ABSTRACT. Because they emphasise applied experiential learning, field trips have a special place in education. This presentation will offer a summary of the results of, and lessons learnt from, the LTDF project ‘Fieldtrips in an age of uncertainty: Data, pedagogy and guidance at the University of Glasgow’. Despite their generally acknowledged pedagogical value and widespread use across University teaching, fieldtrips are not centrally documented. Field trips provide considerable benefits that are hard to recreate in the classroom. These include the provision of memorable experiences, practical orientation, place based pedagogy and rapid feedback (Jones and Washko 2022) and the provision of alternative forms of learning such as embodied learning (Jickling et al. 2023). The scope of our preliminary study is a documentary review of field trip provision across three schools and two colleges to ascertain common practice relating to objectives and means of providing field trips. The study has taken place between February and April of 2026, focussing on the Business School, School of Social and Political Science, School of Geography and Earth Science and School of Biodiversity. This research will establish a repository of guidance on field trips as a first step. Building on this, we aim to include further schools (e.g. School of Humanities, Archaeology) to develop the project further. At the L&T Conference, we will present our findings from the documentary review.

Fieldtrips are of crucial importance for their ability to expand learning beyond ‘prescribed’ and ‘incomplete’ learning objectives (Jickling et al. 2024). Here we see the potential for transferable, work-based skills, life skills and graduate attributes. Fieldtrips should not be confused with ‘outward bound’ adventure-based education, but seen as a compassionate and inclusive reconstruction of education in a new environment, requiring planning and empathy to make available to all. Because inclusivity is broad and complex, it cannot be a focus of this study, although we acknowledge its importance and feel this could be a worthwhile follow-on study.

Amongst the skills identified by the ILOs, skills contributing to employability are separated out and examined in detail. This process is assisted by the broad disciplinary background of the research team behind the project, offering a broad base of knowledge for disciplinary and transdisciplinary skills, as well as a profound understanding of employment-related challenges in STEM subjects, the business world and in social sciences.

ABSTRACT. Ecologies of Knowing is an interdisciplinary staff-student partnership project, inspired by students, and supported by the University of Glasgow’s Learning and Teaching Development Fund and the organisers’ respective schools. The purpose was to explore meaningful engagement with traditional ecological knowledge/wisdom held by indigenous and local communities and reflect on how colonial systems have disrupted these traditions.

This project aligns with several areas in the University’s Learning and Teaching (L&T) strategy: student-centred active learning, decolonising the curriculum, environmental sustainability, and EDI. While colonial influences on L&T are addressed across various schools, a notable lacuna remains in decolonial understanding of environmental sustainability – an area crucial to graduates’ contribution to society and sustainable futures. Our sessions went beyond surface-level discussions, facilitating deeper reflection on indigenous practices historically suppressed by colonial systems. This empowered participants to be active and critical in knowledge creation and transformative reflective learning.

The project consisted of three workshops - two in-person and one fully online Speakers joined us via video conferencing from Australia, Ghana, India, and Canada. Participants explored indigenous, local and culturally rooted environmental sustainability practices through talks, videos, art, storytelling, and dialogue. These sessions encouraged shifts in perspectives, enhancing their understanding of environmental sustainability, knowledge building, and knowledge sharing, including the rituals and beliefs that shape these practices. They also stimulated curiosity and a desire to learn more - an important outcome given the often overlooked onto-epistemologies of environmental sustainability and non-Western pedagogy.  

We engaged with Indigenous learning methods and practices from around the world, often marginalised by Western and modern philosophies. Grounded in indigenous and relational pedagogies, such as ubuntu (South Africa), yarning and 8 Ways framework (Australia) and story circles (Global Indigenous) and other culturally rooted practices, participants were encouraged to explore disappearing or misunderstood practices. These exercises prompted reflection on personal pedagogic assumptions and raised vital question: Should we re-imagine our approach?

In this approach, we draw on Barad’s notion of onto‑epistemology, the idea that being (ontology) and knowing (epistemology) are inseparable. Through this lens, Indigenous and local knowledge systems challenge the dominant Western separations between subject/object, nature/culture, and knowledge/being (Barad, 2007).

The project balanced theory and practice by highlighting stories of student transformations, and by exploring ways to integrate diverse and decolonised knowledge into curricula. This encouraged participants to critically examine their own teaching practices and leadership approaches. 

Another strand of the project was a student-led nature exploration featuring activities such as nature walks, observations, wildlife photography and video sharing, species identification via the iNaturalist app, and group reflections.

In our presentation, we will explain our activities, rationale and key takeaways. These were deeply impactful, life-changing experiences. We will share reflections from the five project organisers, including the challenges faced in organising activities, lessons learn and pitfalls to avoid.

In alignment with UNSDG 13’s objective of climate resilience through co-production, community-led, decolonial knowledge generation has been shown to intrinsically motivate change in sustainable behaviour more effectively than ‘in your face’ solutions which are overtly technological solutions (Rashid, 2022).

ABSTRACT. The implementation of a flipped classroom approach in engineering education is gaining prominence, where lectures are delivered online, and in-class time is dedicated to active learning. The effectiveness of this model, however, hinges on the quality and quantity of digital and teacher resources. This study presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a flipped classroom model within an Engineering Mechanics module, involving 130 first-year students in the Mechanical Engineering Programme jointly offered by the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the University of Glasgow (UofG). This initiative serves as a pilot delivery of a blended learning approach for the SIT-UofG programmes in Singapore, involving a partnership between the University of Glasgow Singapore (UGS) and SIT. The online learning materials include a variety of resources, such as video lectures, online quizzes, readings, and discussion forums. The face-to-face (F2F) components occur in the classroom after students have completed the online learning content. These F2F sessions aim to engage learners in internalizing and building their knowledge through teacher-facilitated team-based activities, fostering both learner-learner and learner-instructor interactions. The Flipped Engineering Mechanics Classroom were conducted in trimester 2 of AY2024/25, employing multiple methods to assess its effectiveness. The self-determination theory, which addresses learners’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence, had been used to evaluate students' perceptions of digital and teacher support. Outcome assessments focus on student engagement and learner satisfaction, considering the four dimensions of student engagement (behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and agentic) and the four factors of learner satisfaction (learner-content, learner-instructor, learner-learner, and learner-technology). This study aims to provide valuable insights into the interactions between instructional design, support mechanisms, and student outcomes within the context of a flipped engineering mechanics classroom.

