Introduction

Following on the success of our three previous Emerging Issues publications, EDIN has now called for chapters for Emerging Issues 4 and writing is underway.

Text of Call

Theme and Focus

Previous Emerging Issues publications have not been too prescriptive in relation to themes addressed, and we encourage chapter authors to focus on topics important to their practice and likely to be of relevance to others.

2020 has presented unprecedented challenges to everyone working – and learning – in higher education in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have heard much discussion of changed times and even a ‘new normal’ in our society and within our organisations. We welcome submissions addressing these themes in the context of academic practice and educational development in higher education. However, we also encourage contributors to consider wide-ranging changes in the landscape of higher education:

• The advent of new national initiatives and frameworks for teaching and learning over the past five years;
• Ongoing changes in our student cohorts and new challenges faced by students and staff;
• The growing importance of digital education, learning analytics, open education and open scholarship in higher education;
• Sustainability and the climate emergency;
• Sectoral changes including the new technological universities, institutional mergers and organisational change influencing teaching and learning.

We wish to continue and build on the existing ethos of the Emerging Issues publications too, sharing experience in leading edge developments and sharing knowledge of national and international importance in this area. We wish to provide an opportunity for experienced and new voices to contribute to the professional learning and knowledge of academic developers. Emerging Issues publications have used a collaborative writing model with a range of supports which we envisage will continue with this publication. Most importantly, we seek to influence positively the practice of our colleagues through insights, evidence and reflection on our work, prompting renewed conversation and new working relationships in this area.

Contributions will be chosen because they reflect both the theme and the aims of the publication; your final contribution to the book should equally reflect these themes and aims. Writing will be supported through workshops. Chapters will be peer-reviewed with peers drawn from the sector in Ireland and the UK.

Audience

The audience for this book, as for the previous Emerging Issues publications, is wide.  It will include, amongst others, higher education teaching staff, staff involved in supporting teaching and learning, library staff, higher education senior management, policy makers, students and, in particular, educational developers inclusive of e-learning specialists, in both Ireland and elsewhere.  In writing your chapter, please be aware of the diversity of the audience and the fact that, though the majority of your readers will be from Ireland, your contribution should be accessible to an international audience.

Publication Timelines – Updated 13th August 2020

Publication

Following the model of previous Emerging Issues publications, Emerging Issues 4 will be an open publication with chapters released under Creative Commons licensing.

Style guidelines

Comprehensive details with regards chapter style will be forwarded at a later stage in the process; for now, the following points on style, which have been adapted from the Taylor & Francis ‘Advice to authors on preparing a manuscript’, should be noted by all authors: