Think Education

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Judith reflected on her recent attendance at the UUKi’s International Higher Education Forum 2024 – held in London, UK.  Judith highlighted the honesty and reflective nature of presentations and discussions seen now as normal and the value that this bring to the community and understanding. Three key issues emerged from Judith’s reflections and they are all connected to the shifting realities of higher education: International student mobility and the impact this has on institutions, cities and communities.  This is not an issue for any single one country or region but rather a sector wide concern.  The conversation naturally focused on international students and the extent to which their presence, and indeed absence, can dramatically impact local, regional and international economies and stability. Online and distance learning.  Students demonstrating an increasing interest in studying online for the first year or two of their degrees and then switching to in p

AI and Origami: Responding to New Challenges with Old Techniques   In this latest Think Education podcast, Judith and Chris continue their previous conversation about resilience and change, but with a focus on the use of technology in education – particularly AI. Chris reflected on a conference he chaired - The 2nd Global Conference on Research in Education and Research (GCEL 2024) – this past week in Dubai, and talked about the challenges some participants had faced due to the floods in the UAE.  The sheer value of academic engagement and interaction was never more fully evident! One of the presentations, talked about the use of origami in teaching mathematics – by way of encouraging creativity.  One of the audience members remarked that this was at least one teaching/assessment method that AI could not be used to subvert!  This led Judith and Chris down the verbal pathway of AI, cheating, creativity and technology usage, acceptance and distrust. We talked about the role of AI in higher education and our res

Judith and Chris have been away from the podcasting world for a few weeks – holidays and life – and are now recording this in the midst of some fairly significant natural disasters and home issues.  The current situation prompted us to think about resilience and how we cope with crises in both our personal and professional lives.  And because this is us, we managed to include Jurassic Park, Bruce Lee and King Solomon along the way! This podcast is an attempt to talk about our approach to coping with issues and the importance of having somebody to talk to and lean on.  We all face issues in our personal and professional lives and being able to take a step back at times and reflect on what we are going through, how we are approaching solving the issue, and what we ultimately hope to achieve can be really helpful. We talked about working in different environments and understanding how to work within different contexts while maintaining our own sense of integrity and professionalism.  There is a need to compromis

Judith and Chris discussed the issue of success and how we measure it.  We talked about the problems with the terms and approaches we use here and how we are often trapped by a framework of our own making. We talked about time and partnerships.  How long it takes to set them up; how long they take to actually take; how long we should stay in them before we consider them a success or a failure.  We also debated what success and failure actually look like in educational partnerships.   Somehow, we found ourselves possible defending the value of MoU’s and their collection – we tried to back away from this as quickly as we could but to no real avail.   Judith, as is her wont, brought the discussion back to rugby and reflected on what success means for different nations.   Chris, not to be outdone, turned to basketball and reflected on comments made by Giannis Antetokounmpo, a professional basketball player with the Milwaukee Bucks in America, about the nature of success and failure and how we need to recalibrate

There are more things talked about in this podcast than in your imagination.   Language always pulls us back and forms a strong element of many of the conversations Judith and I have.  We like language.  We like books.  We like talking about language.  We like talking about books. Judith reflects on our recent conversations and podcasts and talks about how we learn languages at school and out in the real world.  We talked about school trips abroad and exchange visits, what this meant for us at the time and how we reflect back on them now. We talked about the sense of wonder when we travel and how that can still be replicated, or whether it has been left by the wayside.  Perhaps it is replaced by empathy and engagement and that can’t be a bad thing. We found ourselves talking about food all of a sudden – still not entirely sure how this happened – as a function of comfort and memory.  We can of course seamlessly tie this to an abstract construct of identity, representation and travel in international higher ed

Judith and Chris wander down the often problematic, and always fascinating labyrinth that is the nature of culture. What do we think of when we hear the word culture?  Judith reflects on what the term means in the boardroom as compared to in the ‘outside world’.  Inward and outward views abound. Culture can be perhaps seen in different ways: from the personal perspective thinking about other places and the cultural norms that exist there (fascinating, unnerving perhaps, curious), food, language etc.  And from the professional view of institutional culture – a great term that can both facilitate action and prevent it. Chris reflected on his experience working in organisations internationally, particularly when working on a branch campus looking to replicate the home campus model in the midst of significant diversity and what this means for culture and identity. We made no attempt to define culture in this podcast but rather took the opportunity to reflect, muse on the topic and probe a little deeper into our o

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Chris talks to Judith about her recent trip to Romania.  In many ways this is the bookend to Judith’s 2023 trip to Sofia, Bulgaria with the British Council and represents a full commitment to developing sustainable approaches to partnership engagement. Judith talked about the preparation for this trip and how participants and organisers had developed the model over the course of the two events and used communication and engagement to ensure an interactive and productive experience – with a lot of pre work and interaction in place. The British Council event brought together the entire infrastructure of international higher education, including representation from QAA, OfS, Romanian and UK HEIs and Envisia – an organisation linking academia and corporate professional development.  This meant that as questions came up, you could simply turn to the person next to you for the expert answer and advice. Judith reflected that the huge advantage of this event, and indeed

