Here at NUS Wales, we wanted to highlight some projects planned to encourage Best Practice in Student Participation- they're both great projects and are sure to encourage active student engagement & student accreditation and employability, respectively.
Student-Led Teaching Awards
20 October 2011 –Carlton Hotel, Edinburgh
NUS and the Higher Education Academy are rolling out a series of pilots following a successful trial in Scotland last year to encourage students unions to organise student-led teaching awards and therefore celebrate best practice in teaching.
This event, organised in partnership by the Higher Education Academy and NUS Scotland, will focus on the themes emerging from the successful two-year pilot student-led teaching awards (SLTA) initiative in Scotland, which have been brought together in the partnership’s report, “Lessons from the Student-Led Teaching Awards”. Launched at this event, the report highlights student perceptions of learning and themes emerging from the pilot project which attracted 11,000 student nominations across the 13 participating institutions.
It is evident that the SLTA project and the individual schemes have multi-benefits, providing a unique opportunity to explore the perception, function, and value of teaching delivery amongst the wider student body.
This summit will provide a much-needed platform for all stakeholders to engage in focused discussion on HE provision and engagement. Aimed at student officers and association/union staff members, teaching staff, senior managers and academic development practitioners, it will encourage follow-on debate and discussion on delegates’ return to campus The event offers plenary and workshop content that is suited to institutions with and without existing schemes. There will also be a briefing on the upcoming UK-wide SLTA project with information on how to get involved, and the continuation of local support.
Delegates will:
• explore the start-up, development, and impact of SLTAs at your institution;
• review and share the best use of student feedback and active student engagement;
• discuss the role of students in promoting, highlighting and contributing to excellence in teaching practice;
• share best practice across institutions and representatives; explore the role of positive partnerships in academic development.
For more information and to book a place and/or contact: Debbie.mcvitty@nus.org.uk
Student Skills Awards – ON GOING
This is a project to get volunteers within unions to obtain accreditation and therefore have their work formally recognised and the transferrable skills they gain quantified. Four Unions in Wales have been selected to take part in the pilot and they are:
• Trinity Saint David
• Swansea University
• Aberystwyth University
• Cardiff University