ABSTRACT. Engineering graduates often enter the workforce underprepared in essential soft skills such as decision-making, leadership, and communication, creating a gap between academic training and industry expectations. Traditional lecture-based approaches frequently fail to provide authentic contexts for developing these competencies. This study presents a course redesign of the Engineering Project Management & Finance module at Glasgow College, UESTC, integrating a Scenario-Based Learning (SBL) framework to enhance both technical and soft skills. The redesigned assessment engaged 609 students individually in responding to ten real-world engineering management scenarios. Students were asked to analyze each scenario, evaluate alternatives, propose solutions, and justify their decisions in a structured written report (maximum 250 words per scenario). Each submission was assessed using a detailed rubric covering analytical thinking, decision-making, critical thinking, presentation, problem-solving, risk management, and teamwork. A blind double-marking process was employed, and criterion-level scores enabled quantitative analysis of skill development across the cohort. Student and alumni feedback informed scenario design through focus groups and online surveys. Approximately 48 students participated in the initial scenario review, ensuring that tasks were accessible, inclusive, and reflective of diverse learning styles. Industry input was collected from six engineering professionals and alumni working in electronic and electrical sectors, who provided insights on workplace challenges, decision-making priorities, and key employability skills. This feedback directly shaped scenario content, ensuring authenticity and alignment with professional practice. Findings demonstrate consistent strengths in analytical thinking, decision-making, critical thinking, and presentation skills, with opportunities identified in problem-solving, risk management, and collaborative teamwork. The SBL approach provides a scalable, inclusive, and objective method for cultivating and assessing essential soft skills. By immersing students in authentic managerial challenges, the course bridges the gap between academia and industry while addressing diverse learner needs. This study builds on prior research in experiential and scenario-based learning in engineering education (Chamorro-Premuzic et al., 2010; Cheng & Hitt, 2018; Khan et al., 2025), demonstrating that structured, evidence-based assessment can reliably measure soft skills and inform curriculum development. The approach highlights the value of integrating student and industry input in course design to foster inclusive, practice-ready, and adaptable engineers.

ABSTRACT. The benefits of formative learning activities (FLAs) for students’ critical thinking skills and academic performance are well documented (Morris et al., 2021), yet student uptake of FLAs is often low (Wu & Jessop, 2018). Students are increasing their working hours due to rising costs of living and can struggle to engage meaningfully with FLAs in their limited study time (Office for Students, 2023). Working in partnership with students, this project aims to investigate student engagement with a range of formative learning activities in different Schools, the relationship between engagement and academic performance, and elicit students’ views on the barriers to and enablers of engagement with FLAs.

This talk will share results from the first year of a LTDF funded project looking at cross-College student engagement with FLAs. This project aims to answer the following research questions:

How and why do students engage with formative learning activities?

What is the relationship between engagement in FLAs and academic performance?

What are the barriers to student engagement with FLAs?

What factors encourage student engagement in FLAs?

We will present focus group data exploring the specific barriers faced by UofG students and give examples of case studies showing the link between student engagement with formative activities and academic performance. For example, in second year chemistry a strong correlation between engaging with smart worksheets and exam performance has been established. Smart worksheets offer opportunities for active learning and the incorporation of a random number generator allows studies to employ iterative engagement to build knowledge and skills incrementally. Such activities align with the UofG Assessment and Feedback Framework by providing timely and meaningful feedback to help students judge their performance and regulate learning.

Finally we will describe how the findings have been used to create evidence-based resources to encourage student engagement with FLAs.

The talk will be presented by various team members including the project leads and student interns.

ABSTRACT. Many students lack confidence in discussing their experiments and thoughts with lecturers. With the advent of GenAI, most institutions are considering introducing oral or viva type examinations to maintain academic robustness, particulary in Honours years. To many students this is a terrifying prospect. To address this issue we developed an assessment for L2 students where a GenAI takes the role of a lecturer for a text-based conversation about their recent experiments in a practical lab. The GenAI is trained to ask questions around specific learning outcomes, so whilst each conversation is unique, similar areas are examined leading to an equitable experience. When students are unclear, or give incorrect answers, the GenAI will encourage and prompt the students to work their way to the correct answer. Following the assessment, the transcripts of the conversations are assessed by staff. Students reported a significant increase in confidence in their ability to discuss their science with an expert and greater understanding of their experimental outcomes. Further, the assessment demonstrated to students a valid way to use GenAI to support their learning and revision.

ABSTRACT. This presentation outlines the development of PhysiOdyssey, a staff-led creative physiology journal designed to support inclusive science education by providing a platform for student contributors to explore physiological concepts through creative writing and visual media. The initiative originated from Honours-level coursework in Human Biology and Physiology, where students engaged with creative writing as a form of assessment. Recognising a gap in science publishing for imaginative, student-authored work, the editorial team established PhysiOdyssey using the University of Glasgow’s open-source journal platform. Two student interns (one from science and one from literature) were recruited with the University of Glasgow Chancellor’s Fund support to assist with the launch. Their prior experience in student publications informed key aspects of the journal’s development, including editorial decisions, copyediting, and social media strategy. Their contributions were instrumental in delivering the inaugural issue and in shaping the journal’s ethos. In the current academic year, a final-year student is continuing this work as part of their Honours project, with a focus on editorial development and public engagement. The presentation will reflect on how PhysiOdyssey integrates student partnership into curriculum-adjacent activity, supports skill development in science communication, and offers a flexible model for interdisciplinary engagement. It contributes to ongoing conversations around inclusive education and the evolving role of creative practice in science teaching.

