…ual working has enabled us to maintain contact with our members across the UK, and in many ways even deepen and increase our engagement with the teams within them. We have significantly expanded the networks available to professional and academic staff within our universities, with 25 new networks emerging as a response to the pandemic. We are now regularly facilitating over 30 networks of senior leadership, academic, professional, student and adm…
…met. As the HEPI / Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey highlights, commuter students may end up less satisfied with their experience and be more likely to consider leaving than their on-campus peers. What can universities do to improve this? Isolating factors to work on is a start. In HEPI’s report on ‘commuter students’, Maguire and Morris highlight two factors that universities should take into account when considering commuting studen…
…reparing short video statements outlining why we wished to take on the role, online voting went live. April and I were elected by fellow PhD researchers to represent our social policy cohort. Made up of seven representatives from three strands (Bioscience, Energy and Social Policy), our role is to facilitate a collective voice for researchers at the DTA management level and provide a direct channel for feedback, advocating for positive changes to…
…to ensure they are fully compatible with (and not a hindrance to) digital teaching and learning. Technology companies should work with the higher education sector to improve existing technologies and ensure they are fit for the purpose of digital teaching and learning. Government, local authorities, schools, colleges, and universities should work together to build the digital fluency of students of all ages and ensure they are receiving a fully d…
…role in this process. Not only does it enable flexibility and foster growth, but, as a concept, it allows us to stay ahead of the competition. This isn’t a new phenomenon – for over 20 years, open innovation has been a widely accepted model for driving change and promoting growth. Rather than simply relying on internal knowledge and resources, organisations have been using multiple external sources to inform the development of new products, servic…
…e about future job opportunities, timelines for application, thesis writing, Viva, conferences and networking with other researchers. The end of the second day was marked with a visit to the Royal Pavilion with a guided tour. The Palace was magnificent, and the tour was thoroughly enjoyed. The third day was taken over by the DTA Reps. The day started with rep-led walks along various routes in the local area followed by skill sharing sessions. We h…
…ivate researchers’ self-awareness of the broad range of skills they possess, and, as I found, may even reveal to them that jobs beyond academic research can be just as fulfilling. Now is the time to act PhD funders need to recognise that, with the current financial provision, increasing mental health support services won’t stop the pressures that undermine researcher wellbeing. And the recent announcement of UKRI’s patchy extension packages will d…
…sk Force, the Research & Development (R&D) Road Map consultation, Innovate UK, the BEIS Committee, Science and Technology committee, and the Education Committee. 12. Our core recommendation to government on care leavers, featured in a comment piece in the Guardian, is now the subject of a feasibility study commissioned by OfS. 13. We contributed to the OfS’s review of digital teaching and learning by holding an interactive session with Sir Michael…
…cussion event included introductions from campaign coordinators Beth Button, Head of Communications at University Alliance, and Justin Shaw, Chief Higher Education Consultant at Communications Management –one of our campaign partners. During his slot, Justin emphasised the need for a campaign of this kind, and for the Expert Bank resource, in diversifying the kinds of expertise that are covered in the press and for encouraging academics to engage…
…r-relevant challenges for learning and assessment with input from employers, community groups and service users, using real world environments and simulations to provide work-based learning opportunities. We also share a commitment to try alternative modes of provision (e.g. degree apprenticeships) and to create learning spaces that support student-focused and employer-led education. The focus of the TEA is: To develop students equipped with the s…
