We are  pleased to announce that applications are now open for this year’s  National Seminar Series (2017/2018). The National Seminar series gives many of those working in higher education the opportunity to connect with colleagues throughout the sector and to focus on shared interests in both the research and practice of teaching and learning enhancement. The series also creates opportunities to hear from national and international experts in different areas of teaching and learning. Details from previous NSS seminars (2013-2017) are available on the National Forum website, including details on how to follow up with organisers, links to seminar recordings and other available resources.

This year‚ the seminar series will have two funding streams.

Applications for the this call are now closed (12 October 2017)

Funding Stream 1

Assessment OF/FOR and AS Learning

The National Forum’s current enhancement theme which is: Assessment OF, FOR and AS Learning  has been extended to December 2018 to continue the debate on the challenges, tensions, balances in these purposes of assessment. This funding stream will support seminars that enable the ongoing discussions across the sector in relation to assessment to continue.   In particular, it will support conversations around:

  • work-based assessment
  • students as partners in assessment
  • programme approaches to assessment.

Useful resources to support these conversations include:  A new resource on programme approaches to enhancing assessment and feedback (This will be available in full on the NF website and also through a dedicated web space (https://tinyurl.com/NFprogramme) from July 2017).

Publications

National Forum Insights:

Funding Stream 2

Building Capacity through Professional Development

Following the publication of the National Professional Development Framework for all those who teach in Higher Education the National Forum has continued to work in partnership with the Professional Development Expert Advisory Group on 22 PD national pilot studies across the higher education sector, and on the development of a National PD Recognition Framework.  A dedicated PD Portal on the National Forum website which will comprise a range of resources for the sector, will be launched in September 2017.  In order to support the continued implementation of the Professional Development Framework across the sector, this funding stream will support seminars that enable:

  • middle and senior management to become familiar with the professional development framework in order to make informed, forward-thinking decisions about T&L in their HEIs
  • discipline/programme teams to use the framework to identify training needs and goals as a means to develop staff capacity for change
  • networking and peer learning opportunities guided by the framework for those who are engaged in their own continuous professional development.

It is anticipated that the National Seminar Series 2017/2018 will include up to 30 seminars.  Funded seminars will reflect the broad range of issues associated with assessment OF, FOR and AS learning and building capacity through professional development. In the case of multiple submissions that deal with similar topics, we will fund the submission that best meets the application criteria. We look forward to seminars that give those involved in higher education the space and opportunity to continue to meet and discuss with colleagues across the country. Note that only submissions that meet the application criteria identified below will be considered for funding.

To submit an application for the 2017/2018 national seminar series, please click on the application button below.

The form is also available as a word document. If you are submitting your application as a word document please email it to info@teachingandlearning.ie.

Microsoft Word version of the National Seminar Series Application Form

Please direct any queries to info@teachingandlearning.ie with the subject line, National Seminar Series 2017/18.

Key Dates

Thursday 12th October  Online applications due

Thursday 19th October   Applicants will be informed if their application is successful

TBC: Formal launch event for the National Seminar Series 2017/2018

November 1st – June 30th: National Seminar Series 2017/2018

All seminars will be publicised on our website and through our social media channels. Given the number of seminars hosted, it can be a challenge to manage changes of dates on our website and through our social media communication schedule. For this reason we ask all applicants to submit their dates/times so that we can effectively promote the seminars and so that those interested are able to make arrangements to attend seminars. We will attempt to make your first choice for time/date available but you may be asked to change your date if there are multiple seminars scheduled for that day.

Eligibility

The following are the eligibility criteria for the National Seminar Series 2017/2018:

  • Applicants must be a staff member at an institution associated with the National Forum (see here if your institution is eligible https://teachingandlearning.ie/contact-2/key-contacts)
  • Applications must have the acknowledged support of an eligible institution
  • Applicants must be in a position to host a seminar between November 1st 2017 and June 30th 2018
  • Applicants must agree to gather participant feedback and return it to the National Forum. Feedback can be gathered through the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NSS201718 or using the template provided by the National Forum
  • Applicants agree to submit a report for publication on the National Forum website

Selection criteria:

Relevance to the theme of Assessment OF, FOR and AS learning or Professional Development

  • Does the seminar relate explicitly to the theme?
  • Does the seminar encourage debate within or across key aspects detailed above?

National significance of seminar

  • Is the seminar of interest to participants outside the host institution and how will the organisers actively ensure that cross sector participation will be achieved?

PLEASE NOTE Applications for National Seminars aimed only at staff within a single institution will be considered on a case by case basis.  Please ensure the justification section is completed on the application form.

Quality of submission

  • Is the submission complete?
  • Are the seminar‚ content and learning outcomes informed by the ongoing developments in teaching and learning in higher education?

Funding

Each seminar will receive up to €1000 to cover costs which may include paying for a guest speaker, catering costs, printing of promotional materials, marketing, printing of resource packs for your event, travel/subsistence costs for participants, costs associated with recording the event.

Funding cannot be used to purchase equipment or to buy out time from lecturers/staff employed at the hosting institution.

Where a seminar is collaboratively organised by more than one institution, one lead institution must be clearly identified. This institution will be responsible for managing the funding.

Funding can only be transferred to an institution associated with the National Forum (see here if your institution is eligible https://teachingandlearning.ie/contact-2/key-contacts.

A condition of funding is that all hosts must submit a report that will go on the Forum website and that participant feedback will be gathered. The template, for both, will be provided by the Forum.

If you have streaming/recording costs that cannot be covered by the €1000 you can request a supplement to cover the costs of streaming/recording.  A full quotation is required for any additional funding for streaming/recording.

Please ensure that the material in any recording of a national seminar meets all copyright requirements for subsequent hosting on the T&L website.