Launch of the #IUADigEd project
Since our project launch last week at the end of #WCOL2019, a number of people have been in touch to ask about accessing the slides from the event. While we are working on a project site to share more information, I thought I’d write a quick post to share some items from the event.
Jim Miley, IUA Director General, was MC during the afternoon, and Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, President of NUI Galway, opened the event.
Pilot Activities
Pilot activities have been ongoing in each of the seven IUA universities since mid-September. To showcase the work that has been undertaken by the project team, each university contributed a digital slide.
Keynotes
Keynote speakers included Prof Beverley Oliver (@ProfBevOliver), Dr Andreia Inamorato dos Santos (@aisantos), and myself.
Beverley’s keynote was titled Better Credentials to prepare industry for the future of work and she made three very clear points:
- Our (university) staff are students too
- We (universities) are employers and we are an industry
- Micro-credentials might help us prepare ourselves for the future of work
I then gave an overview of the project. The presentation is here:
I also shared a video, where the project steering group members describe how the project supports the strategic goals of each of the participating universities.
Andreia’s keynote was titled DigCompEdu & OpenEdu & IUA: Finding the synergies between these frameworks to enhance teaching practices in higher education.
The three keynote presentations can be downloaded directly from the IUA event site.
Panel
The panel discussion was chaired by Dr Terry Maguire, director of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Members of the panel included: Orla Nugent, Deputy Chief Executive & Head of System Funding & Performance at the HEA; Michael Gaebel, Director of Higher Education Policy, EUA; Claire McGee, Head of Education & Innovation Policy, Ibec; and Kevin McStravock, VP Academic Affairs, USI.
VConnecting
Thanks to Kate Molloy, project team member at NUI Galway, we were also able to bring the launch to a global audience. Virtual buddy was Helen DeWaard (@hj_dewaard). More information is on the VConnecting site.
Thanks to
Finally, there are a few people that I’d really like to thank for making the launch event such a success. Huge thanks to Lia O’Sullivan and Kate Wood, communications gurus at the IUA, for ensuring a well run event. To Lewis Purser and Nora Trench Bowles for their vision of the project. To the project steering group for their direction and support. And most importantly to the project team, for all their enthusiasm, commitment and contribution.
