Think Education

The Role of Mentors

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Chris and Judith discuss the role of mentors throughout their careers and the journey from mentee to mentor. 
We played around with various titles for this podcast (as you will hear in the episode) but ultimately it is about the journey we take in our careers and the support we receive, and give, during that time.  We find ourselves coming back to the notion of community in our podcasts (and indeed in our writing) and this sense of connection and engagement is at the heart of this conversation.
We talked about the role and importance of good leadership, how you know it when you see it, and how its absence can be all too powerful.  We talked about our own approach to this, and that we have appreciated in others. 
We reflected on the fact that mentors come in all shapes and sizes and are not uniquely found in those more senior to us.  And are not always connected to direct career progression but forms of learning and development all the same.
We would be delighted to hear your stories and experiences about the mentoring experience so please feel free to comment or get in touch.
 
#mentoring #communication #internationalhighereducation #culturalawareness #careerdevelopment #university #development #leadership #podcast #community

Welcome 2024, we are excited to see what you hold for us

In this first podcast of 2024, Judith and Chris reflect back on the previous year (again) and think about the year to come.
We don’t necessarily have a plan for the direction we would like the podcast to go but we do know that more of the same would be most welcome.  Last year was filled with fascinating and insightful conversations with colleagues from around the world and we look forward to being able to enjoy more again this year.
If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, please do get in touch and let us know.  We are always open to talking to, and learning from people – we know and don’t know.
 
#newyearnewconversations #engagement #interaction #internatioanlisation #internationalhighereducation #podcast #thinkeducation #communityofpractice #research #practice

End of Year Review 2023 – A Community of practice

In this, the final Think Education podcast of 2023, Judith and Chris reflect back on a year of podcasting; a year of conversations; and a year of global engagement.
We managed – with a lot of help from our friends – to put up 50 original episodes (we had two repeats over the summer break) and had the opportunity to talk to people from Australia, China, Egypt, Germany Hong Kong, Malaysia, Netherlands, Taiwan, the UAE, the UK, the USA, Wales (of course), and Zimbabwe.
We are grateful to be part of a community of engagement, that we get to learn from others and hopefully, that we get to keep the ideas moving a little bit ourselves too.
Thank you to all who came on the podcast and shared your reflections and insights.
Thank you to all of you who listened.
We look forward to more conversations next year.
 
Andrew Disbury
Jazreel Goh
Michael Pelletier
Edward Harcourt
Lisa Wallace
Vivienne Stern
Jason Makwabara
Ceri Nursaw
Nigel Healey
Vicky Lewis
Arlene Griffiths
Rachel Soundy
Bola Ibrahim
Mark Garrat
Douglas Proctor
Fabrizio Trifiro
Zeenath Reza Khan
Tendai Charles
Sandra Baroudi
Alfredo Bautista
Cheryl Yu
Angela Yung-chi Hu
Jack Lee
Fion Chooey Boon Lim
Perry Hobson
Hugh Martin
Paula Sanderson
Ahmed Shaban
Leina Shi
Stephanie Martin
Tim Rottleb
 

Conferences Part 2: Organizing, Planning, Chairing

In this second part of our conference podcast series Chris and Judith talk about the fun and frivolity of organizing, chairing and running a physical conference.  We have both had experience with this in the past and direct experience lately and we share some tips and tricks we have picked up along the way.
We talked about the creative process involved in developing conference themes and the tremendous value in being able to create a platform for discussion and presentation.
Once you have been on the other side of conference organisation, you have a much higher tolerance and respect for things that may (and most likely will) go wrong.  Judith shared an example of a recent PIE event that involved a massive last minute shift of venue – which they masterfully solved.
We talked about the hope that conferences can in fact be conversations.  We need to bring the coffee break chat into the panel sessions and develop a platform for debate and engagement.
Things that can go wrong, will likely go wrong.  Things you didn’t know could go wrong, will likely do so. Be prepared to vamp.
#conferenceorganisation #chairing #panelsessions #timemanagement #nostupidquestions #ACARI2023 #UUKITNEconference

