Teaching and Learning Conference 2024: Breaking Barriers

Our 2024 Teaching and Learning Conference: Breaking Down Barriers Together welcomes staff across the Institute to hear from a range of speakers about ways to support our students to reach their potential. The Programme includes a keynote on how integrated, whole-university strategies can drive student success, and an international panel that will explore topics such as education system reforms, the benefits of global collaboration, and educational innovations. Attendees can participate in professional development workshops on Pareto’s 80/20 rule; effective communication; leadership qualities; and engage with research presentations from our recent graduate students. The day ends with a fun dance session and short reception.

Agenda for the Day

Taking place on the Euston Road Campus, November 15th 2024.

Registration, tea and coffee: 9:30-10:00. (Rm 302)

Time	Room	Session	Speaker
10:00-10:10	301 & 302	Welcome	Dr Joan O’ Mahony Bloomsbury Institute
10:10-10:50	301 & 302	An Integrated Whole-University Approach in Creating Success for Students and Staff	Dr Michelle Morgan University of East London
11:00-11:40 11:50-12:30	Breakout rooms: 201, 301, 304, 402.	Professional Development Workshops 1 Professional Development Workshops 2	Dr Marcus Astley Bloomsbury Institute. Pareto Principle: What is the 80/20 rule and how can we apply it to our own context? (Room 301) Sarah Bailey Bloomsbury Institute: Developing emotional intelligence to overcome internal and external barriers.(Room 201) Barra Fitzgibbon Bloomsbury Institute, How to influence a conversation. (Room 402) Matthew Roberts Chartered Management Institute, Leadership and Management. (Room 304)
12:30-13:15	302	Lunch Break
13.15-14.15	402	Global Perspectives on Education: What Unique Features in Education Systems Can Positively Impact the Student Experience? Panel discussion	Chaired by Dr. Pooja Gupta Prof. Felix Arndt University of Guelph (Canada) Prof. Dinesh Singh Jammu & Kashmir Higher Education Council (India) Dr Philip Olayoku The West African Transitional Justice Centre (Nigeria)
14.15-15:15	Breakout rooms: 301 and 402	Paper Presentations: Breaking down barriers in work-placement learning: evolving perspectives on employability and self-employment. Research presentations	Chaired by Amadou Jammeh (Room 301) and Dr. Sebastian Lesniewski (Room 402) Dr Nnamdi Madichie Bloomsbury Institute Bloomsbury Institute MBA and MSc graduates
15.15-15:30		Comfort Break
15.30-16:00	301	Supporting the International Student Journey	Dhruv Krishnaraj Director & Co-Founder Student Circus
16:00-16:10 16:15-17:00	301 301	Conference Closing Dance (with refreshments)	Dr Joan O’ Mahony Sabina Lozinschi

About the Speakers

You can find information about the speakers from Bloomsbury Institute by clicking on their name in the Agenda above.

External Speakers

Matthew Roberts

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

Matt is a Chartered Manager, responsible for the development, quality assurance and growth of the Chartered Management Consultant award. He and his team work to identify and fulfil the needs of different audiences within the management consultancy sector from those working in large global firms to independent consultants and those early in their career through to experience professionals.

Prof. Dinesh Singh

Jammu & Kashmir Higher Education Council

Professor of mathematics, current chancellor K.R. Mangalam University, former vice-chancellor of the University of Delhi, and former adjunct professor of Mathematics at the University of Houston. For his services to the nation, he was conferred with the Padma Shri which is the fourth highest civilian award by the Republic of India.

Dr Philip Olayoku

West African Transitional Justice Centre

Philip Ademola Olayoku holds a doctorate in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, where he taught as an adjunct lecturer. He is the founder and coordinator of the West African Transitional Justice Centre. Dr Olayoku has served as a policy consultant for the UNDP on anticorruption initiatives in Nigeria, and as research consultant for Tearfund, Ford Foundation, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, and Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID). He serves on the international advisory board of Medecins Sans Frontieres for developing teaching modules on their Speaking Out Case Studies. His research focuses on transitional justice, security studies, ethnicity, digital power dynamics, and transnational relations, yielding numerous policy and research publications.

Dr. Michelle Morgan

University of East London

Dr Michelle Morgan is an internationally recognised Student Experience Transitions Specialist across all levels of study and is extensively published in the area. She is currently Dean of Students at the University of East London. Michelle is a Principal Fellow of the HEA, Fellow of the AUA , an elected council member of UKCGE and Student Minds Mental Health Charter Assessor. During her varied career, Michelle has been a faculty manager, lecturer, researcher and academic manager. She describes herself as a ‘Third Space Integrated Student Experience Practitioner’ who develops initiatives based on pragmatic and practical research. Michelle has over 50 publications and has presented over 100 national and international conference papers (including 52 keynotes and 30 invited papers). She has developed a free portal for staff which provides a range of information and links for anyone interested in improving the student experience in higher education: www.improvingthestudentexperience.com. In 2024, Michelle was awarded the European First Year Experience Leadership Award and the SRHE Contribution to the Field Award for her work in L&T and Student Transitions.

Prof. Felix Arndt

University of Guelph

Felix Arndt is Professor at the Gordon S Lang School of Business and Economics (University of Guelph, Canada), and a Research Fellow at the Center for Business and Sports of the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Throughout his career, he held professorial and administrative positions with responsibility for the full range of research programs, executive programs, departmental leadership, and international partnerships in the UK and China. His research agenda is centrally driven by the question of how novelty/change comes about in business settings. His work includes research on different and dynamic institutional contexts, technological change, the emergence and role of new actors in industries and entrepreneurs that initiate changes. Another central aspect of his work is the increasing focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility as well as inclusiveness as some of the drivers of the dynamics. Felix is an active entrepreneur and investor. As an engineer by training, he is fascinated by new technologies and their application.

Dhruv Krishnaraj

Founder of Student Circus, an award-winning employability platform.

Sabina Lozinschi

PE teacher, dance teacher, wedding choreographer, and founder of Soul Academy UK. Sabina will lead a Viennese Waltz dance session, and she will coach us on how to invite someone to dance, and how to dance together in a frame position.