University of Greenwich, London, UK 8 - 9 April 2024
Our students need good personal tutors and advisors like never before in these challenging economic and social times. We therefore want this to be a radical and constructive conference in setting a vision for the future of personal tutoring that will place it at the heart of student success strategies in UK Higher Education.
The overarching theme for the conference is Personal Tutoring in the Spotlight. Contributions are being invited that will speak to our specific ‘spotlight’ themes:
1) Spotlight on… Student voices. Contributions produced by and/or with students who can share their perspectives on and views of personal tutoring and advising, what they value, and what they need.
2) Spotlight on… Collaboration. Contributions considering personal tutoring and advising as a collaborative practice between academic and professional services colleagues, for example focusing on professional boundaries, policies and systems, and case studies of transformative collaborations.
3) Spotlight on... Student core skills. Contributions reflecting on how personal advising and tutoring can shape and develop students’ core academic. professional, and personal skills, and in doing so address study skills and awarding gap issues.
4) Spotlight on… Professional development. Contributions thinking about how we can better prepare academics and professional services staff to be the best tutors and advisors they can be, whether through in-house training programmes or other institutional or grass-roots schemes.
5) Spotlight on… Advocacy. Contributions demonstrating how individuals, teams, departments, or institutions have advocated or might advocate for the centrality of personal tutoring within UKHE, for example through innovative policies, embedding tutoring into recruitment procedures, cutting-edge scholarship and digital materials, or any other ways in which personal tutoring and advising is advocated for on the local, national, or international stage.
Keynote Speakers
Opening Keynote
Dr Sarah Bosch
Sheffield Hallam University
Dr Sarah Bosch is a Senior Lecturer in the Directorate of Student Experience Teaching and Learning (SETL) at Sheffield Hallam University. Her role within SETL is to support the strategic implementation of Academic Advising across the institution. Prior to her role within SETL, Sarah contributed to teaching mainly on BSc Sport and Exercise Science, MSc Applied Sport and Exercise Science and on BSc Sport and Exercise Technology, which she was also Course Leader for. It was during this time teaching in department that Sarah developed a desire to enhance the student experience and support students to achieve their full potential through the Academic Advising process. Still academic advising students in Sport, Sarah now also leads institutional projects to enhance Academic Advising at Hallam as well as supporting and training staff from across the university. She received the Outstanding Contribution to UKAT Award in 2023.