Student Engagement: a catalyst for transformative change: Conference Proceedings

Student Engagement: a catalyst for transformative changeConference Proceedings 2013. Foreword. I am very pleased to present a selection of edited papers from the Conference, ‘Student Engagement: a catalyst for transformative change’, held at the Jordanstown Campus of the University of Ulster, 24 January 2013. The objectives of the conference were to:•Foster a culture that places students at the ‘heart of the system’;•Develop an understanding of what we mean by student engagement;•Initiate dialogue between students and staff to enhance the student experience;•Consult on an evolving Ulster model of partnership between students and staff which promotes a collaborative approach to the design of the learning experience; •Share best practices in student engagement for learning policies and governance in higher education.Sub-themes for the conference included the following:•Student-staff partnerships;•Research-informed teaching;•Students as researchers;•Students as peer mentors;•Creative approaches to assessment and feedback;•Student transition.The timing of this conference, in the consultation year of development of the new Ulster Learning & Teaching Strategy, provided a valuable opportunity for the sharing of current thinking on processes and practices in learning and teaching in higher education and in particular to consult on an emerging theme of ‘students as partners’. In addition, a notable feature of this conference was that the keynotes and many of the parallel sessions were co-presented by staff and students. This collaborative approach proved extremely useful in stimulating a more inclusive debate on what student engagement means at Ulster and provided an impetus to move forward with the ‘students as partners’ agenda. The feedback received during the conference from staff and students was carefully considered and has contributed to the formulation of the new Learning and Teaching Strategy (2013/14 – 2017/18), in particular Strategic Aim 2.To provide transformative, high quality, learning experiences through the promotion of meaningful staff student partnerships that engender a shared responsibility.The contributions collected together for this publication reflect the broad range of themes addressed in the conference and offer insights into current issues and practice in learning and teaching.I am particularly grateful to our keynote speakers who brought their specialist knowledge to our conference, adding considerably to the interest of our discussions, and in particular to Professor Stuart Brand, Birmingham City University, who has agreed to our publication of his contribution.In addition, I would also like to thank all the other conference speakers who submitted their papers for publication, enabling us to put together an interesting and varied representation of the conference as a whole.I hope that you will enjoy reading the papers and will find much to stimulate thought and reflection as well as new approaches, processes and practices in our joint pursuit to foster partnerships which act as a catalyst for a transformative higher education experience.Roisín CurranChair, Conference Organising Committee and Student Engagement Strategic Work Stream