As part of the Emerging Issues IV project, EDIN invited a number of expert speakers to discuss the implications of the emergent themes identified in the book, and how educational development in higher education may evolve during and after the challenges of the pandemic era.

Our first Keynote Speaker was Professor Siân Bayne, Professor of Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, who joined us on 27th May 2021. Siân is Director of the Centre for Research in Digital Education, and teaches on Edinburgh’s MSc in Digital Education. She is also Director of Education at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Her research focuses on higher education futures, interdisciplinary approaches to researching digital education, and digital pedagogy. Many colleagues will have seen her publication of the Manifesto for Teaching Online in 2020, which provided a platform for debate, reflection and inspiration for all of us teaching online, and challenged us to rethink our approaches to using educational technologies. You can access the recording of Siân’s keynote and slides here.

Our second Keynote Speaker, Professor Paul Ashwin, Lancaster University, joined us on 26th November 2021 to launch the Emerging Issues IV book. Paul is a Professor of Higher Education, Head of Department and Deputy Director of the Centre for Global Higher Education at Lancaster. His research is focused on the educational role of higher education, and he is engaged in examining how curricula in higher education can be designed in ways that help to transform students’ understanding of themselves and the world. Paul offered us a series of reflections on Emerging Issues IV, and what the book tells us about the purposes of educational development. You can access the recording of Paul’s keynote and slides here.