We return to looking at origin series again in this Think Education podcast episode and the baton passes from Judith to Chris today. Chris reflects on his initial career aspirations and how they morphed into a life in international higher education with a seamless (at least in hindsight) journey all mapped out!  Judith and Chris talk about the lessons we learn along the way and how, one thing can quite literally lead to another.  The ability, and freedom, to be open to possibilities is a luxury that often pays off. Following on from Judith’s honest reflection regarding the challenges of living and working internationally, Chris looks back over his first major professional international move and reflects on his place within this process, what he gained from it and how he navigated the ups and downs.  Chris talks candidly about what happens at the end of a posting and how this can impact identity, wellbeing and indeed family life.  What happens next is a common question, and indeed concern, for many of us who a

In this special episode, we learn about Leif Erikson and what it means to be an explorer. I asked Sprout what it means to be an explorer and she explained how it is something we can all do, especially with the help of books.  Every book is a chance to visit somewhere new and have new adventures. In this podcast, Sprout talks about Leif’s travels to America and also talked about how Christopher Columbus never actually went to America, even though we all think he did and he gets credit for it.  She also made sure to tell us that even though explorers ‘find’ new countries, these are often places where people already live. Sprout gives us some advice on how to learn more about Leif Erikson and talked about the Magic Tree House book series by Mary Pope Osborne, where she first discovered Leif and the Children’s Museum in Copenhagen – part of the National Museum – where kids can play and learn all about being a Viking.  You can even sit in a Viking Ship!! We hope you enjoy this podcast where Sprout talks about Leif

In today’s Think Education podcast, Judith and Chris discuss the recent Sunday Times article regarding pathways to the UK higher education sector and an excellent piece by Sophie Hogan in the Pie News outlining the issues and realities. We lamented the manner in which the narrative has been framed by the Sunday Times and the potential damage that this can do the sector and to the people involved throughout.  It is important to establish facts and present them accurately rather than skew the narrative for political gain. Judith talked passionately about her experience, both practically and from a research perspective, with pathway students. Our conversation continued to explore the politicization of education and the extent to which higher education is indeed a political concern – particularly international higher education. Education certainly has an economic underpinning but it is possible to be a source of income to an institution and also a highly capable and motivated international student at the same tim

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, we try something a little different.  As our third book is looking into the more personal nature of international higher education and the journeys taken by those of us inside this wonderful world, we thought we would start with ourselves. We flipped a coin, and Judith won.  Or lost, depending on how you look at it. Judith reflects on how she began her career in international higher education – although it wasn’t remotely conceived of as such at the time!  The dreams of driving a truck were replaced with teaching.  This then took her far far away from home, to the land of the rising sun. Judith talks about her initial career aspirations, the opportunities that arose, the decisions she took, and the challenges she faced and overcame along the way.  In this personal reflection, we learn about the realities of working abroad and away from home and family, the challenges and the loneliness that are perhaps inevitable, and the power we have to take control of this an

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Judith and Chris talk about the process of beginning book number 3 and how they have become increasingly comfortable with embracing uncertainty. Building on ideas generated in the first two books, where we looked at the landscape of international higher education (book 1) and the role and identity of universities (book 2), we are turning our attention to the individual.  To the experience and journey. We talked about the process of idea generation and how we navigate the idea of developing the next book while working on the current one! We talked about what we have learned writing together over the past few years and the impact that podcasting has had on our ability to develop ideas and to gain new perspectives from all the valuable conversations we have had in the past year.  Listening to people tell their stories was both fascinating and enlightening. It has helped to create ideas and content. We are looking forward to the opportunity to engage once more with

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Chris and Judith discuss the role of mentors throughout their careers and the journey from mentee to mentor.  We played around with various titles for this podcast (as you will hear in the episode) but ultimately it is about the journey we take in our careers and the support we receive, and give, during that time.  We find ourselves coming back to the notion of community in our podcasts (and indeed in our writing) and this sense of connection and engagement is at the heart of this conversation. We talked about the role and importance of good leadership, how you know it when you see it, and how its absence can be all too powerful.  We talked about our own approach to this, and that we have appreciated in others.  We reflected on the fact that mentors come in all shapes and sizes and are not uniquely found in those more senior to us.  And are not always connected to direct career progression but forms of learning and development all the same. We would be delighted

In this first podcast of 2024, Judith and Chris reflect back on the previous year (again) and think about the year to come. We don’t necessarily have a plan for the direction we would like the podcast to go but we do know that more of the same would be most welcome.  Last year was filled with fascinating and insightful conversations with colleagues from around the world and we look forward to being able to enjoy more again this year. If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, please do get in touch and let us know.  We are always open to talking to, and learning from people – we know and don’t know.   #newyearnewconversations #engagement #interaction #internatioanlisation #internationalhighereducation #podcast #thinkeducation #communityofpractice #research #practice

