What we learnt from the keynotes at Talis Insight Europe 2019

At Talis Insight Europe 2019, our keynotes play an important role in informing our audience of Higher Education initiatives and key themes, to give a wider perspective over the two days. Our opening keynote set the tone for the ongoing digital transformations happening in universities across the world. Andy Beggan, Dean of Digital Education at the University of Lincoln explained how they had approached this. Our closing keynote came from Ale Armellini, Dean of Learning and Teaching, and Director of the Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at the University of Northampton. We invited Ale to tell us a bit more about the innovative projects happening there.

The mantra: “Easy to adopt, hard to fail”

Andy Beggan acknowledged from the outset in his session that not everyone is prepared for a complete digital overhaul. People can be divided into four groups, depending on their digital scepticism or enthusiasm and their level of learning innovation or learning constancy. They understand that “simple = best” in order to ensure that all members of staff and students can keep up with the latest tools or devices available at the university.
 

“If you trust your students, they will inspire you”

Andy showed a number of videos in his session, which illustrated the ways students are involved in projects at the university. In his takeaways, he asked us to reflect on the roles that students have within the university in supporting digital innovation and implored the audience to hand over their trust and let them surprise us!

A campus doesn’t require lecture theatres or staff offices

Ale opened his talk with some of the surprising new methods in force at the University of Northampton’s Waterside campus. The most shocking being an absence of staff offices and lecture theatres. On seeing shocked faces in the audience, he explained that this is a common reaction, but asked us to listen to his talk to understand why this was an important decision…

“Content is not king. Context is”

Throughout his session, Ale explains that it is not the content, technology or physical space that a lecturer uses that is important, but the way in which it is used. Watch his session to hear about all the new benefits they are experiencing, and what exactly the lecturers do with all of their books!

If you’d like to find out more about other sessions at Talis Insight Europe 2019, click here.