Conferences Part 1 – Attending, Speaking, Engaging

In this first part of a series on conferences, Judith and Chris discuss recent conference attendance and engagement and reflect on the value of discussion, uncertainty and working through ideas.
Chris reflected on his attendance at COP28 in Dubai and outlined his participation in a panel organised and chaired by Dr Zeenath Reza Khan.  The panel session was Academic Integrity as key competence for UN SDG 13 - Climate Change and brought together speakers for high schools, university, policy makers and students – from university and high school.  Chris talked about his experience being on a panel with no fixed presentation agenda and where speakers reflected on practice and were not defending an institutional position.  This can be liberating.
Judith reflected on her attendance at UKENIC 23 – Reconfiguration and her participation in a plenary session looking at the future of international higher education.  Judith discussed the nature of the event and how the audience make-up can alter the conversation that takes place on stage.  Diversity in the audience, and a move away from a specifically focused academic conversation, provides an opportunity for reflection and debate.
We talked about the need for engagement and reflection and the value in being able to disagree with colleagues.  As a result of the loss of activity and physical engagement during the pandemic, it does seem that we have emerged more willing to share, to be honest and to reflect.
 
It’s OK not to agree with each other, and even with ourselves at times!
 
https://www.cop28.com/en/schedule
https://www.ecctis.com/universities%20and%20colleges/Annual%20Conference/Default.aspx 
 
#conferenceattendance #engagement #sustainabilty #highereducation #COP28 #UKENIC23 #presentationskills #activelistening

International Voices - Tim Rottleb on International Branch Campuses

In this episode, Judith and Chris talk to Tim Rottleb -  science manager at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) @BTUCS where he is an officer in the Department for Regional Transformation.
Before joining the BTU, Tim worked as a researcher at the Leibniz-Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS) where he was part of a research group investigating international branch campus development from urban and economic geographic perspectives.  He recently submitted his PhD thesis in geography at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Tim studied Politics and Economics of the Middle East at Philipps-Universität Marburg and worked for UN organizations in Cairo and Berlin.
We asked Tim about his work with international branch campus development and he talked about his recent work on gateway cities and educational hubs and the motivations for engaging in this space.  He pointed out that motivations here are often in conflict – or at least not entirely complementary – with the sending nation looking to establish research intensive institutions but the reality on the ground needing capacity building programmes that can be recruited to.
We talked about identity and values – how internationalisation is viewed in different places and how the art of compromise is absolutely necessary.
Tim compared the German and UK higher education systems and talked about the rationale for German internationalisation and the underlying contradictions and motivations.
We talked about spaces of exception and academic values – reflecting on the narrative that one side is right and the other wrong, and how this impacts the decision making process for where we go and what we do.  We reflected on the fact that on an individual academic level, there is often partnership and engagement activity in place but this becomes more problematic at the institutional level.
Universities are certainly capable of setting up more and more branch campuses but the real question is perhaps, should they?
 
Recent articles by Tim:
Gateway cities for transnational higher education? Doha, Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah as regional amplifiers in networks of the ‘global knowledge-based economy’ (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/glob.12429)
Circulation and containment in the knowledge-based economy: Transnational education zones in Dubai and Qatar (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0308518X221077105)
 
#transnationaleducationhubs #internationalisation #spacesofexception #motivation #internationalhigheredcuation #postcolonialism #developmentalnarrative #germanhighereducation

Attending Going Global - A Glimpse Behind the Scenes

Have you ever wondered what goes on at a big international conference?  How sessions are organised?  How people prepare for them, or engage with them?  If so, this is the podcast for you.
In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Judith reflects on her recent attendance at Going Global 2023 in Edinburgh.
Judith talked about the style and structure of Going Global and outlined the interactive nature of the panel sessions.  We talked about the interactive nature of these type of panels and the value of engaging the audience and leveraging their expertise.  I asked Judith how she prepared for these types of events – both from the perspective of a presenter and a chair (session, not furniture).
We rounded off the episode discussing identity and Judith reflected on how this issue was framed and discussed during Going Global.  Internationalisation is an opportunity to engage with, and learn from, others.  Judith was struck by the openness of colleagues to discuss this issue and the clear focus on transparency and a willingness to adapt to new environments and a need to respect different cultures.  We talked about the parallels between the international and the local here and how any university has an impact on its community and brings together a variety and diversity of people. 
We talked about the possibility for change but also recognised that there are times when compromise is not possible.  The reality of this debate is positive, however, for increased sustainability in the international partnership model.
#goingglobal #britishcouncil #panels #researchengagement #collaboration #partnership