ABSTRACT. Currently, a resurgence of inequality and coloniality is affecting nations worldwide, exacerbating the struggles of many minority groups and contributing to rising mental health issues across the global population. Future generations of psychologists must be prepared to address new psychological challenges that are inevitably linked to social inequality and injustice, both of which significantly impact mental health. Among the employability skills required of psychologists, intercultural sensitivity and decolonial approaches to mainstream psychological theories and methods are essential for practicing with integrity. While these skills are critical for effective and ethically oriented psychology practitioners and researchers, they are also increasingly relevant across disciplines throughout academia. Individual Differences, like many areas of psychology, has historically excluded theories, methods, and empirical studies originating from the Global South and from marginalized or discriminated groups (Schmidt, 2019). Future psychologists from diverse cultural backgrounds must learn psychological approaches from multiple perspectives and develop intercultural sensitivity to respond meaningfully and effectively to the needs of increasingly diverse populations worldwide. A decolonial perspective provides a key pathway for transformative change in the way psychology is taught and learned in academia (Phiri et al., 2023). This Student-Staff Partnership project aimed to decolonize the Individual Differences (ID) course for 2025–26 using a range of strategies. We mapped previous course materials, reflected as a team— including three partner students (former ID students), the course convenor, and a colleague with expertise in decolonizing curriculum and pedagogy— and interviewed ten former ID students to gather insights on how best to achieve this goal. Using a co-creation, iterative approach, our SSPS team and current ID students searched for, learned from, and shared knowledge drawn from the “unheard and unseen” perspectives of marginalized populations and scholars from discriminated groups. This process deepened our understanding and empathy toward diverse cultural viewpoints. We employed participatory teaching, learning, and research approaches to foster students’ sense of empowerment while encouraging them to think about empowering others. Learning about and applying a decolonial perspective aimed to strengthen our sense of responsibility, intercultural sensitivity, and understanding of participatory research approaches—skills that are essential for future psychology practitioners and researchers committed to working for the common good. This presentation shares our SSPS team’s experience of collaboratively decolonizing the ID course, adjusting objectives along the way, and reflecting on how to unlearn and re-learn knowledge and roles through an egalitarian lens that values all viewpoints. Our reflections on decolonizing the ID course and on students’ views about the value of decolonizing psychology have taught us that: 1. Decolonization is a long-term process, but it is worthwhile when pursued collectively. 2. Co-creating decolonial learning experiences is invaluable for preparing future psychologists to work thoughtfully and effectively with diverse populations. We believe this message resonates beyond psychology and can inspire academics across disciplines.

ABSTRACT. Effective communication is fundamental to employability and professional competence in healthcare. In dentistry, it underpins trust, consent, and collaboration. Yet authentic opportunities for formative feedback from diverse professional perspectives remain limited within traditional curricula.

This project reports on an interprofessional initiative between Dentistry (School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing) the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (School of Health & Wellbeing), and Hygiene Therapy (University of Strathclyde), designed to strengthen communication and feedback skills for all three cohorts through a shared formative assessment experience.

The project integrates second-year Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsych) trainees into a formative second-year dental communication training. Renewing an interprofessional training activity that was in place pre-pandemic, dental and hygiene therapy students conduct simulated patient consultations with trained actors and receive formative feedback from peers, staff, and actors. The addition of clinical psychology trainees provides a new layer of observation and feedback, focusing on empathy, active listening, trauma-informed practices and the behavioural nuances of effective communication.

This collaboration provides mutual benefit: dental and hygiene therapy students are supported in developing a psychologically informed approach to communication, and DClinPsych trainees enhance their teaching, critical appraisal and feedback skills, while reflecting on their communication style and interprofessional practice. The collaboration also fosters an appreciation of interprofessional teamwork and communication beyond disciplinary boundaries.

This presentation will describe the structure, rationale, and outcomes of the project, highlighting the mutual employability benefits for both cohorts. It aligns with the conference subtheme Employability and Skills and with the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy through its focus on authentic assessment, partnership working, and experiential learning. Discussion around how initiatives like this can take place in other disciplines will take place.

The initiative demonstrates how small-scale interprofessional collaborations can provide high-impact learning experiences at minimal cost, while strengthening the employability attributes outlined in the University’s Graduate Attributes Framework. Future developments include the co-design of a shared feedback rubric and longitudinal tracking of impact on students’ reflective and communication capabilities.

ABSTRACT. Context: Before the 2025/26 academic year, first-year undergraduate engineering students in the James Watt School of Engineering (JWSE) at the University of Glasgow faced a relatively impersonal learning environment. Large lecture halls filled with hundreds of unfamiliar faces made it difficult for students to form connections with peers within their discipline, which negatively impacted their overall sense of belonging. This lack of community hindered peer-to-peer learning and contributed to low engagement with institutional support structures and formal feedback mechanisms. Compared to students in later years, first-year students were significantly less involved in shaping their learning experience through timely feedback.

Objectives: To address these challenges, a new intervention aimed at improving student experience, wellbeing, and engagement was introduced. The objective was to create a structured, inclusive Student Peer Support Framework (Student Circles), that would foster community, enhance feedback mechanisms, and align with the values of University of Glasgow’s Learning and Teaching Strategy (such as inclusive learning practices and supporting student wellbeing).

Methodology: The design of the Student Circles Framework was informed by multiple sources: • Anonymised student feedback collected via questionnaires in 2024, focusing on expectations and experiences of Year 1 students. • Relevant literature, including Andreanoff et al. (2024). • Consultations with staff to ensure the intervention was feasible.

