After a year of getting used to my current role as lecturer and programme leader, Edinburgh Napier supported me through their Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning for Higher Education (2008-2010). This is my professional qualification, it makes me official and gains me the fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. I think it's important for teaching staff to give themselves the opportunity to discuss and explore some of the themes and topics covered in the Pg Cert; it's too easy to get complacent.
I've now posted my final project, the 'professional study', on this site here. It runs to some 10,000 words, twice the length it should have been, so here are some highlights and sections from the text:
- The idea was to reflect on the benefits of carrying out industry-based research, particularly its influence on curriculum design.
- Three themes run through the work:
- the embedding of employability within the curriculum.
- the identification of employers?? expectations towards higher education and HEIs?? responses to those expectations.
- the purpose of event management programmes, including an initial review of Edinburgh Napier??s provision and its links to the local industry.
- Sources referred to include QAA benchmarks (pdf), People 1st, the Dearing Report and a range of academic sources from the fields of event management and tourism.
- Some limited benchmarking is included, looking at Edinburgh Napier alongside Queen Margaret University, Glasgow Caledonian University, Robert Gordon University and Leeds Metropolitan University. I hope that each institution is fairly represented (given the limited data I used for the comparison in 2009-2010) and positively assessed. All comments are welcome below!
I'll finish this post by repeating the final paragraph of the report:
Events Management is a young area of academic interest but it has established itself quickly as an important ally to the industry: generating knowledge and understanding; identifying a strong and committed student body; while selecting and applying relevant theoretical work from other disciplines. Edinburgh is a festival city of global standing which will continue to attract students keen to gain skills and knowledge in the field of festival and event management. Ongoing research is important to continue this work and promote the interests of both specific institutions in the local environment, and the HE sector in general.
(The full paper can be read and downloaded here.)