National Education Officers' Network

sparqs supports a network for student officers in universities and colleges who have an education-focused remit. The National Education Officers’ Network (NEON) was created in Autumn 2019 to provide an opportunity for officers from colleges and universities across Scotland to discuss and work on key sector issues together.

The network engages participants in discussions around key learning, teaching and quality related sector developments, provides an opportunity for officers to share best practice, and allows for cross-institutional working on initiatives and projects.

The network was set up in response to feedback from student officers who have expressed the need for a national officer network with members from both universities and colleges. Unlike many national networks, NEON therefore allows for discussions across the full breadth of the FE and HE sectors.

Suggestions are always welcome for topics for NEON meetings. If you would like to propose anything, please contact Gloria Laurini.

Following feedback from previous officers, we created a NEON mailing list so that you can easily contact each other between meetings. Please sign up to the NEON mailing list to keep yourself in the loop!
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2023-24 NEON meetings

  • Monday 18th September 2023 - via Zoom, 11.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting.
  • Thursday 5th October 2023 - in-person 'Planning for the year ahead' meeting, jointly with SESN and JAG members - 2.00pm-5.00pm at SKYbar, Doubletree by Hilton, Edinburgh.
    - see the event page for further details and thanks to everyone who joined us and contributed. 
  • Wednesday 6th December 2023 - via Zoom, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 15th February 2024 - via Zoom, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 21st March 2024 - via Zoom, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event booking page to register to attend. 

There will likely be a further meeting in May 2024, in-person, possibly once again a joint meeting with SESN members.  Beyond May we plan to hold a further online NEON meeting towards the end of the academic year.  Details TBC in due course. 

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2022-23 NEON meetings

  • Thursday 6th October 2022 – 10.00am-3.00pm at Fife College, Dunfermline campus (Carnegie Conference Centre).
    - see the event page for materials from the day. 
  • Thursday 8th December 2022 via Zoom, 10.00am-1.00pm.
    - see the event page for materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 9th March 2023 via Zoom, 10.00am-1.00pm.
    - see the event page for materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 4th May 2023 - joint, in-person, strategic planning meeting with SESN and JAG, 10.30am-3.00pm at Queen Margaret University. 
    - see the event page for further details. 

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2021-22 NEON Meetings

We continued to hold these meetings more frequently during 2021-22, to give officers a chance to meet regularly during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.  The meetings are all took place online from 10.00am until 1.00pm.

  • Thursday 30th September 2021
    - see the event page for further details and materials from the meeting.
  • Thursday 11th November 2021
    - see the event page for further details and materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 9th December 2021
    - see the event page for further details and materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 3rd February 2022 
    - see the event page for further details and materials from the meeting.  
  • Thursday 3rd March 2022 
    - see the event page for further details and materials from the meeting.  
  • Thursday 7th April 2022
    - see the event page for further details and materials from the meeting. 

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2020-21 NEON Meetings

The network usually meets three times each academic year.  However, during 2020-21, to give officers a chance to meet regularly over the coming months, we ran more frequent NEON events during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis: 

  • NEON informal catch-up for university officers - Thursday 20th August 2020 
    A catch-up for the network's university officers only, as college officers already had our two-day That’s Quality! Colleges event during August and we were mindful of the significant time commitment which that already involved.
    - see the event page for more information and to view the materials from the catch-up. 
  • NEON event for both college and university officers - Wednesday 7th October 2020
    - see the event page for further information and to view the materials from the session.
  • NEON event for both college and university officers - Tuesday 24th November 2020
    - see the event page for more information and to view the materials from the day.  
  • NEON event for both college and university officers - Thursday 21st January 2021
    - see the event page for more information on the session.
  • NEON event for both college and university officers - Thursday 18th March 2021
    - see the event page for more information and materials from the session. 
  • NEON event for both college and university officers - Thursday 20th May 2021, 10.00am-1.00pm.
    - see the event page for more information and materials from the session. 

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2019-20 Meetings
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  • Thursday 14th November 2019 at Glasgow Caledonian University
    - see the event page for materials from the inaugural meeting.
  • Wednesday 19th February 2020 at Fife College, Dunfermline Campus
    - see the event page for materials from the second meeting.
  • Thursday 7th May 2020 - online event due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic
    - see the event page for further information and the materials from the third meeting. 

For more information, or any queries related to the network, please contact Gloria Laurini.

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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