Using UCAS Admissions data, diverse peer support groups, referred to as Circles, were created before students arrived on campus. These Circles were embedded into student timetables to ensure consistent, in-person interactions from the start of semester 1. Each Circle shared a similar timetable and was enrolled in a dedicated Moodle page to facilitate communication and collaboration. To promote leadership and representation, each Circle elected a representative using a proportional voting tool via Moodle. These representatives were offered Peer Leader Training delivered by the University’s Peer Learning Team, aligning with Stage 2 of Peer Support development (Chilvers et al., 2025). Meetings between staff and Circle representatives were held to gather feedback.

Outcomes: The implementation of Student Circles has changed the first-years’ experience in JWSE. The structured nature of the Circles enabled more meaningful peer interactions within each engineering discipline and created an additional layer of student representation. Circle allocations have also been integrated into Team-Based Learning activities. The framework supports the University’s strategic goals by embedding peer support into the curriculum and enhancing the quality of student representation.

Implications: The Student Circles Framework represents a transformative approach to first-year engineering education by facilitating peer-learning opportunities. The initiative focuses on supporting student wellbeing and inclusion and provides a useful additional means of sharing student feedback. The presentation will share key lessons learned during the implementation and reflect on feedback from both staff and students, offering insights for wider adoption across the Higher Education sector.

References:

Andreanoff, J., Chilvers, L., Chin, P., Garratt, C., Lefever, R., Lochtie, D., Perry, C. and Falcon, O.R.: AdvanceHE Report: Student-led peer learning and support - Literature review (2024).

Chilvers, L and McConnell, C.: AdvanceHE Report: The Peer-to-Peer Framework: Embedding Peer Learning and Support in Higher Education (2025).

ABSTRACT. As higher education institutions adapt to increasingly diverse student communities and evolving wellbeing challenges, the importance of embedding compassion and inclusivity into pedagogical practice has never been greater (Bitanihirwe & Imad, 2023). This presentation will explore how Trauma‑Informed Practice (TIP) can be integrated into higher education to create learning environments that are safe, equitable, and empowering for all students. Trauma, defined as experiences that have lasting adverse effects on wellbeing, affects a significant proportion of the student population. Research shows that exposure to traumatic events is common among university students and can negatively impact social, emotional, and academic functioning, including attendance, engagement, concentration, and performance (Carello & Butler, 2015; Bitanihirwe & Imad, 2023). While equality and disability frameworks provide vital support, they often rely on formal disclosure and documentation, meaning that many students affected by trauma remain unrecognised and unsupported. This study draws on qualitative data from 10 women with lived experience of trauma and 30 practitioners who support women affected by trauma, collected through semi‑structured interviews and focus groups. Participants were recruited from a variety of practitioners across different sectors, including community services and healthcare, in Scotland. Data were analysed using thematic coding, highlighting principles such as empathy, listening, and creating safe spaces. Drawing on this evidence, trauma‑informed education moves beyond reactive responses towards a proactive, universal approach that places wellbeing at the centre of learning and teaching design. Key principles identified include safety, trust, empowerment, collaboration, peer support, and cultural sensitivity, which are transferable to higher education contexts. Within the classroom, this can involve co‑creating class norms with students, establishing predictable learning structures, integrating emotional check‑ins, providing choice in assessments, and using sensitive language and materials. Such approaches foster psychological safety and build the trust necessary for deep learning and engagement. The adoption of trauma‑informed education represents not a checklist of strategies but a cultural and relational shift. It positions wellbeing as foundational to academic success and belonging, encouraging educators to reflect on how trauma‑informed principles complement or challenge existing equality and disability policies, and what supports such as time, training, and leadership commitment are required for sustainable implementation. Ultimately, embedding trauma‑informed practice in higher education offers a pathway towards a more compassionate and inclusive university culture, empowering both staff and students to engage meaningfully, learn collaboratively, and thrive holistically. By centring relational care, empathy, and listening, universities can move from awareness to action, ensuring that every student, regardless of past experiences, has the opportunity to flourish academically and personally.

ABSTRACT. Forensic science education frequently exposes learners to traumatic or emotionally charged material, including violence, abuse, and death. As student wellbeing increasingly becomes a core institutional priority, understanding how teaching practices account for this emotional burden is essential. This study explores educators’ perspectives on Trauma-Informed Pedagogies (TIP) within UK forensic science programmes, examining both awareness and application of TIP principles in learning. A UK-wide survey targeted lecturers teaching forensic science subjects across higher education institutions. Through a survey combining Likert-scale and open-ended questions, the study assessed participants’ knowledge of, experience with, and attitudes toward TIP. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively in RStudio and Excel, while qualitative responses underwent reflexive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke. Findings reveal that while approximately 40% of respondents had prior awareness of TIP, nearly 70% could not identify concrete examples of its use in practice. Nonetheless, almost 80% of educators recognised the importance of implementing TIP in forensic education, and almost all (c.100%) agreed that staff training in trauma-informed approaches is necessary. Despite strong conceptual support, barriers such as lack of training (50%) and limited time (29%) hinder integration into everyday teaching. Interestingly, over 90% of respondents affirmed the educational value of exposing students to trauma-related content, provided it is delivered responsibly. These findings highlight the tension between maintaining academic rigour and safeguarding student wellbeing in disciplines inherently tied to distressing material. The data suggest that embedding trauma-informed approaches can support resilience, empathy, and reflective professionalism among students—key attributes for sustainable careers in forensic and criminal justice sectors.

ABSTRACT. A sense of belonging to the university, defined as a feeling of being accepted, included and valued at an institution, is a critical factor in student engagement, academic success, and retention (Goodenow & Grady, 1993, Pedler, Willis & Nieuwoudt, 2022). However, students who live at home and commute to university (home students) face unique challenges that compromise this sense of belonging. A report from the University of Glasgow Home Student Working Group concluded that over a third of home students felt the university was not a welcoming environment for them, citing difficulties in making friends, feelings of isolation, and a lack of tailored support (McKenzie Smith, 2021). In addition, within the early years of Life Science degrees, large class sizes and generalised curricula can lead to a feeling of detachment from their chosen degree subject and further compromise a home student’s sense of belonging to the university.

