This blog describes research involving the University’s Hospitality and Accommodation Services and Birmingham researchers from the EPSRC-funded iBUILD project, into a process aimed at satisfying students desire to live sustainably on campus, while at the same time capturing as wide a range of value for all stakeholders as possible. Looking back through The Big Conversation’s … Continue reading “A systems-thinking approach to developing education at University of Birmingham. By Chris Bouch and Matt Beveridge”
Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences: The Way Forward? (Diana Spencer and the LANS team)
The Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences (LANS) message is simple: come to Birmingham, where our research breadth becomes your learning depth. But one of the hardest things to characterise and quantify is where the points of intersection between academic and undergraduate research lie. Research is exciting and challenging because it requires the identification of original, significant, messy questions, and … Continue reading “Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences: The Way Forward? (Diana Spencer and the LANS team)”
The Big Conversation: Some ideas gathered from Library Services staff (March 2017)
We anticipate continued development of Birmingham’s diverse and global educational portfolio including: ‘virtual courses’, an array of blended opportunities, part-time and full-time study, short courses and lifelong learning and leisure learning activities. A more ‘pick and mix’ approach to degree content and methods / timing of delivery could emerge from the marketization of HE. The … Continue reading “The Big Conversation: Some ideas gathered from Library Services staff (March 2017)”
Who will be studying for postgraduate degrees in the arts and humanities in 2026? (Josh Allen)
As Postgraduate Student Experience Officer in the College of Arts and Law (CAL) I enjoy challenging people’s perceptions of the students that I work with. My favourite opening gambit is a single statistic: “Did you know [I pause for a fraction of a second] that around sixty five percent of people beginning a masters degree … Continue reading “Who will be studying for postgraduate degrees in the arts and humanities in 2026? (Josh Allen)”
Research-Intensive Teaching: the way forward? (Ella Mortlock)
As a Russell Group University, we frequently define ourselves by the quality of our research. But how often do we pride ourselves in the quality of our research-intensive teaching? You may have read Caroline Hetherington’s recent blog post highlighting the student perspective on research-intensive teaching. She reflects on how little exposure or connection to research … Continue reading “Research-Intensive Teaching: the way forward? (Ella Mortlock)”
Big ideas: radical ways to reshape UK engineering education. By Peter Finegold, Head of Education and Skills at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The UK is not producing enough engineers or engineering technicians, and those it is producing are typically from a strikingly narrow stratum of society. Not only do we need more engineers, we require a greater diversity of people to become engineers. We also need to help the general public become confident enough to engage with … Continue reading “Big ideas: radical ways to reshape UK engineering education. By Peter Finegold, Head of Education and Skills at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers”
2026: Doomsday for the Arts? Danielle Blackburn
First of all, I want to say that I am a proud alumni of the University of Birmingham with a first-class degree in Drama and Theatre Arts, and I’m the first person in my family to have attended University. I currently look after the marketing and events activities of the School of Languages, Cultures, Art … Continue reading “2026: Doomsday for the Arts? Danielle Blackburn”
How can we shape and design a curriculum to help future proof our graduates in the next 10+ years? A rapidly changing job market means we need to help prepare students for jobs which don’t yet exist. (Helen Hook)
As a parent, I ask myself this very question…if I could influence change which could impact my own daughter’s future experience of Higher Education, what would I deem to be essential? What experiences could help provide a smoother transition into the labour market and help her become adaptable and resilient in today’s ever changing, global … Continue reading “How can we shape and design a curriculum to help future proof our graduates in the next 10+ years? A rapidly changing job market means we need to help prepare students for jobs which don’t yet exist. (Helen Hook)”
Research-led teaching? (Student Discussion in CoSS – Caroline Hetherington)
At one of our Big Conversation events, we picked out some areas which at Birmingham we think are important to the student experience and asked our students whether that rings true for them. One topic that really got people talking was research-led teaching. As a Birmingham alumna who took a keen interest in the research … Continue reading “Research-led teaching? (Student Discussion in CoSS – Caroline Hetherington)”
Part-Time, Full-Time, All-the-Time… (Charlotte Hempel)
I was delighted to overhear another big conversation about serving part-time as a senior member of the judiciary recently. In my role as Director of the Arts and Law Graduate School I spend a lot of my time thinking about how we can support Part-Time Researchers. The Part-Time route to completing a research degree is … Continue reading “Part-Time, Full-Time, All-the-Time… (Charlotte Hempel)”