Just a quick post to confirm that I have landed in my new post at the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. The National Forum office is located upstairs in the Royal Irish Academy building in the centre of Dublin. I live near Galway in the west of Ireland, so I plan to spend two days each week at the National Forum office and otherwise work from home (or wherever the work is happening).
If you are reading this and you learn, teach, support staff or students, develop policy and/or lead in Irish higher education, I invite you to join the consultation process regarding the strategy for higher education that is currently underway (link below):
The National Forum is currently developing its strategy to the end of 2021. This strategy will determine where our resources and attention are focused over the next three years. The work arising from the strategy will inform teaching and learning policy and practice in the years to come.
It is crucial that our strategy is informed by those who learn, teach, lead, develop policy or shape practice in Irish higher education. The strategy will focus on four key priorities: professional development of those who teach; teaching and learning within the disciplines; teaching and learning in a digital world; and enabling student success.
This is important and exciting work. The consultation will be open until November 30th — still plenty of time to add your views.
My first task at the National Forum will be working with a small team to coordinate this consultation exercise and then to analyse the results, draft a strategy, and partner with colleagues throughout higher education –staff and students– to take this work forward. I look forward to speaking with many students and staff in Irish higher education during and after the consultation process. Please feel free to get in touch any time at catherine.cronin [at] teachingandlearning.ie.
If you are not in Ireland and you are engaged in policy or strategy work with respect to learning and teaching in higher education, we may have talked already. If not, I hope that we will soon. Please feel free to get in touch to share examples or initiatives that you feel we should be aware of… I am interested in engaging with others who are working at institutional, sectoral and/or national levels to craft policy in relation to teaching and learning.
Finally, a note of thanks to my lovely colleagues at the National Forum who made my first week so welcoming and not-boring-at-all 😉 Many thanks Terry, BláithÃn, Eileen, Colin, Roisin, Simon, Elaine, Lee, Laura, Mairéad, Karolyn and Dale. Thank you!
Good luck in your new endeavor! I expect to see several T&L strategies offering specific methods that foster immersive learning experiences for our Gen Z students.
Many thanks, Bernie! With your experience and perspectives, your feedback in the online consultation process will be invaluable. Please also share with your colleagues, and anyone else who might be willing to provide feedback. If there’s any way I can support the process at LIT, please let me know.
We also have a specific Student Consultation process, co-ordinated by the National Forum’s two student interns. You should find the student information on the site by tomorrow. Please do share with your students — their representation in the strategy is vitally important.
Thanks Bernie!