This project, supported by LTDF funding, aimed to foster a “home from home” environment by increasing inclusive opportunities for personal connection across home-based and in-hall students and promote a greater sense of belonging with their chosen Life Science degree subject, in alignment with Pillar 1 of the University of Glasgow Learning and Teaching strategy (Enabling relationship building to support wellbeing and retention). We aimed to assess Life Science home student belonging using surveys and student-led focus groups. In turn, this would inform the delivery of inclusive, student-led events in collaboration with Life Science degree-specific student societies. We also aimed to introduce a lab coat badge initiative within Level 1 Biology, allowing students to visually identify a students’ chosen degree programme and promote subject-specific identity and community.

Life Science home student focus groups revealed that barriers to their sense of belonging included inaccessibility of evening social events, limited participation in clubs due to scheduling and cost, extended timetabling of classes, a lack of awareness of support services, and the burden of part-time work and transport logistics. In response, students suggested practical improvements such as compact timetables, structured study sessions, better locker access, a dedicated Moodle tile for commuting resources, and more daytime social events. Following these findings, we will survey undergraduate home and in-hall Life Science students with respect to their sense of belonging by the end of 2025. We have also engaged with student societies to support inclusive events projected to run during the second semester of the 25/26 academic year, with a follow-up survey planned to assess the effectiveness of these events. An initial pilot of the year 1 Life Science badge initiative has also proved encouraging and we are currently assessing the sustainability of this scheme.

This talk will discuss the current findings from the focus groups and the planned surveys and reflect on the effectiveness of the inclusive, student-led events on student belonging. We will also underscore the importance of recognising and addressing the distinct needs of commuting students to support the academic and social success of all students, regardless of their living arrangements.

ABSTRACT. Despite growing awareness of the need to decolonise university teaching, standardisation and rigid assessment regimes remain deeply embedded structural barriers (Mbembe, 2016; Stein & de Oliveira Andreotti, 2016). These systems still privilege dominant knowledge traditions and struggle to reflect the lived realities of international or racially minoritised students. Building on the work by Quinlan and Thomas (2023; 2024), we developed the Internationally Relevant Curriculum Scales (IRCS) as a structured framework to help educators to assess the international relevance and cultural inclusivity of university courses and programmes, guide curriculum revisions and improve well-being, engagement and outcomes for international and racially minoritised students. This presentation will report on our experience of developing IRCS as a self-reflection and staff development tool designed to co-create an inclusive higher education curriculum. The presentation will, moreover, present preliminary cross-institutional data on student perception on the international relevance and cultural inclusivity of University of Glasgow curricula. Crucially, it will explore how IRCS foregrounds voices of international and racially minoritised students, and provokes meaningful dialogue around anti-racist and decolonial practices that can form the basis for actionable steps to improve student well-being and competence to contribute to global society.

ABSTRACT. Neurodivergency encompasses a range of experiences, including autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. Because neurodivergent individuals may identify with multiple disability categories—such as cognitive/learning difficulties and mental health conditions— the prevalence in higher education (HE) is difficult to determine. However, data show that students with a registered disability have poorer outcomes than their non-disabled peers at multiple points in their degrees (OfS, 2023). Neurodivergent students (and staff) often struggle with executive functioning demands (e.g. planning, organisation, task initiation, and emotion regulation), compounded by emotional barriers (e.g. stigma, perfectionism, imposter syndrome). These are intensified within fast-paced learning environments that rely heavily on self-regulation and offer limited accessible support, challenges also faced by other vulnerable students. Learning and Teaching (L&T) practices must adopt inclusive, intersectional approaches, aiming for a Universal Design to empower students with diverse needs to engage meaningfully. Our research draws on the expertise and lived experience of neurodivergent team members and participants to develop an AI ‘tool-box’ to support L&T in Psychology, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all approaches. This project aims to develop neurodivergent-specific guidance on AI use to foster critical thinking, reduce accessibility barriers, and promote broader inclusion. The AI toolbox captures how such tools can support the “hidden curriculum” of academic skills—implicit expectations often left unexplained in formal instruction. Our talk will explore how AI can foster scientific thinking, while retaining an inclusive and intersectional focus. Participatory research with neurodivergent academics enhances understanding of cognitive support for executive dysfunction, particularly where limited institutional resources and current educational approaches are not enough to help them thrive. The project reflected the L&T Strategy through staff-students collaboration at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, incorporating a diversity of contributing voices from the lived experience perspective of Higher Education (HE) neurodivergent staff and students when it comes to their specific use and needs of AI tools. Our goal was to understand and support how neurodivergent staff and students use AI tools in their academic practice. Using mixed methods, we surveyed UK-wide neurodivergent HE staff and students (n=61), followed by interviews exploring their experiences in depth. We examined whether participants faced specific hidden or cognitively demanding tasks and how AI tools were being used to manage these challenges. Alongside this, we developed an AI toolkit featuring the tools reported by participants and identified areas where further AI support could address unmet needs—particularly in navigating the hidden curriculum. As part of our findings to-date, we have identified how neurodivergent staff and students are using AI tools, which highlighted the need for improved AI literacy, including LLM models and other AI tools supporting executive dysfunction. The aim of this toolkit is for it to be used to support AI literacy with a lens to support executive dysfunction, aiming to reach a broader audience of neurodivergent academics. Our findings also highlighted persistent barriers experienced by neurodivergent individuals in HE, informing future research directions for the project team.

ABSTRACT. Delivering a course in longer sessions over consecutive days in a short time frame (1-6 weeks), referred to as ‘compressed’ or ‘block teaching’, aligns more closely with the workplace experience than the short (1-2 hr) weekly sessions delivered over 12 weeks, which is a more standard university course format. In addition to allowing students to focus on a single subject for a shorter period of time, compressed teaching also has the potential to better promote employability skills for students and frame the transition of students from their identity as a student into that of a graduate. If the same credits, content and intended learning outcomes are retained, the knowledge and applied skills content will be similar, but the potential for employability skills development is much higher, better supporting students’ transition to the workplace.

