The University’s Learning & Teaching Conference is an annual opportunity to reflect on learning and teaching, as well as to envisage the future of learning and teaching. It offers a chance for a large group of University staff and students to share good practice and ideas in a collegial, supportive and stimulating environment. We hope this year’s conference will be another exciting event, with the theme of the conference being ‘Curriculum Futures’. This will be a chance to explore how we think about the curriculum, and how our values, disciplinary expertise and ultimate goals of higher education can influence and reimagine the curriculum. The Conference will be opened on Tuesday 16 June by the Principal, Professor Peter Mathieson, and we are excited to have keynote presentations from Professor Sian Bayne The near future of teaching (and who gets to define it), and from Professor Colm Harmon Curriculum review, curriculum reform and the Covid pivot. At the time of writing, 422 people have already registered to join us for the opening talk and keynote presentations, and we would love to reach our maximum capacity of 500.
In April we made the decision to move the whole conference online. Instead of 500 people being in the McEwan Hall for one day with a packed programme of presentations, we have moved to planning an event for hundreds of people comprising four days of online learning and teaching presentations within Blackboard Collaborate. We have been very impressed by and grateful for colleagues’ willingness to move their conference presentations online, and almost all our original presenters have adapted their existing plans to offer an amazing programme of talks, workshops and interactive events. The Conference will take place on Tuesday 16, Thursday 18, Tuesday 23 and Thursday 25 June 2020. There are still a few places left for some sessions, and all staff and students are welcome.
For more information please go to the Conference web pages.
It is likely the Conference will feel different to people this year, not least because you will need to provide your own catering, rather than enjoying the University catering. However, we are offering networking opportunities in Collaborate over lunchtimes, where we hope you will still be able to catch up with colleagues and meet new people. Being online has also enabled us to have more people attending sessions where previously room capacities would have reduced the number of participants. Perhaps most exciting, is the rich variety of sessions offered by colleagues and their creativity and adaptability in embracing the possibilities of an online conference. As well as papers and workshops, each College has curated a series of 10 minute lightning talks that showcase good learning and teaching work from within their College, and posters will be shared on the website. Even if you cannot be there on all four days, the flexibility offered by the online medium, means that you can select just to attend a couple of sessions. Whether you can attend one or many sessions, we look forward to welcoming you to this important event.
Photographer: Allan Bovill