Category: Events and Awards

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Celebrating 10 years of ReCap

Members of the ReCap Team at the Celebrating Success event

The ReCap team were invited to  last week’s Celebrating Success Event in recognition of their fantastic work, in collaboration with staff across the University, over the past 10 years.

Newcastle University has now been involved in lecture and event capture since 2007/08 which was a number of years before the majority of UK HEIs even began to consider the potential benefits of such a service.  From the outset the team involved envisioned a pervasive institutional service that would enhance student experience by providing supportive learning resources for all students and especially those with disability, international students and those whose circumstances make attendance at all lectures problematic. Continue reading “Celebrating 10 years of ReCap”

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The Future of Work: Stimulus Event

Students and staff in the Urban Sciences Building

Be bold, be brave and think about the new possibilities, words from Professor Julie Sanders set the tone for The Future of Work : Stimulus Event held on the 13th June. In an area that often results in fear and uncertainty, with much of the media focussing on loss of jobs as a result of AI developing at an ever increasing speed, it was refreshing to see this topic being tackled from such a positive perspective.

This approach was continued by Professor Suzanne Cholerton who outlined how the new Education Strategy embraced the challenges ahead and aimed to give our students an education for life in a world that we don’t yet know. A focus was placed on the strategy theme,  ‘developing students as the whole person by supporting and preparing them to shape the societies in which they will live and the professions they choose to enter’ and this focus was evident from other speakers throughout the day. An emphasis was placed on developing attributes, and thinking about how our graduates can engage creatively and critically with the digital environment. Continue reading “The Future of Work: Stimulus Event”

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Reflections on the Learning and Teaching Conference

By Ma. Brenda Carbonilla Pancho,  MD, MPH, PGDipMedEd, FHEA Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Student Support, NUMed Malaysia

Brenda Pancho standing in front of her poster presentation
Ma. Brenda Carbonilla Pancho, Associate Professor

The Learning and Teaching Conference covered a range of topics, from broad issues such as the Newcastle University Education Strategy, to more specific topics such as the use of technology to support and enhance learning, approaches that promote active student engagement in the classroom, inclusive learning and other innovative teaching strategies.   I think that because of this, the conference was able to cater to the interests of everyone, from those who set educational policies within the institution, heads of departments who implement educational programmes, those involved in providing academic and other types of support to students, and those involved in teaching.

My own contribution to the conference was a poster entitled ‘Student Support Services at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia’, which was basically an audit of student support services during the Academic Year 2015-2016, the aims of which were to determine the distribution of students seen by Student Support Services, the types of problems affecting these students and the types of support provided, and to make recommendations to improve service provision. Continue reading “Reflections on the Learning and Teaching Conference”

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NUTELA Small Grants Fund: Deadline 1st June 2018

NUTELA logo

The application deadline  for the NUTELA Small Grants Fund is approaching quickly but there is still time to submit an application this academic year.

Key facts about the fund:

  • Funding is available to help you  explore technology-enhanced practices in your learning and teaching.
  • Activities might include; conferences, visits to other institutions, or trialing new software. Other ideas are also welcome.
  • In your application you should identify how you will disseminate ideas among colleagues.
  • Apply for up to £500; this might fully fund or part fund an activity.

Previous successful applicants

This is the first year that the fund has been available but we have already received some successful applications. Read more about the applications from Sonia Bussey and Dr Jo Matthan here:  https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/ltdev/2018/04/27/success-for-nutela-small-grants-fund-applicants/ 

Ready to apply?

You can find full guidance notes and application forms for the fund on this blog post https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/ltdev/2017/01/07/nutela/

If you have any questions get in touch with nutelaops@newcastle.ac.uk

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Conference Summary: Advance HE Surveys 2018

Dr Joe Barton (Representation & Research Coordinator, Newcastle University Students’ Union)

On 9 May, I ventured to Leeds to present at the Surveys 2018 conference, organised by Advance HE (formed from the recent merger of the Higher Education Academy, the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and the Equality Challenge Unit).

As far as I am aware, I was the only representative of a Students’ Union at the conference, and so this was a unique opportunity to promote NUSU’s work and our partnership with the University.

This year’s Surveys conference explored ‘the potential of insight from surveys, metrics, qualitative research and wider methods of capturing the student voice for driving excellence and enhancement within higher education’.