Compressed or block teaching is not a new concept (Davies 2006), however several universities across the UK are widely adopting this course format to improve student engagement, knowledge attainment and respond to post-COVID development (Turner et al. 2021, Buck & Tyrell 2022). Effects from this course format are mixed, with some studies finding little effect on knowledge attainment in compressed vs standard format courses (Tatum 2010) and others finding positive ones (Daniels 2000, Sheldon & Durella 2009), but few focus on the connection between this course format and the development of transferable skills to support student employability. This project aims to fill this gap, exploring the extent to which students perceive development of employability skills in this delivery format (Kornelakis et al, 2020), and how other aspects of compressed format teaching, such as the importance of staff-student relationships, could improve the student learning experience.

In order to separate content from format, courses teaching a similar subject (business) and using a consecutive day format but within different degree programmes were selected, including BIOL4298 – Undergraduate Life Sciences course, BIOL5200 – Postgraduate Life Sciences course and MGT4019 – Undergraduate Business School course. Analysis used a mixed methods approach combining pre- and post-course questionnaires to evaluate student responses to the format, and thematic analysis of focus groups and reflective journals kept by the students to explore student perceptions around benefits to employability with the cohorts involved.

Results demonstrated little consistency in benefits related to academic performance or specific skills development, but there was a clear message that student wellbeing was much more supported, encouraging them to engage more fully with the content. The role of this format in building effective peer support and staff-student support within the classroom was considerable, and clearly unique in comparison to the students’ prior experiences within university. More evaluation of the development of transferable skills using this approach is needed, but overall students found the compressed nature of delivery within these courses highly beneficial.

ABSTRACT. Film and TV Studies at the University of Glasgow has historically been a theory-based programme with a focus on critical analysis rather than a vocational degree designed to provide practical skills and training for those wishing to enter the screen industries. While this is a valuable approach to studies of film and television, the lack of vocational provision raises questions around how we are preparing students for the workplace as well as whether we sufficiently communicate to employers the value that our graduates bring. This is particularly important at a time in which the UK screen industries are facing an unprecedented set of challenges from the rise of new technologies and AI, sustainability and climate crisis, and class, gender, and age gaps; students must be prepared not only to recognise these challenges as they seek to enter the workforce, but also to directly address them through ethical, creative, and critical practices.

In response to these questions and challenges, we collected student feedback and redesigned our Level 1 and 2 offerings to include a Screen Industries core course and defined pathway for students seeking to work in film and TV. We simultaneously developed an RSE-funded Graduate Attributes project which aimed to find out how to outline and improve upon a critically-informed skills development framework that could accommodate for and apply real-time/real-world research. We conducted this research through a series of workshops with key industry stakeholders and alumni to determine what skills and attributes were most important to employers and to investigate the degree to which our graduates felt appropriately prepared to meet the expectations of the industry.

This research informed the restructuring of our Level 2 Screen Industries course over the last two years. In response to our findings, we have adjusted the course offering toward introducing students to the breadth of roles available in the industry as well as the entry-level skills required to flourish in these roles. We have also developed assessments allowing students to reflect on key structural challenges in the industry and the degree to which these challenges are being (or have been) addressed. Our primary focus over the last two years of co-teaching this course has been to establish in students a strong critical and ethical understanding of the industry at large. Our question has been: how do we facilitate a new generation of screen industry workers who are equipped to deal with ever-evolving challenges and even transform outdated or problematic ways of working

In this presentation, we outline two years of research conducted in collaboration with industry partners, alumni, and students and demonstrate the active impact of that research on our learning and teaching. We also reflect on the implementation of these learnings into, specifically, an undergraduate core course, exploring the ways in which academic research can quickly and directly impact student experience, network building, and skills development. We close with consideration of how learning and teaching methods based in research can help us to continue addressing the evolving needs of our students at Glasgow.

ABSTRACT. In response to the growing importance of digital professional presence and the need to embed employability into higher education curricula, the ‘LinkedIn to Get In’ initiative was developed and implemented within the University of Glasgow undergraduate programmes. This experiential learning activity aimed to enhance students’ confidence and competence in professional networking by integrating structured LinkedIn-based tasks, co-created with student interns and supported by alumni partnerships.

The workshop was delivered to third-year students, a pivotal stage when undergraduates begin to specialise in their subject area. This session involved a series of activities including the creation of student profiles, joining closed degree-specific LinkedIn groups and matching of alumni from a curated database to students for interview. These interviews focused on career trajectories, employer expectations and future skills, culminating in student-led presentations reflecting on their findings, to their peers. This approach fostered active engagement with real-world professionals and encouraged reflective practice on career aspirations and pathways.

Pre- and post-workshop questionnaires revealed shifts in student perceptions and confidence of using an online platform to network. Prior to the workshop, only 10.9% of students had actively used LinkedIn and nearly half reported low confidence in using the platform. Post-workshop, 84% felt confident in networking via LinkedIn, with 88% indicating they would increase their usage of the platform. Importantly, students’ understanding of LinkedIn’s broader benefits, beyond job searching, grew substantially, with increased recognition of its value for networking, accessing opportunities and building an online portfolio.

The workshop also impacted students’ career thinking with 20% reconsidering their career direction following alumni interviews. This highlights the power of alumni engagement in surfacing diverse career options and making professional pathways more tangible. In addition to presenting their findings to their peers, students were asked to reflect on their conversations with alumni and think of changes they intend to make or opportunities they will seek, better preparing them for future employment. A key output of this project was the development of an e-zine of blogs, the idea initiated and developed by two student partners and based upon the conversations students had with their chosen alumni. This valuable resource was added to Moodle where students could utilise it at any time throughout their academic journey.

