Dan Makaveli

I am a Senior Fellow of Advance HE. My creative industry background lies in film and video, specifically in the areas of production and post-production. While studying my MA in Media Production at the University of Sunderland (2006/07), I joined SAFC as a videographer and content creator, designing and implementing the football club’s foundations and infrastructure for online video content.

I started a small production company, Makaveli Productions, in 2009 and have been involved in several professional productions, most notably in the early 2010s. Projects included freelance work for BBC productions, and producing a range of documentaries, focusing on mental illness, in partnership with various NHS Trusts and the Scottish Government.

For approximately a decade I was a regular academic tutor at the University, teaching across several courses including Film Production, Media Production, MA Media Production, Broadcast Media Production, Sports Journalism, and Fashion Journalism. As of 2020, I have been a permanent, fractional (0.6-0.8) member of academic staff.

In recent years I have been lead teacher and/or module leader for a range of production-based modules and I am currently Programme Leader for Media Production. A very exciting, additional part of my employment is my role as Academic Champion for Employability and Enterprise, which started in early 2023.

Outside of education, I am most widely regarded as a social entrepreneur, and I have been involved in several national programmes as both a participant/learner as well as a judge/panel member, including for the allocation of grant funds of up to £250,000. I founded a multi-award-winning social enterprise, Media Savvy CIC in 2010, and its ‘sister’ arm, Diegos Joint in 2022.

I am a huge advocate of enterprise and self-employment, and employability in a more general sense. I am highly driven towards making a positive contribution to the University embedding such elements into the curriculum.