XJTLU staff become fellows of Higher Education Academy

Ten academic staff from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University have become fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), an organisation that works to improve the teaching quality of staff at higher education institutions around the world.

They were given the recognition thanks to their successful completion of XJTLU’s Certificate in Professional Studies (CPS) in Higher Education, which was accredited by the HEA last January and is delivered and facilitated by the University’s Academic Enhancement Centre (AEC).

Dr James Wilson, Director of the AEC, said: “HEA fellowship is an international recognition of a commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning in higher education.

"It demonstrates that the practice of our academic staff is aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), a benchmark for standards throughout the stages of an individual’s teaching career.”

Dr Wilson explained that the CPS programme uses the UKPSF as a benchmark to develop and ensure teaching quality at XJTLU.

“The programme aims to provide XJTLU teaching staff with an introduction to the knowledge and skills needed to support student learning through interactive workshops and a variety of assessment tasks,” he said.

The 10 staff are:

• Dr David Ruiz-Carrillo from the Department of Biological Sciences
• Dr Jean-Yves Le Corre, Dr Jiwat Ram and Dr Zheng Liu from International Business School Suzhou
• Dr Kai Liu from the Chinese Culture and Teaching Centre
• Dr Pascal Grange from the Department of Mathematical Sciences
• Dr Philip Staddon from the Department of Environmental Sciences
• Dr Anna Sophie Sturup from the Department of Urban Planning and Design
• Dr Wing Chuen Lau from the Department of Industrial Design
• Dr Yujia Zhai from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Kathryn Harrison-Graves, head of international services at HEA, attended an award ceremony held on Friday 28 October at XJTLU and said: “It was excellent to see such an increase in participants engaging with the CPS programme since my previous visit. I wish all current participants the best of luck and I look forward to awarding you the certificates when you graduate.”

The HEA is a UK-based organisation which works in partnership with higher education institutions from all over the world to support and continuously improve the teaching quality of their staff.