This initiative exemplifies how employability and skills development can be effectively embedded into disciplinary teaching through experiential, student-led activities and innovative methods of teaching can be designed and delivered when working in collaboration with students. It supports the development of digital literacy, professional communication and reflective practice, while also enhancing students’ social capital. The model is low-cost, scalable, and adaptable across disciplines, making it a practical strategy for institutions seeking to integrate employability into their curricula.

Future iterations could benefit from longitudinal tracking of LinkedIn engagement post-graduation and deeper qualitative insights through focus groups. Nonetheless, the findings underscore the value of structured, reflective and digitally integrated employability activities in preparing students for successful transitions into the workplace.

ABSTRACT. In a rapidly evolving educational landscape, Microcredentials offer a flexible and inclusive model for lifelong learning. This presentation explores how UofG can create accessible pathways from informal learning—such as MOOCs and short courses—through to credit-bearing Microcredentials and onward to degree destinations from postgraduate certificates to full degree programmes, whether online or on campus.

By mapping these pathways, UofG can support a broader and more diverse learner base, including those who may not initially meet traditional entry requirements or who seek alternative routes into higher education. The session will consider how Microcredentials can be designed to scaffold learning, build learner confidence, and provide and on-ramp and clear progression routes, while remaining responsive to industry needs and learner aspirations.

Drawing on current practice and innovation in Microcredential strategy, the presentation will consider the advantages of ‘stackable’ courses toward a full award, and highlight how inclusive marketing, onboarding, and enrolment approaches can widen participation and reduce barriers. The presentation will offer practical insights into designing a Microcredential portfolio and ecosystem that are inclusive, scalable, and supportive of institutional goals for equity and access, while aligning with the developing tenets of the Scottish Microcredential Framework.

Key Themes • Microcredentials as bridges between informal and formal learning. • Inclusive design, stackable credits, and progression pathways to degree destinations. • Institutional alignment with equity and access goals. • Examples of learner journeys from MOOC to degree (Current and nascent pathways).

ABSTRACT. Context and Rationale Inclusive education requires universities to understand and respond to the evolving needs of diverse student cohorts. Within postgraduate programmes, dissertation projects are a critical component of learning and skill development. This study explores the factors influencing students’ choice of projects and the expectations of what those projects will involve. Purpose and Approach An online survey was conducted with 21 students of a healthcare science MSc to examine motivations for project selection, adequacy of information provided, expectations of working arrangements, and anticipated skills development. Key Findings Students reported complex decision-making when selecting projects, balancing topic interest, methodological appeal, and career relevance. Lab-based projects were most popular, with 15 of 21 respondents citing career considerations as a major influence. While most students valued choice, nearly half indicated insufficient information about projects, compounded by short decision timelines. Expectations for project engagement included full-time commitment (five days per week) and on-site presence, yet students also anticipated flexibility in working hours and occasional remote options, particularly important for those with caring responsibilities or part-time employment. Desired resources included dedicated workspace and regular supervisory contact, typically weekly. Students expected skill development in academic writing, problem-solving, time management, and data interpretation, and some highlighted that for them having an enjoyable experience was important. Implications for Flexible Learning Pathways These findings highlight the importance of understanding student expectations when designing postgraduate research experiences. Flexibility in working arrangements and clear communication about project requirements emerged as key factors for inclusion. Following this work, I am now working with students to develop a framework of minimum information to be provided in project proposals (e.g., location, work requirements, options for flexible working etc). Such measures align with institutional priorities for flexible learning opportunities, and widening participation, ensuring that postgraduate dissertation experiences are authentic, inclusive, and responsive to student needs. Conclusion By integrating student perspectives into the information provided within the project proposals, and consideration of diverse students during the project design stage, educators can support learning opportunities that increase access, support engagement and wellbeing, whilst preparing all graduates for modern professional working environments.

ABSTRACT. The AI Ethics, Inclusion & Society MOOC, co-created by student interns and staff at the University of Glasgow, demonstrates how inclusive, flexible learning can embed ethical and digital literacy in higher education. The three-week, fully asynchronous MOOC supports learners to explore AI opportunities as well as challenges, including bias, discrimination, and environmental impacts. Since its launch in May 2025, over 900 learners have participated, completing more than 20,000 learning steps and contributing to 1,600 discussion posts. Feedback indicates high course satisfaction, with 93% of learners reporting the course met or exceeded expectations, and 95% responding that they gained new knowledge and skills. Participants describe the MOOC as “academically rigorous,” “eye-opening,” and “thoughtfully designed to encourage ethical learning.” The course is hosted on FutureLearn, making it accessible globally, and has also been embedded into credit-bearing Year 2 Chemistry and Final Year Engineering courses in 2025. The impact of the MOOC on Glasgow Chemistry students’ perspectives on AI is now being analysed. Additionally, by engaging with the project, student interns have expressed that they gained transformative experience in filmmaking, web-design, course creation, teamwork, and project management, enhancing employability, confidence, and practical skills. As one of the student interns reflected: “The internship inspired me throughout my last year of university and even prompted me to search for Master’s degrees related to AI! It’s been a wonderful opportunity, helping me develop teamwork, editing, and course design skills – truly valuable stuff.” Project dissemination has extended the MOOC’s impact across academia and industry, with presentations including ViCEPHEC 2025 (Liverpool), the AIchemy Workshop (Imperial), and an AI up-skilling workshop delivered to industry leaders LearnSci. The initiative is also financially sustainable through the FutureLearn business model, allowing all University of Glasgow students and staff to gain unlimited free access, while the university creates revenue from the course. This reinforces the long-term viability of the MOOC, and the potential to dynamically reflect on and improve it over time. This presentation illustrates how student-led, co-created learning initiatives can foster lifelong learning, ethical awareness, and digital literacy. By combining open access, interdisciplinary content, and formal academic credit, the MOOC empowers learners to engage critically with AI, advocate for a fairer and more inclusive future, and recognise both the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies. It offers a scalable model for embedding ethical literacy into degree programmes while supporting student development and building sustainable, impactful educational pathways.

