About Us

A Decade of Successes 2000-2010

We have chosen ten key successes that illustrate the HLST Network's accomplishments over the last decade.
For more information Download 'A Decade of Successes, 2000-2010' (90kb .doc)

Success Stories from the HEA Subject Centres

The UK Centre for Materials Education has collated a booklet that celebrates the contributions of the HEA Subject Centres to addressing the needs of discipline-based teachers and learner.
'Success Stories from the HEA Subject Centres: Evidence of Impact'
(910kb .pdf)

Testimonials

Below you can find "testimonials" from those who have found value in our work over the years.

"I have been involved in the network from its inception as I became an academic just as it was started. Since then I have used the resources to support my own teaching, I have worked on funded projects to evaluate and disseminate work to others and I have written and supported others to write case studies and LINK articles. The network allows you to learn from others in similar fields and to share your own ideas, the funding allows for innovation and creativity in developing new and different approaches. For the last 3 years I have been the institutional representative for LJMU with the HLST and have shared and disseminated the work of the network with my colleagues as well as enabling LJMU to get involved in the activities on offer. I believe that the network in invaluable both from a subject and teaching and learning perspective. The conference, the workshops and all the resources help us to keep up-to-date and to ensure that we offer our students the best chance possible to both learn and succeed."

Sarah Nixon - Liverpool John Moores University

"As the Chair of the Leisure Studies Association, I have been immensely grateful for the helpful guidance and support HLST has provided the LSA’s members and Executive Committee over the years. Having the HLST network’s resources to hand, and advice an email away, is essential for anyone involved in teaching leisure in any of its various forms. The LSA finds the work of the HLST complements our work, and we will continue to help the HLST to plan for and support the growth of pedagogy, resources, and good practice."

Dr Karl Spracklen - Principal Lecturer in Socio-Cultural Aspects of Sport and Leisure
Chair, Leisure Studies Association
Subject Group Leader, Social Sciences of Sport, Leisure and PE
Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education, Leeds Metropolitan University

"While I was Chair of the Leisure Studies Association I was involved closely in some of the activities of the HLST Network. It provided a crucial forum for different subject associations to meet and discuss important themes and issues. As a result, the ‘subject’ has been strengthened, and its component parts have been enriched in the process.

The various resources provided by the Network continue to be both accessible and of high quality – I know that many of my colleagues (especially those with less experience) have found the Resource Guides invaluable. The Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, the Network’s peer reviewed e-journal, also fills most effectively a significant gap in the pedagogic research / practice market.

All of this (and more) has been achieved through the enthusiasm and dedication of the key personnel involved. Invariably good humoured and ever purposeful, they have gone way beyond the ‘call of duty’. The Network has been a splendid model of efficiency and good practice."

Professor Scott Fleming - Cardiff School of Sport, UWIC

"Since I joined higher education earlier this year at the University of Nottingham, I have found HEAcademy to be an invaluable resource. My role is connected to student employability and I am currently at the initial stages of exploring what sports and leisure opportunities might be suitable for our student employability award, the Nottingham Advantage Award. I wanted to establish whether similar projects existed in other HEIs and what resources might be available.

I have always found that the subject centres are a great way to access all the information I need, so I immediately contacted the HLST network. Patsy provided me with some excellent advice. Taking the time to talk through the project ideas, Patsy then provided me with useful resources, websites, employability profiles, case studies, research, publications and most importantly, HEI colleagues developing similar projects who could share best practice. As a central network, subject centre staff members have current, up to date information about what is happening across H.E, and provide an invaluable central resource. Furthermore, staff show a genuine interest in supporting new projects or ideas and provide tailored, relevant advice. I would highly recommend HLST - thanks for your help Patsy!"

Vicky Mann, Nottingham Advantage Award Co-ordinator
University of Nottingham

"SkillsActive have worked in partnership with the HE Academy HLST Network for a number of years and have found the partnership to be extremely valuable. SkillsActive have been pleased to sit on the HLST Board and contribute to the HLST conference on several occasions. The HLST Network have been active and effective supporters of the development of the Diploma in Sport and Active Leisure for more than 2 years and their help has proved invaluable in engaging HEIs with the process. In addition SkillsActive and the Network have worked together on skills publications and the Network have kindly disseminated skills information from the Sector Skills Council to the HE sector. SkillsActive recognises the excellent work that the Network does in enhancing learning and teaching in higher education and looks forward to continuing the relationship in to the future."

Ben Gittus
Programme Manager for National Standards and Higher Education
SkillsActive

"As the Immediate Past Chair of CAUTHE and a recipient of both university, state and national competitive grants for teaching and learning, I am deeply indebted to the HLST for its role in creating an open market for the exchange of ideas amongst colleagues interested in hospitality, tourism, leisure and sport education across the globe.

I can always rely on the HLST website, and especially LINK, to provide me with a stimulating and thought provoking read on what’s happening at the leading edge in hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism teaching and learning. On many occasions I have been inspired to take the lessons learned from LINK into my own teaching and learning practices. Congratulations to the HLST for 10 great years. Onto the next 10 and even more success."

Paul A Whitelaw
Senior Lecturer in Hospitality Operations
Victoria University, Australia

"The BASES Board appreciate the support that HLST have given to its members over the last 10 years. Members of BASES have benefited from the resources that the Network provides on its website and from funding to support pedagogic research. The Resource Guides have been particularly useful to staff delivering Sport and Exercise Science in Higher Education and additionally HLST also provides an excellent opportunity for BASES members to disseminate their work via JoHLSTe, LINK and Case Study submission. The workshops have proved very popular, and some have been jointly run with BASES, and the HEA HLST conferences have allowed engagement with other like-minded individuals. Through the Subject Association meetings, HLST has allowed BASES to interact and engage with other related Associations on key academic issues.

