Welcome to the Foundation Year Network Annual Conference for 2020
The current pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of our working lives and could represent the single greatest change to our sector since the introduction of tuition fees. In response, colleagues across the world have been trying out new methods of teaching and new ways of keeping in touch with each other and their students. Indeed, within the space of a few months, central tenets of pedagogical practice have been turned upside down and approaches that have long been resisted or ignored are rapidly becoming standard operating procedure. We cannot know how long these conditions will last, but we can begin to ask what legacy this period will have on teaching and wider University life once normality – or something approaching it – returns to the sector.
While it hasn’t been possible to run a face-to-face conference in the way that the Foundation Year Network has traditionally done this year, we are very happy to announce a series of round-table discussions that will allow colleagues from across the UK to discuss some of the major issues facing our sector. On the following pages you will find a range of resources, produced by our members, which will form the basis for these conversations. Colleagues should watch/read the resources that are hosted here before joining the live events for a range of engaging conversations about how we can respond to these challenges.
To join us for any of the live conference events, please sign up via this form – https://tinyurl.com/FYNAC2020 so you can be added to the Microsoft Teams site where these events will take place. To navigate to the resources, click on the links below.
9th July, 15:00-16:30 – Conference Launch
10th July, 10:00-11:30 – Staff and Student Experience
13th July, 11:00-12:30 – Inclusive Teaching and Transition
14th July, 10:00-11:30 – Inclusivity in STEM
15th July, 15:00-16:30 – Interdisciplinarity and Foundation Year Teaching
16th July, 14:00-15:30 – Annual General Meeting
17th July, 10:30-12:00 – Inclusive approaches to International Foundation Year practice
20th July, 14:00-15:30 – Inclusive Admissions
21st July, 13:00-14:30 – Digital Teaching and Assessment
22nd July, 15:00-16:30 – Foundation Year Network Closing Event