We would like to welcome  Dr Fay Glendenning who has recently joined the Coventry University Group as Director of Academic Enhancement and Professional Development (AEPD). In this new role, Fay will lead  the work of the three sub-units of AEPD: Academic Development, Curriculum Development and Developing our Teaching.

Fay is a qualified teacher and has 25 years’ experience of leading learning and teaching across primary and secondary schools and in higher education. Fay joins us from the University of Wolverhampton where she has taught and developed programmes at levels 3 to 8 and held positions of Teacher Educator, Subject Lead, Programme Director, Academic Head of Department and Head of Quality Standards and Enhancement. Fay is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.

"I am delighted to have joined the Office for Teaching and Learning as Director of Academic Enhancement and Professional Development. I look forward to working with colleagues across the Coventry University Group to further develop our teaching and enhance the learning experiences and outcomes for all our students"

Dr Fay Glendenning, SFHEA,  FCCT

The first  Coventry University Group Apprenticeship Conference was held on the 3^rd April 2023.  Conference Resources are now available on the conference page on the AEPD website.  These include recordings of the keynotes from Jonathan Lawson, Manchester Metropolitan University and Aidan Friend and David Burns from Coventry.  The resources also includes copies of slides from each of the parallel workshops

Over 140 staff from across the University Group attended the event. 

The aims of the event were: 

• To enhance the levels of knowledge on what makes a quality apprenticeship across the university group

• To share good practice on the design and delivery of apprenticeship programmes
• To provide a forum for networking across the university group
• To inform ongoing development activity in support of the delivery of the university group’s apprenticeship programmes

QAA has recently produced a new guidance on supporting and enhancing the experience of international students in the UK. The guide explores the support UK HE providers should be offering international students, both to safeguard and enhance their experience and to facilitate a sense of belonging as active participants in the UK academic community. 

Peter Harrison, Academic Developer (Curriculum Development) from Coventry University Group was among the Expert Advisory Group that supported this project.  Peter’s work for QAA focused particularly on the ‘Academic Support and Skills’ section of the updated guide. 

"Using reflective questions rather than simply saying what people should do is a great idea and allows different groups to use the prompts in their own context – so departments can use the questions to review their policy and approach, while individuals can use them to consider how they personally respond to situations",

Peter Harrison

In our commitment to give our students an enriching learning experience, Coventry University's Group Library services have teamed up with Audemic, a customizable e-reading software that simplifies research papers to be read in multiple languages, and via audio. Audemic is an all in one solution for increasing reading rates, comprehension and engagement with academic research. By enabling students to easily listen to any research paper at home or on the go, students can more smoothly fit assigned readings into their busy schedule. Audemic also incorporates key functionalities such as font and size for dyslexia or speed control.

Coventry University Group's students and staff can register for a premium account. No need to download anything. 

For any questions get in touch with joshua@audemic.io 

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

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