Nobody Puts Students in the Corner - Student Experience and Engagement in TNE

In this latest Think Education podcast, Chris reflects on two recent events he attended – The IC Global Café TNE: Impactful Collaborations, Meaningful Student Experience and Achieving Sustainability and Equity, delivered by Dr Vangelis Tsiligiris and the 4th TNE Hub Research and practice symposium – Advancing Horizons: Transnational Education Partnerships in a Pluralizing World.  TNE’s role in Empowering Graduates, Fostering Impact and Promoting Equity.
Vangelis spoke about the need to place students in the centre of partnership activity, particularly in the TNE space and Dr Katherine Lupton, Lead for Academic International Partnerships, Leeds Trinity University, presenting in the 4th TNE Hub symposium, outlined the approaches taken at Leeds Trinity to support student engagement and used the excellent phrase of ‘name not a number’ to indicate their connection to each of their TNE students.
These two presentations got us thinking about how we view students in the TNE space and how we should perhaps view them.  We debated the metrics of university success as opposed to the more qualitative narrative of experience and acknowledged the challenges in this process.
We talked about the student experience and student identity and went back and forth on the value and purpose of TNE; how we measure success; how we view its expansion; and ultimately, how we demonstrate value.
 
 
#studentengagement #namenotnumber #TNE #partnerships #studentsatisfaction #educcationalvalue #measuringsuccess #impact #TNEHub #NottinghamTrentUniversity #TheICGlobalCafe #LeedsTrinity

Taiwanese Higher Education and Language Teaching

In today’s somewhat blurry eyed episode of the Think Education podcast, Chris reflects on his (very) recent trip to Taiwan and talks about his long standing relationship with Taiwan and with colleagues there, like Angela.  Chris talked about the content of his recent trip and discussed his experience in light of recent podcasts about travel and value.
Judith and Chris talked about language development and classroom practice – both as a tool to support international recruitment and mobility, and as a capacity building approach and Judith shared her reflections and experience on the Japanese example of international teachers.  Chris talked about his experience working with EMI teachers in Taiwan and the changes to government policy – over the past few years – that have dramatically increased the percentage of teaching conducted in English in Taiwanese universities.
Judith asked Chris about his experience working with students in different contexts and the types of research they conduct and the challenges they face along the way.  Chris talked about the absolute value and intellectual stimulus that can come from meeting with and listening to students from a variety of contexts.
And we learned how easy it is for a, seemingly straightforward question to, quite literally break your brain!
 
#EMIteaching #internationalisation #studentdevelopment #research #universitycollaboration #studyabroad #whatisaninternationalconference

Post Conference Energy - Getting Things Done

This Think Education podcast was prompted by our last few episodes on travel (Bulgaria and China) and two recent LinkedIn items: one post by Cheryl Yu on power politics of English in global higher education and the subsequent comments on how we as a community can effect change; and one post by Vicky Lewis, and The IC Global, on leveraging post-conference energy to keep the momentum going?  This got us thinking about discussions we have with colleagues and the impact this can have back at home.
Judith and Chris reflected on their own experiences of balancing trip energy with office expectations and discussed the reality that at times, the day to day can simply overtake the best of intentions.  We talked about the need to carve out space to keep the momentum going – taking a leaf from Vicky and writing a blog post, or having a conversation (or podcast) to further develop ideas and identify possible avenues for action.
We looked at this issue from both the institutional level: the challenges in developing relevant TNE partnership activity; the likelihood that many initiatives will fail; the energy needed to push things through university processes, and from the individual level: the need to find space and time to develop and reflect on ideas; the opportunity to try things out in our classrooms; the need to connect with others.
Greater understanding of internal capability, of expectations, of outcomes, increases the likelihood of sustainable approaches and impact.  Chris reflected on a presentation he attended at a recent conference, given by Worada Apirat and Phanita Pooteang, from Mahidol University, that focused on the role that administrative staff can play in doing research, highlighting activity and supporting change.
Our conversation drifted, as it is so often wont to do, to the purpose of a university and how it can in fact demonstrate – or attempt to explain – this to the wider community.  Academia is driven by quality assurance and by reputation and is therefore more comfortable with longer term returns on activity.  Students often want to see progress and change with more immediacy.  And in this dilemma is the need to better communicate aims, demonstrate activity, measure impact and empower all members of a university to be part of the process. 
 
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7124319661915009025/
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7127574530201382913/
 
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-iwd4n-14eb3b6
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-qt877-14c24d3
 
#conferenceenergy #community #transformation #academicpartnerships #gettingthingsdone #internationalhighereducation #mahidoluniversity #institutions #teaching #professionaldevelopment #whatisauniversity