Staff and Educational Development Programme 2011 - 2012
Head of Staff and Educational Development: Doug Parkin
Introduction to the Programme
We are delighted to present the Staff and Educational Development Programme for the 2011-12 academic year. This provides details of all of the in-house training workshops, seminars, on-line courses and other activities that have been scheduled so far as well as details of selected courses and events taking place at other institutions.
The Programme has been drawn up to support School policies and strategies in areas such as Human Resources, Learning and Teaching, Researcher Development and Equality and Diversity, and to provide a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities for staff across the School. The Programme also responds to standards and initiatives in the Higher Education sector regarding, for example, the development of staff involved in teaching and supporting student learning and transferable skills development for early career researchers.
The in-house programme offers a wide range of tailored training opportunities for both academic and professional support staff. Some key features this year include the following –
- The core management development programmes for middle and senior managers are again a very important element of the Programme to meet the growing interest in management training and the School’s commitment to the central role of good management and leadership for both academic and professional support staff;
- Management on the Horizon (MOTH) was run in 2010/11 with separate progression routes for research staff and professional support staff. This proved a popular approach and the course was very well received. MOTH has been scheduled to run again this year using the same successful format. This course is aimed at new and aspiring managers and those who wish to explore this area for their personal development;
- The very popular course on Research Team Leadership is being run again with the main workshop and an additional half-day session;
- The new section on Research Governance is built around a core workshop on Good Clinical Practice which is scheduled to take place once each term along with additional focused sessions on the key areas of Monitoring, Consent and Data Management;
- The School’s Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching (PGCILT), launched in September 2006, has now received over 250 staff enrolments, which highlights strongly our commitment to excellence in teaching and student support. In December 2007 the programme was accredited by the Higher Education Academy against the UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education. Designed as two equally weighted Modules, the PGCILT is intended to provide flexible options for developing staff with varying experience levels. Over 100 staff have completed the Module on which they were enrolled, several achieving distinctions, and a growing number of Module 1 graduates are looking to complete the Full Certificate by signing-up for Module 2;
- The training available for distance learning tutors will continue this year in its expanded format with two on-line courses scheduled (accessible to tutors based overseas as well as in the UK) as well as the in-house workshops. In addition to this we are offering an on-line course in MSc Project Supervision (supervising at a distance), run over a four-week period;
- The Teaching Skills Development Programme now offers over 45 events spread throughout the year comprising workshops, seminars and on-line courses;
- New for this year we are offering two short sessions specifically on Presenting in the John Snow – with confidence and flair. These sessions will address specifically the challenges of presenting in this large and for some quite daunting space, and will cover a range of skills relevant to presenting in big lecture halls;
- The transferable skills programme for professional support staff has been further consolidated and can be taken as either a full programme or by attending individual courses;
- The very popular Training the Trainers and Presentation Skills courses have been scheduled to run again in 2011/12. These courses are particularly aimed at developing the training skills of staff trainers and occasional presenters supporting learning activities within the School, but will be equally useful to staff running training sessions or delivering presentations externally or with partner organisations;
- The School has invested in an e-learning package to add to and complement its portfolio of training on Equality and Diversity Awareness. It is now a School requirement that all new-starters complete the first module (Equal Opportunities and Diversity Essentials) within their first two-months of engagement, and over 240 staff have so far completed the course. In addition to this, staff are also expected to attend one of the Equality and Diversity Awareness workshops that take place each term at their earliest opportunity after joining the School;
- The full range of computing courses has again been scheduled including ICDL and the ICDL Advanced modules (formerly ECDL);
- The focus of the e-learning training this year will be on supporting the transition from Blackboard to the new virtual learning environment, Moodle. To begin with this will consist of ‘What is Moodle?’, a video podcast covering key information, and then in the Summer Term further courses on Moodle Administration and Moodle Course Building will be available;
- A wide selection of training is again being offered under research skills, particularly for post-doctoral research staff focusing on transferable skills and career development (in addition to the wide range of training opportunities elsewhere in the Programme);
- Personal Impact and Confident Networking Skills is a new course being offered this year to further extend the career development support available to research staff.
Continuing collaboration with the Bloomsbury Colleges, University of London and with the University itself has resulted in access to some of the courses run at Senate House and nearby colleges in addition to workshops run by Imperial College, UCL and Queen Mary. Key areas of the Programme have been enriched by some interesting and useful courses, for example Disability Awareness training and an Introductory Certificate in Management run at Senate House. Staff from Bloomsbury Colleges will again be joining us for ICDL and ICDL Advanced training, the transferable skills programme for professional support staff, some of the management workshops for middle/senior managers, the Training the Trainers and Presentation Skills programmes and some other specific workshops. We are also delighted to welcome several external candidates on the School’s PGCILT programme.
The Staff and Educational Development website continues to develop as we introduce new programmes and initiatives. For instance, there is now a dedicated section providing information on the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching and associated forms and resources.
The Staff and Educational Development Unit (SED Unit) is based in Room G22 in the Keppel Street building. Please contact the Staff and Educational Development Administrator on extension 2374, or e-mail StaffDevelopment@lshtm.ac.uk, with any enquiries or for more information and details on courses in the Programme. If the subject area, level or learning method you are looking for is not catered for, we are happy to discuss your specific needs.
Bookings for any of the events listed must be made on a SED Course Booking Form which can be downloaded from the Staff and Educational Development website under Forms. It is important to discuss the training with your line manager beforehand and obtain support and approval from your Head of Department, Office or Faculty – this is shown by them signing the Booking Form. Booking Forms are acknowledged on receipt with in most cases confirmation of a place on the course(s). If the course is full, no-longer available or not suitable we will be in touch immediately.
A cancellation policy is operated to help ensure the efficient running of both individual courses and the Programme as a whole. If a firm booking is made and you cancel or fail to attend you will be sent a cancellation form to complete. In most cases a cancellation fee will be charged to your Department/Office which will be a fixed amount for in-house courses and the delegate fee for places on courses booked externally.
Evaluation forms are provided for delegates on all courses. Your feedback is very valuable to us in continually improving the training on offer and tailoring it to meet the needs of the School and its staff.
We very much look forward to meeting you on workshops and events throughout the year.
Doug Parkin
Head of Staff and Educational Development.
See also an introduction by the Director, Professor Baron Peter Piot
