Delivered during 1st-5th July, the HEFi Festival 2019 was our exciting, week-long programme of continuing professional development events. Previously known as the Beacon Festival, the programme was broadened to include contributions from the wider HEFi team and university to support learning and teaching innovation for Beacon applications and beyond. The week was collectively delivered by HEFi, academic staff and teams from professional services such as the Library, Academic Registry and college-based welfare support on pedagogical research and practice. Contributions were focused on institutional and sector-wide topics such as unconscious bias, voice and presence when teaching, technology-enhanced learning, the university’s new assessment strategy and much more! The format of the sessions was designed primarily to provide staff at University of Birmingham a space to engage with practical and evidence-informed professional development in teaching.
The week proved to be a great success and has continued to grow in popularity, with over 350 registrations recorded across a total of 20 different sessions. This marks a significant increase from our 2017 and 2018 totals and evidences HEFi’s growing engagement with the wider university. In our evaluation survey, staff commented on the practicality of the workshops, and many found useful ideas and techniques to take away and use in their own teaching practice. Thanks to everyone who has engaged, we have some fantastic ideas to make near year’s HEFi Festival bigger and better!
If you would like to find out more about HEFi activities, take a look at our website.