Keynote - tensions in collaboration in a changing landscape
The UK education sector is changing rapidly and is facing a range of challenges which include pressures on budgets, competition from commercial and overseas providers and responding to and acting upon student expectations. Digital inclusion is going to be vital to ensure a quality experience for all students on campus, on placement and at partner organisations.
To address these challenges the sector must be active on a number of fronts: it should strive to understand and meet student expectations and respond to their needs. It needs to look at implementing service models that are both efficient and user friendly and making appropriate use of shared services, cloud solutions and commercial providers. Our students will expect equality of service across an institution and, where this enhances the student experience, partnerships between institutions.
The changing landscape will require institutions to become more efficient Digital Organisations through the review of their workflows and processes, particularly in relation to the curriculum. This can embrace curriculum delivery methods, ensuring that the right solutions are chosen and used. In turn, this can lead to wide reaching changes in curriculum design, but only if the organisation and its staff recognise and act upon the need for change and develop the capabilities to put these changes in place.
To support the achievement of these aims, the JISC has developed a highly successful community model, building partnerships based on sharing approaches and understanding. The sector needs to continue these partnerships, expand them, and build capacity, using existing resources. We need to work collectively to define problems and identify suitable, shared solutions.
However, we are entering a period of greater competition between institutions, how are we going to resolve this competitive tension to work together to shape a more forward-looking curriculum?
Presenter
Bill Rammell
Bill Rammell is a French graduate from Cardiff University. He built a successful career in public sector management and between 1987 and 1997 was Head of Youth Services with Basildon Council, General Manager of Kings College London Students' Union, and General Manager of the University of London Union. Bill was elected as the Member of Parliament for Harlow in 1997, and spent eight years serving in Government as Minister of State at the Foreign Office, where he was responsible for relations with North and South East Asia and the Middle East, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, and Minister of State for Further and Higher Education. In the latter role Bill was responsible for implementing the current fees regime, and leading the Prime Minister’s Initiative for the globalisation of higher education. Bill was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Plymouth University in February this year, responsible for the student experience and internationalisation.
Facilitator
Neil Witt
Dr Neil Witt is Associate Professor, Head of Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Plymouth. His role is to lead the further development and enhancement of Technology Enhanced Learning and blended learning across the university together with related pedagogic research, in support of the university's teaching, learning and enterprise agendas. He has lead a range of elearning related projects over the last 15 years, specialising in
IPR, accessibility, the use of Web2.0 and open access repositories.
