In any lecturing, teaching, training or facilitating we do, our ultimate aim is to inspire learning. The focus of the SEDA Spring Conference is on what this entails. Is there one identifiable, excellent way of inspiring learning; whoever the learners might be, whatever the setting, or whatever is being learnt? Or might it be that diverse learners, settings and learning require diverse approaches, methods and motivations? Is the identification and promotion of specific teaching excellence ill-founded if every different context requires diverse means to inspire learning? How can we maintain and promote diverse ways of inspiring learning? These are taxing yet vital questions in an environment of burgeoning projects, nationally and internationally, aimed at delivering excellence in learning and teaching.

Conference Themes

• Relating inspiration and excellence in promoting learning
• Motivating effective learning
• Inspiring diverse learners: institutions, staff and students as learners
• Developing learning communities
• Supporting diverse approaches to delivering excellence
• Inspirational e-learning, curriculum design, assessment, and learning and teaching methods
• Evaluating excellence in learning and teaching
• Exploration of the possible tensions between excellence and diversity

The SEDA Conference ExperienceSEDA pride themselves on creating a relaxed, welcoming and positive atmosphere at conferences, which encourages open, constructive and supportive sharing of ideas, experience and practice.

VenueThe conference is to be held at a new venue, the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast, with additional accommodation at the Malone Lodge. All bedrooms in both hotels are en-suite. The conference dinner will be held in the Great Hall of Queen’s University. SEDA have also arranged for accommodation to be available to speakers and delegates after the conference in order to explore the area at their leisure.  

ParticipantsThe conference will be of particular interest to all those involved in the inspiration of learning and various initiatives to promote or disseminate excellence in HE provision [in HE or FE], in fact, anyone who has a commitment to enhancing the quality of Higher Education. This includes :

• Lecturers and teachers in further and higher education          
• National and institutional teaching fellows
• Higher Education Academy staff
• Centre of Excellence and FDTL staff
• Project workers in Widening Participation, Partnerships for Progression, Employability, Action on Access, etc.
• Educational and staff developers
• Managers of academic departments      
• Educational technologists
• Policy makers