Academy Update - December 2011
This is a regular bulletin from the Higher Education Academy about our activities, services, resources and publications, funding opportunities and forthcoming events.
News
1. HEA launches revised UK Professional Standards Framework on behalf of the sector
The HEA has revised the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) after extensive consultation with the sector.
2. HEA launches International Scholarship Scheme
The HEA has launched its International Scholarship Scheme, providing grants to allow individuals to undertake specific investigations focused on learning and teaching on behalf of the HEA outside the UK. Following their international work, the successful grant holders will deliver their outcomes, which will be disseminated across UK higher education to enhance the student learning experience.
3. First new HEA learning and teaching summit held
The HEA hosted the first of its new learning and teaching summits which brought together experts from across the sector to discuss themes which impact on learning and teaching.
4. Call for session submissions for HEA Annual Conference 2012
Submissions are invited for our 2012 conference which will be held on 3-4 July 2012 in Manchester. The title of the conference is ’Great expectations: Are you ready?’ with three main sub-themes of great expectations of students, great expectations of staff and great expectations of institutions.
5. National Teaching Fellowship Scheme awards event held
Fifty-five new National Teaching Fellows, from across England and Wales, officially received their awards at a ceremony at Middle Temple Hall in London on Wednesday 5 October 2011. Six academics from Wales were awarded fellowships in Wales’ first year of participation in the scheme.
6. Final call to participate in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2012
The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) will run in higher education institutions between February and June 2012. It is the only national survey that collects feedback on the views and experience of postgraduate taught students from across the UK. The closing date for the call is Monday 5 December 2011.
7. Call for the HEA discipline-focused workshop and seminar series 2011-12
Higher education institutions across the UK are invited to partner with the HEA through its upcoming workshop and seminar series. Institutions are invited to submit a proposal to host and deliver a workshop or seminar on the theme of teaching and learning in a discipline context. An additional £500 is also available to cover speaker expenses.
8. Calls now open for thematic change programmes
Calls are now open for submissions to two new HEA thematic change programmes. Institutions are invited to submit proposals to join the following two schemes:
representing and recording student achievement, and assessment and feedback.
The deadline for both calls is 14 December 2011.
9. Presentations on learning and teaching by Professor Craig Mahoney
Chief Executive of the HEA, Professor Craig Mahoney, was invited to speak about learning and teaching in higher education at events both across the UK and further afield. Key recent speeches include keynote presentations at the University of Sunderland’s learning enhancement conference on 19 October 2011 and the International lifelong learning conference in Spain on 8 November 2011. Professor Mahoney also spoke on ‘why teaching matters in higher education' at the University of Southern Queensland on 21 November 2011.
Publications, resources and funding
10. HEA Change Programmes 2011-12
Building on the success of the Change Academy programme, in 2011-12 the HEA is expanding its offering of change programmes across a range of themes and disciplines. A guide to our 2011-12 Change Programmes is now available to download from our website.
11. Next round of teaching development grants opens 3 January 2012
There are two separate calls for individuals grant scheme bids. Bids are invited from anyone responsible for the student learning experience who is working in higher education institutions in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or England that subscribe to the Higher Education Academy.
Events
12. UKPSF Post Launch Workshop – 15 December 2011 in London and 12 January 2012 in Birmingham
The revised UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) was launched on 2 November this year and is designed to help HEIs seeking to enhance the learning experience of their students by improving the quality of their teaching and learning support. This event will introduce and explain the revised framework and explore how it can help you to perform your role.
This event will publicise two volumes of case studies of teaching in the social sciences on Islamic Studies and improve understanding of social sciences contribution to understanding key contemporary issues relating to Islam and Muslims in Britain and across the globe.
14. Learning in law annual conference, 3-4 February 2012, University of Warwick
The 2012 Learning in Law Annual Conference (LILAC) will include a keynote speech by Malcolm Tight, Professor of Higher Education at Lancaster University. A full programme of events, speakers and parallel sessions will be released soon.
15. Islamic Studies Network PhD workshop, 8-9 February 2012, Birmingham
The Islamic Studies Network is organising a two-day residential event for PhD students in Islamic Studies and related disciplines. There will be approximately 25 places available for the event.
This two-day residential conference builds on the success of the Retention Convention held in March 2010. It will provide keynote addresses from leading experts, findings from individual projects and from the programme as a whole.
17. STEM Annual Conference 2012, 12-13 Apr 2012, London
This is the HEA’s first annual learning and teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) conference and is being held at Imperial College London, one of the world's leading centres of excellence for teaching and research in the fields of science, technology and medicine.
18. Inaugural Future Directions conference, 26 April 2012, Glyndwr University
This is Wales’ first national learning and teaching conference. The main focus will be to showcase the first Wales-wide quality enhancement theme, Graduates for Our Future, and its three work strands: students as partners; learning in employment; and learning for employment.
