BILT Briefings

Issue 96

BILT Annual Conference, 12th July 2023

Final call for contributions – deadline 6th March 2023

There are a few days left to sign up to contribute to our annual BILT conference. We are looking for staff contributions that explore building community and belonging.

Visit our conference page to find further details and guidance for submissions.

Conference Blog Posts

We are looking forward to reading your responses to our monthly blog related to our conference theme. It is not too late to send your responses to the February blog post  What does a community of practice mean to you?  The format of the response is entirely open. It could take the form of a photograph, a piece of creative writing, a piece of writing, poetry, an artefact, a poster, or any other medium. Send your contributions to: bilt-conference@bristol.ac.uk  


Bristol Teaching Awards 2023

We are delighted to announce that the nomination period for the annual Bristol Teaching Awards (BTAs) opens on Monday 6th March. Find out what the Awards mean to staff in the video below. Full details about the BTAs and nominations can be found on the BILT website. Please share this information with staff and students and encourage them to nominate too. #bristolteachingawards


Student Research Festival, 25th April 2023

Last call for contributions – deadline 6th March 2023

The Student Research Festival is open to all undergraduates and taught postgraduates. It is a one-day event focused on highlighting the best of student-created research, featuring presentations, discussions, workshops.

Please share with your students.

Find out more at the festival page.


Publishing a book in a year (ish): February

Back of a receipt with the words Pluto, Verso, Hay Market, Duke University Press

Professor James Norman updates us on his progress and asks questions about the role of the radical press and its place in engineering.


What’s in a name?

Dr Nilufar Ahmed’s blog post shares the Dental School’s work with students to understanding what Decolonising and Inclusion means for them. This post explores names.

question marks on paper crafts

Curating language within our academic endeavours

people sitting inside well lit room

Dr Kevin Haines, Deputy Director, Centre for Academic Language and Development explores inclusion and the position of language in academic learning environments.


Decolonising the Curriculum Catalytic Fund

The aim of the fund is to support school led initiatives aimed at catalysing processes of decolonisation in a targeted area of the curriculum. Applications are welcome from academic staff, professional services staff and students. We particularly welcome activities that actively engage students in the process. Applications can be for a maximum amount of £3000. The deadline for applications is the 9th March 2023. All funded activities must be completed by 31 July 2023. For further details please email bilt-decol@bristol.ac.uk.


An (Alternative) Education for Sustainability Fieldtrip

In collaboration with the Green Apple Scheme, An (Alternative) Education for Sustainability Fieldtrip will take place on Sunday 26th March at Embercombe, Devon. It offers a rich programme of sessions on rewilding, wildlife and plant-life identification, ceremony, fire-building and more!

There are 30 places which are open to staff and students. Participation costs £20 which includes return coach travel from the university, the full day’s activities and a nourishing lunch. Find out more information and how to register.


Opportunity to discuss teaching processes within your area

The university is running discussion groups to identify and understand perceptions of bureaucracy within teaching processes as well as understanding what solutions, changes and adaptations could be explored. They are also interested in identifying areas of best practice across the university where processes may be going well and how these learnings could be shared across different schools and faculties.

These groups are open to anyone involved in teaching across the university, whether that be in a direct teaching role, or supporting teaching activity.

The discussion groups will be in person and 90 minutes in duration. They will be led by an experienced and unbiased external facilitator.

If you would like to participate in the discussions while enjoying some complimentary coffee and cake, please indicate your availability via this Doodle poll and a member of the team will be in touch to arrange this for you.


Exploring decolonisation in the curriculum with students as partners and the role of community engaged learning 

Engaged Learning Community event: Friday 31st March. 1pm – 2pm. Online 60 minute interactive session.

Marie Xypaki from SOAS will be joining the Engaged Learning Community to explore this links between decolonising the curriculum and community engaged learning. This includes:

  • Share the learnings from a staff-student partnership project at SOAS University that looks at decolonising the curriculum based on student self-reflections and lived experiences.
  • Encourages discussion and reflection amongst community engaged learning practitioners on how to strengthen the links between decolonisation and community engaged learning practice.  

Please email Hannah.tweddell@bristol.ac.uk to sign up.


Transition to University

Coming to university can be an exciting time but it is not always easy. A group of tutors and researchers at the University of Bristol want to understand what helps student thrive at university and what challenges they face. Please share this opportunity to be part of the research with your students.


Upcoming events

Visit the full calendar

Show, Tell and Talk. Designing Active Learning Sessions. In-person interactive workshop. March 15th 3pm - 5pm. Chaired by Louise Howson. Contributions from Dr Marios Kremantzis, Professor James Norman and Any Crossley, Dr Annike Johnson and Professor Francesco Fornetii,
This interactive session will demonstrate how to design and engage students in interactive sessions and will involve a range of staff with differing approaches from different disciplinary areas.
Show, Tell and Talk. Graduate Skills Development at Bristol. Wednesday April 19th 12pm - 1.30pm. Online. Hosted by Stuart Johnson and Julian Kendell.
We will hear from some of the academics who are trialling the new Skills Framework about how they are using it to engage their students in their discipline and prompt reflection on achievements and future plans. And we will explore the opportunities and challenges of embedding the new Skills Framework in your programmes. This event was previously scheduled for 22 February, 2023.

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