Reflecting on the Learning and Teaching Conference

By Vicky Florence - 07 November 2022

Following the recent Learning and Teaching Conference, we catch up with Professor Lynn Kilbride, Vice Principal Academic Development & Student Experience, who shares some insight from the event.

What was the aim of the Learning and Teaching conference?

Over the last year we have progressed from an all-virtual teaching approach, to blended learning and, in some instances, hybrid teaching. We have needed further innovation and as always, our teams have worked with the challenges to develop creative, and effective solutions so our students continue to have an excellent learning experience. The conference was our opportunity to celebrate those innovations and to start focusing on some key areas for enhancement for the university, sharing best practice across our community.

What were some of your key takeaways from the event?

The keynote speech from Dr Stefanie Sinclair, Academic Lead for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at The Open University, ‘Making a difference: Enhancing the impact of the scholarship of teaching and learning’, gave some real insights into researching with, and for, students and their experience at university. The Open University is a multi-faceted organisation, and it was enlightening to hear her perspective on collaboration to achieve research in scholarship of teaching and learning.

The other main theme I took from the conference was the interconnectivities between the work that people are doing across RGU. Additionally, we have seen the best range of academics and support services at the LTC than we have ever seen before, giving more people the chance to share successes and resources. For example, Study Skills has changed so much, I don't think people appreciated how much they offer now and where they could signpost students.

What did delegates get from the conference?

The LTC was a great chance for everyone - academics, support staff and students, to connect from different disciplines and hear their research, practices, and work. It was an ideal opportunity for networking with many positive interactions from attendees, who despite is being a challenging time of year, appreciated the chance to be there and learn from each other.

What happens next?

Enhancing for impact is something we do all year round and the conference was also an opportunity to engage our community on the Enhancing for Impact Project Award, which supports colleagues and students seeking to enhance future experience at RGU. Applications are invited from individuals or teams of colleagues and/or students (staff or student-led) for funding of up to £1,000 per project, linked to the current Enhancement Theme, Resilient Learning Communities.