In this, the final Think Education podcast of 2023, Judith and Chris reflect back on a year of podcasting; a year of conversations; and a year of global engagement. We managed – with a lot of help from our friends – to put up 50 original episodes (we had two repeats over the summer break) and had the opportunity to talk to people from Australia, China, Egypt, Germany Hong Kong, Malaysia, Netherlands, Taiwan, the UAE, the UK, the USA, Wales (of course), and Zimbabwe. We are grateful to be part of a community of engagement, that we get to learn from others and hopefully, that we get to keep the ideas moving a little bit ourselves too. Thank you to all who came on the podcast and shared your reflections and insights. Thank you to all of you who listened. We look forward to more conversations next year.   Andrew Disbury Jazreel Goh Michael Pelletier Edward Harcourt Lisa Wallace Vivienne Stern Jason Makwabara Ceri Nursaw Nigel Healey Vicky Lewis Arlene Griffiths Rachel Soundy Bola Ibrahim Mark Garrat Douglas Proct

In this second part of our conference podcast series Chris and Judith talk about the fun and frivolity of organizing, chairing and running a physical conference.  We have both had experience with this in the past and direct experience lately and we share some tips and tricks we have picked up along the way. We talked about the creative process involved in developing conference themes and the tremendous value in being able to create a platform for discussion and presentation. Once you have been on the other side of conference organisation, you have a much higher tolerance and respect for things that may (and most likely will) go wrong.  Judith shared an example of a recent PIE event that involved a massive last minute shift of venue – which they masterfully solved. We talked about the hope that conferences can in fact be conversations.  We need to bring the coffee break chat into the panel sessions and develop a platform for debate and engagement. Things that can go wrong, will likely go wrong.  Things you did

In this first part of a series on conferences, Judith and Chris discuss recent conference attendance and engagement and reflect on the value of discussion, uncertainty and working through ideas. Chris reflected on his attendance at COP28 in Dubai and outlined his participation in a panel organised and chaired by Dr Zeenath Reza Khan.  The panel session was Academic Integrity as key competence for UN SDG 13 - Climate Change and brought together speakers for high schools, university, policy makers and students – from university and high school.  Chris talked about his experience being on a panel with no fixed presentation agenda and where speakers reflected on practice and were not defending an institutional position.  This can be liberating. Judith reflected on her attendance at UKENIC 23 – Reconfiguration and her participation in a plenary session looking at the future of international higher education.  Judith discussed the nature of the event and how the audience make-up can alter the conversation that take

In this episode, Judith and Chris talk to Tim Rottleb -  science manager at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) @BTUCS where he is an officer in the Department for Regional Transformation. Before joining the BTU, Tim worked as a researcher at the Leibniz-Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS) where he was part of a research group investigating international branch campus development from urban and economic geographic perspectives.  He recently submitted his PhD thesis in geography at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Tim studied Politics and Economics of the Middle East at Philipps-Universität Marburg and worked for UN organizations in Cairo and Berlin. We asked Tim about his work with international branch campus development and he talked about his recent work on gateway cities and educational hubs and the motivations for engaging in this space.  He pointed out that motivations here are often in conflict – or at least not entirely complementary – with the sending na

Have you ever wondered what goes on at a big international conference?  How sessions are organised?  How people prepare for them, or engage with them?  If so, this is the podcast for you. In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Judith reflects on her recent attendance at Going Global 2023 in Edinburgh. Judith talked about the style and structure of Going Global and outlined the interactive nature of the panel sessions.  We talked about the interactive nature of these type of panels and the value of engaging the audience and leveraging their expertise.  I asked Judith how she prepared for these types of events – both from the perspective of a presenter and a chair (session, not furniture). We rounded off the episode discussing identity and Judith reflected on how this issue was framed and discussed during Going Global.  Internationalisation is an opportunity to engage with, and learn from, others.  Judith was struck by the openness of colleagues to discuss this issue and the clear focus on transparency

In this latest Think Education podcast, Chris reflects on two recent events he attended – The IC Global Café TNE: Impactful Collaborations, Meaningful Student Experience and Achieving Sustainability and Equity, delivered by Dr Vangelis Tsiligiris and the 4th TNE Hub Research and practice symposium – Advancing Horizons: Transnational Education Partnerships in a Pluralizing World.  TNE’s role in Empowering Graduates, Fostering Impact and Promoting Equity. Vangelis spoke about the need to place students in the centre of partnership activity, particularly in the TNE space and Dr Katherine Lupton, Lead for Academic International Partnerships, Leeds Trinity University, presenting in the 4th TNE Hub symposium, outlined the approaches taken at Leeds Trinity to support student engagement and used the excellent phrase of ‘name not a number’ to indicate their connection to each of their TNE students. These two presentations got us thinking about how we view students in the TNE space and how we should perhaps view them.