The HLST Network has provided an excellent support service for our members and the BASES Board would like to thank the Network for all their support."

British Association of Sport and Exercise Science's Board

"The Institute of Hospitality has greatly appreciated the excellent contributions of the HLST to the academic community and its links with professional organisations. Members particularly appreciate the open access of the quality peer-reviewed journal JoHLSTE; the HEA's outreach to organisations such as SPRIG (an organisation for HLST librarians, researchers and academics) and the informative LINK publication which is always an interesting read. The web resources are very well used and provide a specialist resource that is much valued. We look forward to the continuing success of the HLST."

Kathryn Benzine
Director of Professional Development
Institute of Hospitality

"The HLST network has played two important roles for its subject communities over the past ten years. First, it has helped to establish an identity for what were a fairly disparate group of activities. This has provided a much needed platform for making the case for the importance of hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism both within academia and more generally. Secondly by its actions and activities it has proved to be a highly effective resource to help strengthen academic quality and the quality of learning opportunities. Colleagues overseas are very envious of this provision and as a testimony to its usefulness I know that many of them regularly draw upon the Network’s resources.

It is hard now to remember a time when there was no JoHLSTE, no LINK publication, no HLST conferences or no website. But in remembering it takes us back to a time when education and scholarship in these subject areas was far less developed. Let’s hope the Network prospers for the next ten years and the developments continue."

David Airey
Professor of Tourism Management
University of Surrey

"While the primary focus of HLST has been on providing national leadership for hospitality leisure sports and tourism teaching and learning within the UK, it should also be recognised that HLST has also had an international impact on a number of levels.

To begin with, it is an example of a collaborative model which shows that good practice can be shared between willing academics and partner institutions.

Second, it has shown how important it is to have a central co-ordination organisation that can not only recognise existing excellence in a discipline area - but one that also take on a leadership role in further developing that expertise.

Third, it has helped in the development of common teaching and learning resources that can be shared by individual academics and shared across multiple institutions. I am aware that they have not only been used within the British Isles, but that they have also been adopted and adapted by lecturing staff outside of the UK.

Finally, it should be noted that the JoHLSTE journal that the Academy supports, is now recognised as a leading open-access resource accessed by a community of scholars and education practitioners from around the world".

Associate Professor J.S. Perry Hobson, PhD. Southern Cross University (Australia) and Director, International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE).

"Our two professional Institutes together number over 5000 members, and with the encouragement of the Privy Council, we are moving towards forming a Chartered Institute of Sport which we see as a powerful means of strengthening professional standards and behaviour in our sector of the leisure and cultural landscape. Since joining the Advisory Board for the Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network, we want to say how much we value:

• Understanding better moves to improve and sustain standards in HE, steadily advancing over its ten years of operation
• The chance to meet with colleagues in events management, hospitality, leisure, tourism, olympic studies and promotions, and sports science and sports information, and youth work."

Peter Mann, Chair(ISPAL)
Sue Sutton, Chief Executive(ISPAL)

"The Higher Education Academy HLST resources are an invaluable contribution to the higher education community. In 2007, HLST funded the development of an interactive CD to support HLST lecturers teaching enterprise. It consisted of a series of interviews with sports entrepreneurs and associated learning materials. The CD was disseminated by the HLST network to all community departments in higher education institutions, and I am aware that it has recently (2009) been used by some authorities such as Cumbria.

One of the business development managers at Liverpool John Moores University commented:

"I have used the CD repeatedly in lectures. My students relate so much better to this than other interviews from general entrepreneurs as it is specific to sport. The idea is simple and yet ingenious and the whole package is an excellent resources for lectures."

As well as this, pedagogic research and development funding by the network for the project Entrepreneurial Skills and Sports Enterprises has enabled a number of video diaries on student sport entrepreneurs to be used as a resource. These were also presented at a recent UK Enterprise Educators Day in February this year to a regional and international audience.

I consider the HLST network to be central to the architecture of learning and teaching in higher education in these subjects."

Karen Bill, Associate Dean (Research and Income Generation)
University of Wolverhampton

"As institutional subject network representatives we have seen first-hand the very significant and positive impact of the work of the network on the development of assessment, learning and teaching within the network and outside. The network has been uniquely positioned to support practitioners on a number of levels.

Staff new to higher education have benefited from a subject network induction, introducing resources and the work of the network. New staff from Leeds Met have spoken very highly of this aspect of the subject network support.

The network has been an excellent entry point into publications. For some staff a first publication is a daunting prospect; the practice and subject based focus of ‘L INK ’ has made it much easier to encourage new colleagues to ‘have a go’. Often these articles are then developed and submitted to other journals elsewhere including the network’s own excellent JoHLSTE publication. Many staff at Leeds Met and across the network have contributed to and benefited from these outputs.

The network has played an important role as a focal point for subject issues. This has resulted in a series of initiatives such as dissertation workshops, student-voice forums, new staff introductions, sport law days, HE in FE events and many more that have been attended by Leeds Met staff, students and colleagues from other institutions in the network."

Steve Jones and Jeff Abrams
Institutional Representatives: HE Subject Network for Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism