So a confession - I failed in my very first task at ANU!
I wanted to visit all the coffee places on campus and ticked off at least eight before throwing in the towel. I’ve moved across from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) which has an equally vibrant but polar opposite physical environment (read: very condensed and very urban), so I grossly underestimated just how many cafés would be dotted around. Walking around the Acton campus between coffee meetings, I’m really enjoying the laidback village-y feel, and the surprising range of wildlife. I’m also a fan of Canberra weather – hailing from the deep south of Aotearoa New Zealand, I’m not bothered by a frost and prefer my heat dry.
Five months since I started my position leading the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) and it might just be the caffeine buzz, but I feel a real sense of positive energy about creating the change we want to see. Here at CLT, we’re doing a lot of work on our client experience for teaching staff. We want to make it easy for people to know exactly what we offer and to access support from our fabulous team. This year will be a foundational year for the Learning & Teaching Strategy, and we’re starting work on supporting some key themes, including first year experience, assessment and feedback, and interactive learning. We’re also collaborating closely with colleagues in ITS, not just planning how we can enhance the digital learning ecosystem, but cooking up some new ways of working and leading that will enable our teams to make it happen.
Higher education is just a fascinating place to be right now. I have a broad interest in all things digital, including how we can leverage technologies to make learning experiences more inclusive and engaging, how we can make the processes that support education more efficient, and how we can open up new possibilities for teaching (looking at you ChatGPT). I’d love to speak with anyone who is interested in working with CLT on how we can collaborate with academics, Colleges and those involved in teaching at ANU.
Thanks to everyone I’ve met so far for such a warm Canberra welcome. I’m proud to have joined ANU and CLT, and I know we will do great things together! Find me for a soy flat white on MS Teams or LinkedIn.
February 2023