ABSTRACT. Medical students will be graduating into an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted workplace (1). Recent guidance from Health Data Research UK and the Medical Schools Council recommended that medical students should be AI literate and be able to consider the ethical and professional implications of the integration of AI into healthcare (2). The results of a pilot survey of Glasgow undergraduate medical school (UMS) academic and clinical staff members also found that teaching related to AI in healthcare should be focussed on real-world case studies. To address these unmet needs, second year medical students were offered an ‘Artificial intelligence in healthcare’ student selected component (SSC). During the SSC, students were tasked with identifying a real-world healthcare issue and conceptualising a novel application of an AI algorithm to address it ethically and responsibly. The SSC was delivered for eight students using several flexible teaching methods designed to be inclusive for learners. Interactive, online-anytime teaching included podcasts, formative quizzes, short lecture recordings and critical reading tasks. These were supported by three in-person tutorials, designed to support a weekly formative task to 1) identify a healthcare issue of their choosing, 2) identify ethical issues related to their chosen issue, and 3) to conceptualise an ethical AI tool to address the issue. Week on week, students were invited to discuss and critique each other’s formative tasks in a feedback session facilitated by the tutors, using the task to learn each topic through peer- and tutor- feedback. The summative assessment of this SSC was an essay detailing the student’s chosen healthcare issue and AI tool concept; and had to include the ethical implications of their AI tool. A summative ten-minute oral presentation was also given by each student, focussing on the need for the AI-tool in their healthcare issue of interest. Together, these teaching, assessment and feedback methods were designed to be inclusive, flexible and driven by the student’s own interest in a specific healthcare issue. This presentation will discuss the results of the survey gathered from UMS staff as well as the reflexive design and implementation of this SSC, plus plans to scale-up the SSC and the challenges associated with this. The pervasive influence of AI means that literacy of AI and related ethical issues will be required by students across many workplaces; and is not exclusive to medicine. As such, this presentation will cover how other disciplines can use this model to implement inclusive learning and teaching of AI literacy. This SSC demonstrates a model of a five-week standalone course which could be adapted and applied to different disciplines and different levels of study, promoting inclusive and flexible learning, teaching and feedback using problem-solving of real-world applications.

ABSTRACT. The rise of Generative AI (GenAI) presents both opportunities and challenges for higher education, particularly in assessment and feedback. While early research highlights GenAI’s capabilities in tasks such as automated grading and personalized feedback, it also raises concerns about academic integrity, equity, and the preparedness of both students and educators to engage with these tools effectively. Universities are facing policy gaps, balancing AI literacy development with concerns over misconduct and assessment security. There is limited evidence however on how frontline educators, particularly in interdisciplinary fields that combine coding and social science, are adapting to these shifts. To date, most of the use of GenAI in assessments has focused on written work, like summative reports and essays.

Coding however tends be structured in ways that can be similar across students answers and so harder to detect. This study explores how teaching staff navigate feedback and assessment in coding-intensive social science courses in the era of GenAI. Ultimately, it asks a simple question: If an assessment involves coding, how will a teacher know whether this has been generated by AI?

We undertook a small qualitative study of around ten social sciences staff at various levels of seniority involved in coding-related assessments. They firstly undertook a structured reflection, reflecting on their expertise in GenAI detection, their detection processes, their follow up actions and their views on current instructional guidelines and support. We used thematic coding to identify the core themes, which was then followed up with a focus group in order to establish commonalities across subjects and programmes and to explore these themes in more depth. Some emerging findings are the variation in expertise and detection approaches across staff; differences between coding and written assessment detection; attitudes towards AI and underlying pedagogical purposes; and the lack of institutional support and ambiguous guidelines.

Although this focuses on coding-related GenAI usage, there are wider issues for teaching and assessments. Our presentation reflects on these issues, specifically:

• How can GenAI be used in coding assessments to support learning while maintaining academic integrity?’ • If GenAI is something to prevent, does this limit meaningful choice within assessment design and, if ignoring it, does it fail to reflect real-world application?

After giving some initial project background in our presentation, we use our themes to explore some answers to these questions and reflect on the issues raised in relation to ‘Learning through Assessment’.

ABSTRACT. Oral assessments enable students to demonstrate critical thinking, real-time synthesis, and deep understanding while supporting academic integrity and authentic practices, particularly challenging to achieve in the Generative AI era. They offer routes to inclusive assessment and provide opportunity for students to practice their communication skills while building their core knowledge and provide more face-to-face time with teaching staff. However, they are not commonly used to assess knowledge of key concepts and learning objectives focusing on fundamental science at the University of Glasgow. This presentation reports on the work undertaken in the College of Science and Engineering focusing on exploring the feasibility of introduction of scalable recorded Viva Voce assessments to assess key learning objectives. State of the art current practices worldwide were explored, UK-wide academic experts and their practices were consulted, and a protocol for Viva Voce assessments was drafted. Feedback on the protocol was sought from academics in CoSE. The outcomes of these consultations were built into the protocol. The Learning Through Assessment framework was used throughout the process. The goal is to develop a sustainable and manageable approach that improves student and staff experience, while maintaining or improving learning attainment. Impact on student experience and performance will be tested after first implementation in a separate piece of work. The outputs of this project include best practice guidance for formative preparation and scaffolding prior to the assessments, a protocol for running a robust viva voce assessment (adaptable to different courses), best practice for marking and moderation, guidance on recording of the viva voce assessment, data storage, and management that ensures objectivity and academic integrity is maintained, and example marking rubrics that can be adapted to specific topics, as needed. The introduction of Viva Voce assessments to specific courses has the potential to provide better, more immediate and engaging, challenging but fair, experience of assessment and feedback. It provides opportunities for academic conversations between students and staff, as well as for practice of verbal presentation skills of technical and scientific concepts that will positively affect their employability. This presentation will also discuss potential limitations, challenges arising with the implementation, including time investment and implications on timetabling.