Thank you to everyone who got involved in the ERDP Launch Event in March. The event was very productive with 46 L&T staff, representing all four Teaching Schools and a few of the Institutes, participating in interactive activities to stimulate conversation and generate ideas for ERDP.

We were joined by Professor Simon Lancaster, a National Teaching Fellow from the University of East Anglia, who led a session that challenged us all to get to grips with Twitter (follow the thread for the event: https://storify.com/S_J_Lancaster/faculty-of-medical-sciences-newcastle) and the concept of the flipped classroom. Lively discussion moved from the pros and cons of lecture capture to the concept that students generating their own vignettes results in improved constructive peer critique to the revelation that there is evidence that student module evaluations are systematically biased against women!

There were lots of ideas generated in the World Café session that will help us shape the ERDP into something that L&T staff want. You want information and support. To this end, over the next few months we’ll be looking to:

• collect baseline data about our constituency and what educational research is happening in the Faculty and sharing it with you
• expand the number of resources on our internal website
• establish a social media strategy
• promote networking and collaboration opportunities
• raise awareness of the University promotion process
• promote training opportunities

Tackling a wish list that includes adding extra hours to the day is a tall order but the ERDP is well placed to raise the issue of L&T staff having dedicated research time with University management and sees this as a long term strategic aim.

The notes from the event can be found on our internal webpage. Keep an eye out for our mailing list messages to see what new initiatives we’ll be putting in place.

We hope you gained something from the event and made some new contacts.

Organising team: Vanessa Armstrong, Sarah Harvey, Susanne Lewis, Steve McHanwell, Helen St Clair Thompson, Luisa Wakeling.