Ukraine education delegation visits the University of Huddersfield

The visit was organised by Advance HE for senior Ukrainian ministers and policymakers

THE University of Huddersfield welcomed senior ministers and policymakers from the Ukrainian government for a fact-finding visit to showcase best practice within the UK’s higher education system.

Organised by Advance HE, the University was chosen as a destination for the group because of its numerous awards for teaching excellence.

Following a warm welcome from the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Thornton and the Dean of the School of Applied Sciences Professor Michael Ginger, the delegation of ten was introduced to three teaching accolades received by the University and the steps that had been taken to achieve them.

These included the gold-rating received from the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), the University receiving the first Global Teaching Excellence Award and how it is ranked number one in England for professionally qualified teaching staff.  The University of Huddersfield is the UK’s only university where 100% of permanent teaching staff are Fellows of Advance HE.

All three awards recognise world-class teaching and reward world-leading excellence in teaching and learning.

“We hope the visit will lead to further opportunities for collaboration between the University and institutions in the Ukraine.”

Professor Jane Owen-Lynch

The delegation was impressed to learn of the University’s award-winning Flying Start project from programme lead Dr Jane Wormald and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning Professor Jane Owen-Lynch.

Flying Start is a two-week timetable of sessions devoted to ensuring students engage with their university journey from the very beginning of their course.  The programme was the recipient of a Guardian University Award in 2018.

Huddersfield’s Students’ Union President Emmanuel Haruna and their Education Officer Sewa Adebisi spoke to the visitors on the relationship between the University and the Students’ Union.  The delegates were impressed to discover the level of input between the Union and the University and the importance placed on giving the students a voice and listening to their concerns.

The Ukrainian visitors also heard a talk by Head of Careers and Employability Claire Aydogan who explained the different ways the University supports its students and recent graduates into employment.

The group also received a tour of the campus which included a visit to the new Barbara Hepworth Building as well as the new science laboratories and optometry suite in the recently-refurbished Joseph Priestley Building.

The delegation was welcomed by Professor Jane Owen-Lynch, the University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching, who said that the University was delighted to have been chosen by Advance HE as one of the destinations for the visit by the Ukrainian government officials.

“We hope this will lead to further opportunities for collaboration between the University and institutions within Ukraine,” she said.

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