELMAs for KE initiative of the year (2018).

He has also served as:

• Course and Subject Director (2009-2016) at UG and PG level
• Placement coordinator (2000-2006, 2010-2015)
• Director for Academic Enterprise for the Faculty of Arts (2006-2011)
• Acting Director of the Research Institute (2005)

He is a member of the Institute of Designers (IDI, 2006), Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA, 2020) and The Council for Higher Education in Art & Design (CHEAD, 2017). He held an external appointment on the HSC NI Office for Research Ethics Committees (2017-2019). He has peer-reviewed on several Journals across design, medical engineering, creative industries and entrepreneurship including the Design Journal. In 2020 he was appointed as CHEAD Research Alliance Strategy Group member.