At NUSU, we have been reflecting on similar themes as we prepare our third Teaching Excellence Awards Report. In recent months, we have consulted with staff at the University about the extent to which our TEAs Reports are useful as enhancement tools and what we might do to improve them. These discussions have in turn focused our attention on the methodological and theoretical challenges inherent in dealing with student-led teaching award nomination data.

Continue reading “Conference Summary: Advance HE Surveys 2018”

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The Digital Scholar Webinar

By Laura Delgaty, Senior Lecturer and Chair of NUTELA

Martin Weller,  Professor of Educational Technology at the Open University gave us an excellent update on the digital scholar during a webinar held on 30 April 2018.

Picture of audience participating in The Digital Scholar Webinar
Attendees at The Digital Scholar Webinar

Using Boyer’s model of scholarship  as a framework, he explained that digital scholarship increases student recruitment, engagement and research impact. By addressing scholarship and increasing open resources, we are able to attract different and larger audiences and this in itself can be a valuable research tool and method.  He reviewed some valuable opportunities and threats and highlighted the value of digital scholarship for early career researchers, academics and encouraged collaboration for both staff and students.

Overall, fantastic presentation and  great questions. You can find the recording here

Find out more information about NUTELA

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Success for NUTELA Small Grants Fund applicants

Sonia Bussey and Dr Jo Matthan are the first successful recipients of the NUTELA Small Grants Fund. The fund was set up this academic year with the aim of helping colleagues explore and embed technology-enhanced practices into their learning and teaching.

Sonia  will be using the funds to support her submission to the Three Rivers Conference where she will be delivering a ‘show and tell’ session to introduce delegates to Adobe Connect web-conferencing software as an innovative platform to support student learning at distance.

Joanna is going to be attending the International Conference AMEE to present the results of The Darkside of Technology Enhanced Learning in Medical Education.

“I am delighted to be one of the first applicants to receive a NUTELA small grant. It will allow me to explore technology-enhanced practices utilised elsewhere, disseminate some of the experiences we have gleaned from our project to a wider audience and help evaluate practices that I hope will enhance the overall student experience. The grant is an important statement to those of us on the shop-floor and, on a very practical level, illustrates that Newcastle University values even the small-scale projects we do to promote innovation in technology-enhanced learning and to evaluate the real implications of these innovations for staff and students.”

Dr Jo Matthan, School of Medical Education Continue reading “Success for NUTELA Small Grants Fund applicants”

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Conference blog: Dr Cindy Lee, Newcastle University in Singapore

Written by Dr Cindy Lee, Assistant Professor and Director of Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Newcastle University in Singapore

Dr Cindy Lee, Assistant Professor and Director of Excellence in Learning and Teaching
Dr Cindy Lee, Assistant Professor and Director of Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Welcomed by a drizzle of snow upon my arrival at Newcastle airport, I must say that attending the learning and teaching conference has been a great experience for me. This has been made possible by the travel bursaries provided this year for participants from Singapore and Malaysia. Presenting in the session on “How might a research intensive environment add value to the education of all students at all stages” broadened my horizon on how to enhance the research-informed learning environment for students. Continue reading “Conference blog: Dr Cindy Lee, Newcastle University in Singapore”

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Conference blog: Dr Hassan Karali, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia

Written by Hassan Karali Senior Clinical Lecturer in NUMED, Fellow of UKHEA Consultant in Obs& Gyn, Lead of EJR Women’s Health programme

Newcastle Learning and Teaching conference was a remarkable event. We had glamorous reception and warm welcoming in the cold weather those days.

Dr Hassan Karali in front of the arches
Dr Hassan Karali, Senior Clinical Lecturer, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia

Continue reading “Conference blog: Dr Hassan Karali, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia”

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NUTELA award winners

Newcastle University Technology Enhanced Learning Advocates  (NUTELA) were busy in advance of this year’s Learning and Teaching Conference, reviewing all submissions relating to Technology Enhanced Learning.

Student engagement, transferability to other areas and innovation were all key in the decisions of the group.

Three fantastic winners were selected, each winning funds to further develop or disseminate their project.

Dr Chris Graham and Dr Laura Delgaty
Dr Chris Graham and Dr Laura Delgaty

Continue reading “NUTELA award winners”