On 25 October, eight of the initiative teams funded through the 2018 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund took part in open forum presentations facilitated by a panel of international experts. All initiatives were reviewed by panel members who provided constructive feedback and guidance to T&L Initiative teams and, where appropriate, recommendations to be considered to further develop and implement their workplan.
Of the 16 initiatives funded through the 2018 call, eight took part in reviews in June 2019 and this October review concludes this review of the final eight initiative teams. Initiative teams taking part in the October review represent higher education institutions across the country, with lead institutions including Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, NUI Galway, University College Cork, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Waterford Institute of Technology and Mary Immaculate College.
The enhancement initiatives were reviewed by an international panel comprising:
- Christian Tauch, Head of the Education Department of the German Rectors’ Conference
- Teun Dekker, Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences Education at University College Maastricht
- Diane Schmitt, Senior Lecturer in EFL/TESOL, Nottingham Trent University
- Thérèse Zhang, Deputy Director for Higher Education Policy, European University Association
- Kevin McStravock, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Union of Students in Ireland (USI)
The objectives and priorities of the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund reflect and support the enhancement and transformation agenda that is being pursued at both a national and a European level. The 16 funded initiatives selected for funding in 2018 focus their teaching and learning enhancement initiatives across the four strategic priorities of the National Forum, including the professional development of all those who teach, teaching and learning in a digital world, teaching and learning enhancement within and across disciplines, and student success. The fund enables strong sectoral collaboration, partnerships with other education providers or external stakeholders and institutional enhancement for maximum national impact and builds on and develops the completed and ongoing work from earlier phases of enhancement funding.
The 2018 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund is the 4th phase of the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund and maintains its focus on collaboration for national impact while also enabling capacity building at a local level. More information on each of the initiatives is available here. Recordings of all presentations made on the day will be available soon. The next review stage for the 2018 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund will take place in February 2020.
