June 2024
Price: £150 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference looked at priorities and best practice for integration of technological advancements into long-term plans by higher education institutions for educational provision and environmental sustainability.
It was an opportunity to discuss key issues at a time of heightened focus on this area of policy in the run up to the General Election.
As HEIs invest in digital infrastructure, delegates considered next steps for the incorporation of digital technology into structures for course design, and key issues for implementation.
Attendees assessed the potential for digital technology and GenAI programmes to facilitate creative teaching and learning models, widen participation in HE, and reduce staff workloads.
Delegates discussed best practice for rollout and use, while retaining quality and academic integrity in all aspects of teaching and learning. It followed DfE’s response to a call for evidence on the role of Generative AI in Education, which highlighted concerns over standards and the potential for aspects of learning, assessment and feedback to be undermined.
Delegates examined opportunities and challenges around staff training and adoption, as well as what students and employers need in the design and delivery of digital courses, with discussion on the effectiveness of digital learning in preparing graduates for the requirements of the labour market moving forward.
The agenda brought out latest thinking on key issues around lecture recording and implications of increased digitisation for teaching staff and their rights, and for the nature of academic work.
Delegates considered digital inequalities and wider policy implications for the expansion of digital education. It came with the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s Digital exclusion 2023 report highlighting the importance of balancing increased investment with plans for digital inclusion.
Sessions looked at further opportunities for supporting strategic national and global policy objectives going forward in areas such as sustainability and reducing inequalities, and developing international collaborative relationships, as well as what can be learned from approaches to the adoption of tech in HE in other countries.
Keynote speakers who have agreed to take part include: Heidi Fraser-Krauss, Chief Executive Officer, JISC; Mary Curnock Cook, Chair, Dyson Institute and Pearson Education; Sue Bagguley, Head of Business Development and Digital Enterprise Sales, Siemens Digital Industries; and Jack Tasker, Business Engagement Partner, Birmingham Digital Futures, University of Birmingham.
The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues in the presence of key policy officials who attended from DfE; NCSC; Education Scotland; Department for the Economy, NI; HMPPS; and The Scottish Government.
