Registration is open for the sparqs conference on 28th March 2019! 12 Dec 2018
We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the sparqs' conference ~ Student Engagement for All ~ taking place on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh. #sparqs19 The conference is aimed at students, managers and practitioners in colleges, universities and… Read More
The deadline has been extended for nominations for the 2019 sparqs Student Engagement Awards! 12 Dec 2018
A reminder that nominations are still open for the third sparqs Student Engagement Awards! The deadline for submissions has been extended until Friday 11th January 2019! . The Awards will take place at the end of our conference on Thursday 28th March 2019 in Edinburgh. We are inviting students’ associations… Read More
Opportunity for college officers to attend CDN’s Quality 2019 conference 12 Dec 2018
Don’t miss this important opportunity for college student officers to come along and join discussions around quality, share their experiences and learn from the experiences of colleagues to influence work within institutions for 2018/19. The College Development Network (CDN) Quality… Read More
Headlines and resources from our HGIOC event on 5th November 2018 12 Dec 2018
On Monday 5th November 2018 we held a HGIOC (How good is our college?) event for student officers and SA staff, with quality staff invited to join from lunch onwards, for the afternoon session. The day was designed to help officers consolidate their… Read More
sparqs' contribution at EQAF 2019 in Vienna 12 Dec 2018
sparqs participated in the recent European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) on 15th-17th November 2018 in Vienna, Austria. EQAF, an annual gathering for quality practitioners from institutions and sectors across Europe and beyond, is a major opportunity to learn and share on… Read More
SPOTLIGHT ON…University of Dundee's STEP UP modules to aid transition and articulation 12 Dec 2018
This ‘SPOTLIGHT ON’ features the University of Dundee’s STEP UP modules which facilitate articulation for students from the neighbouring Dundee and Angus College. The modules support transition from the college to university and focus on the key academic skills required for… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Ignas Gaižiūnas 12 Dec 2018
In this interview, we talk to Ignas Gaižiūnas, student at Vilnius University (VU) in Lithuania. He is studying an MSc in Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, and has held various representative posts in Vilnius University Students’ representation (VU SA). He also… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Lucy Mercer-Mapstone 12 Dec 2018
In this interview, we talk to Dr Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, a Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Academic Development. She is on a six month fellowship from Australia, having worked previously at the University of Queensland. 1. Could you… Read More
Nominations are still open for the 2019 sparqs Student Engagement Awards! 05 Oct 2018
A reminder that nominations are still open for the third sparqs Student Engagement Awards! The deadline for submissions has been extended until Friday 11th January 2019! . The Awards will take place at the end of our conference on Thursday 28th March 2019 in Edinburgh. We are inviting… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Stewart Kirkland 05 Oct 2018
In this interview, we talk to Stewart Kirkland, one of sparqs’ new Associate Trainers for 2018-19. After a 13-year career in the Royal Air Force he went on to hold a variety of positions with the police in Scotland. “Retiring”… Read More
Open for registration – Academic Rep Co-ordinators’ network meeting on Tuesday 27th November 2018 05 Oct 2018
The first of 2018-19’s Academic Representation Co-ordinators' (ARC) Network meetings is now open for registrations! The Academic Representation Co-ordinators’ network is sparqs’ professional forum for staff in roles relating to the support of academic representation and student engagement in quality. Under the banner… Read More
Making HGIOC work for you and your students - sparqs event on 5th November 2018 is open! 05 Oct 2018
We are pleased to announce that bookings are now open for our 'How good is our college?' (HGIOC) event - Making HGIOC work for you and your students, taking place on Monday 5th November 2018 at CDN in Stirling. Following our That’s Quality! training with college officers… Read More
sparqs Conference 2019 - our call for proposals has been extended for a further week until Friday 12th October! 05 Oct 2018
We are pleased to announce that the call for proposals for our 2019 conference has been extended for a further week, and the deadline for submissions is now Friday 12th October 2018! #sparqs19 is taking place on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Surgeons' Hall in… Read More
Nominations are open for the 2019 sparqs Student Engagement Awards! 07 Sep 2018
We are delighted to announce that nominations are now open for the third sparqs Student Engagement Awards! . The Awards will take place at the end of our conference on Thursday 28th March 2019 in Edinburgh. We are inviting students’ associations and institutions across Scotland to… Read More
That's Quality! 2018 events roundup 07 Sep 2018
Over the summer we held our annual induction events for college and university student officers. The focus of both events was how to use quality to enhance students’ learning and teaching experience. It was fantastic to meet so many enthusiastic… Read More
Making HGIOC work for you and your students. - Monday 5th November 2018 07 Sep 2018
Following our That’s Quality! training with college officers in August, we will be running an event on Monday 5th November 2018 at Airthrey Castle in Stirling. The event is designed to help officers consolidate their knowledge and use the quality… Read More
How good is our college? update 07 Sep 2018
With Evaluative Reports and Enhancement Plans (EREPs) for 2017-18 due in October, we want to update you on HGIOC and our work with students this year. Student engagement in the college quality arrangements is a re-emphasised priority, with the supplementary guidance… Read More
Training for Apprentice Reps 07 Sep 2018
As the new academic year gets underway, we thought it would be a good time to remind everyone about the training package for apprentices that sparqs offers. We have two different sessions available, the first being an introductory session designed… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with William Hasty 07 Sep 2018
In this interview, we talk to William Hasty, Quality and Enhancement Specialist with QAA Scotland. He started the role in March 2018, prior to which he was Learning Enhancement Officer at the Open University in Scotland. Previously he worked with… Read More
sparqs Conference 2019 - call for proposals is now open! 02 Aug 2018
We are pleased to announce that the call for proposals is now open for #sparqs19, our conference taking place on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh. The theme for the conference is ‘Student Engagement for All’, with proposals invited for presentations, workshops… Read More
