Awards Category 3

Category 3: A co-curricular initiative/project (curriculum design/curriculum delivery/assessment) which has had an impact across the college or university

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Winner:

Student staff partnership to create an interdisciplinary science skills course in a research intensive university
~ University of Glasgow

In 2013 academics from Schools in the College of Science & Engineering at the University of Glasgow set out to design a new undergraduate course that would focus on the development of skills key to science students. To make sure that this course best met the needs of staff, employers and most importantly students, a group of undergraduate students were recruited to work with the academics to create the course.

Working as equal partners with staff, the students were then asked to develop suitable teaching materials to deliver such a course, based on their own experiences. The outcomes exceeded all expectations. The students created a full set of lecture notes and extensive resources including a large number of projects for team work, laboratory exercises, example sheets and even potential exam questions.

The project led to a new 10 credit Science Skills second year undergraduate course which ran for the first time in the 2013–14 academic session. Following extremely positive feedback from students and external examiners, the course was expanded to 20 credits for first year undergraduates for 2014–15. In 2016-17, 85 students are taking the course.

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Runner-up:

West College Scotland Presents MOYA – Minds of Young Artists
~ West College Scotland

Students from the Art & Design department at West College Scotland (Paisley Campus), have created their own production company, with the aim of promoting and selling their artwork. This has been a revolutionary concept and is driven entirely by the students from NC and HNC Graphics. This has provided the students with a platform that promotes and markets their own artwork commercially. The students have established their own production company, called ‘MOYA – Minds of Young Artists’ and have already hosted their first event at the prestigious hotel, Citizen M in Glasgow, in conjunction with Bridge 2 Business. They also successfully held events at Apollo Music in Paisley and The Garrison Hotel, Millport, securing local and national press coverage.

To date, MOYA have achieved many things including the following:

  • Secured funding from Paisley 2021 to establish, market and promote production company. 
  • Designed and created original artwork for 5 businesses in Paisley.

The creation of the production company, MOYA has now provided a solid foundation for the students to put their artwork into circulation and to generate revenue for themselves. They have provided a means of implementing their learning, setting up business and earning money – the full circle.

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Shortlisted:

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YelloW: Your Employability & Leadership Learning Opportunities Workshops
~ Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association

The Professional Skills Curriculum
~ University of St Andrews

Student-led Development of Organic Laboratory Instruction Films
~ University of Glasgow

The Undergraduate Certificate in Veterinary Medical Education and Student AFHEA Programme
~ The University of Edinburgh

Student Engagement Framework

National Education Officers' Network meeting

21 Mar 2024

This meeting of sparqs’ National Education Officers’ Network (NEON) continues our series of meetings for academic year 2023-24. …

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Student Engagement Staff Network meeting

19 Mar 2024

This meeting of our Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) for academic year 2023-24 continues our series of half-day events for…

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