Douglas was born in Scotland, educated at Edinburgh University, and lectured on the Jordanstown campus of the University of Ulster (UU) from 1975 to 2012. After his retirement, he became an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool, working on the development of teaching materials for international students. He has published in the fields of computerassisted learning and health economics; his text, "Valuing Health in Practice" (Routledge (2002)) is based on his PhD, and on his experience developing the Irish Centre for Pharmacoeoconomics in Dublin. He is also an Honorary Member of ASET, the UK universities professional placement association. His interest in teaching international students was stimulated by his involvement (2010 - 2012) with the UU Business School programmes at UU's Birmingham and London Campuses, and by his Senior Teaching Fellowship at Heriot-Watt University (2013-2014), when he taught MBA students in Dubai, Edinburgh, and Kuala Lumpur. In September 2014 he worked with students from the South China Agricultural University to support their entry to the final year of the UU BSc Business Economics degree.