Welcome to the Winter edition of the OVPLT newsletter. As always, it’s been a busy few months for all of the Units and Centres within the OVPLT, which all provides for an interesting read. 

This edition rounds up events and news from our 6 units, the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning, the Centre for Continuing Professional Development, the Centre for Digital Education, the Exam Appeals Unit, the Language Centre and Adult Continuing Education.

OVPLT Winter 2020 Newsletter  

The Skills Centre is a dedicated, active learning space that helps students improve their academic communication, so they can independently discover their own needs and improve their academic work and assessment outcomes, with confidence. Utilising an interactive, student-centred approach that engages collaborative learning and skills development, the Skills Centre team provide a confidential and non-judgmental space for students so they can work towards scholastic improvement in a comfortable environment.  The 2019/20 academic year is the third year of operation for the Centre which has gone from strength to strength.

Welcome to the new edition of the OVPLT eNewsletter. With an introduction from VP; Professor Paul McSweeney, the Summer edition contains news from all the Centres and Units in the OVPLT family. In addition to updates from the office, we welcome new units, say goodbye to retiring staff and congratulate recipients of awards and parchments.

University College Cork is committed to excellence in education and the Teaching Excellence Awards scheme at UCC is the longest-established scheme of its kind in Ireland. These awards recognise staff who have made an outstanding contribution in the pursuit of teaching excellence through innovative and creative forms of teaching, learning and assessment.

The 6th Scenario Forum Symposium was hosted by the University of Hanover in September 2018. The Symposium brought together colleagues from different academic disciplines to discuss – and experience – how performative approaches to teaching and learning can be applied in a range of third-level contexts. In this article Professor Manfred Schewe, Department of German shares the recommendations for promoting a Performative Teaching, Learning and Research Culture in Higher Education. 

Alison Farrell, Senior Lead for Sectoral Engagement with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (‘the National Forum’) will give an information session for staff on 17 April at 1pm-2pm in O’Rahilly Building, room 255:

Applications for the Online Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 2019/2020 are now open until 20th June, 2019.

The upcoming seminar will offer a review of Professor Laurence Malone's Peer Critical Learning, Teaching and Learning methods and povide insights into how PCL can improve online instruction.

The Centre for Digital Education (CDE) is now accepting ‘Digital Badge’ applications. Closing date for submissions is March 22nd.

On 20th March, Dr Helen Kelly from Speech and Hearing Sciences will talk about Clickers in the Classroom - enhancing student engagement.

As part of their work on the TAP (Transforming Assessment Practices in Large Enrolment First Year Education) Erasmus+ Capacity Building Project, CIRTL were delighted to welcome a delegation of senior management representatives from several Palestinian universities and the Accreditation & Quality Committee to UCC in May 2019.