Impact Centres

BNU has recently set up four Impact Centres, designed with the aim of developing and accelerating BNU research and enterprise initiatives through increased engagement with key stakeholders. These centres are committed to the generation of quality research that addresses the challenges of today and has a meaningful impact on the lives of people in not only the local community but also across the United Kingdom and around the world. Within this section the four Centre Leads outline the planned areas of research.

Centre for Advancement of Learning

Rebecca Rochon

The Centre for Advancement of Learning will facilitate and capture research activity related to learning in all its forms. While a natural focus will be on learning and teaching in higher education, the Centre will also promote research in relation to other education sectors including early years, primary, secondary, further, healthcare, workplace, adult and continuing education.

A central objective will be to increase staff publications in relation to teaching and learning. Initiatives to support this will include short courses such as ‘From Idea to Ethics’ or ‘From Research to Impact’, and there will also be support for in-house conference events and writing away days. The Centre will ensure close ties with in-house events, such as the Staff Development conference and the new PG CAP, both of which will provide opportunities to share work and support new researchers. Working alongside the Research and Enterprise Unit (RED) and Graduate School will also ensure that both existing and new initiatives for our postgraduate students may reach a wider audience and provide opportunities for collaboration where appropriate.

Those affiliated with the Centre will have access to a regularly updated list of relevant conferences and journal special issues that would be appropriate targets for dissemination. Colleagues applying for conferences will be encouraged to work with others, and support will be provided for those less experienced in writing. While the Centre’s work will encompass all areas of learning and teaching, an important aspect of the Impact Centres is to bring together research around defined themes.

We are a small University and focusing our efforts will ensure that we can maximise opportunities for collaboration amongst colleagues and achieve a greater impact by targeting activities. Accordingly, the Centre themes will include:

‐ Technology to support learning

‐ Embedding EDI into learning and teaching activities

‐ Positive Education

‐ and Learning, teaching and assessment in higher education.

The Centre for Advancement of Learning Activities will have a close working relationship with the other Impact Centres, and will provide a natural framework to support learning and teaching at BNU. As a teaching-led University, we have much to share.