We are delighted to announce that sparqs will be holding its biennial conference on Thursday 28th March 2019, at Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh.
The theme for the conference is ‘Student Engagement for All’. It will provide an opportunity to focus on and pull together activity from across the sector on student engagement in relation to widening access, equality and diversity, transitions, representation of non-traditional students, staff development…and more! The conference will provide an opportunity to showcase this work, share expertise and learn from good practice with colleagues from Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond.
The day will comprise a mix of keynote presentations covering key sub-themes, complemented by a wide range of workshops, presentations and displays from colleges, universities, sector agencies and international partners from Europe and further afield.
Student Engagement Awards
In a fitting end to the day, the conference will be rounded off with the third sparqs’ Student Engagement Awards.
We’ll be inviting students’ associations and institutions to submit nominations across a range of categories, this year around the theme of ‘Student engagement for all’. The 2017 Awards were a huge success and we look forward once again to celebrating once again the innovative work going on in the sector!
International activity
Once again, we will be organising some optional pre-conference activities for our international delegates to ensure they get the most out of their trip to Scotland. This will include an International Delegates’ Day on Wednesday 27th March, which will provide attendees with an opportunity to visit an institution and learn more about the Scottish context of student engagement (with some sightseeing and Scottish hospitality along the way!). Spanning the week of the conference, sparqs will also organise some additional visits to institutions and sector agencies, which international delegates will be able to opt into depending on their interests and availability.
What should you do now?
- Put Thursday 28th March 2019 into your diary – and make sure your colleagues know about it too!
- If you are an international delegate, make a note of the extra activities we are planning for you – the International Delegates’ Day on Wednesday 27th March and the additional visits that week (details TBC).
- Start thinking about activities and initiatives you have been involved with which you could deliver a presentation or workshop on at the conference.
- Identify success stories that deserve more recognition so you are ready to enter them into the Student Engagement Awards.
The call for proposals will be issued at the end of July 2018.
The call for entries into the awards will be issued at the beginning of September 2018.
In the meantime, for further information please contact Lindsay Isaacs, Development Consultant – Lindsay.Isaacs@sparqs.ac.uk
