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The TQFE/BAPD Team

The Teaching Qualification for Further Education and BA Professional Development (TQFE/BAPD) team collaborate to provide accessible, inclusive and flexible learning experiences for professionals in Scotland’s Colleges and related contexts. They offer innovative digital and international experiences which have had impact on participants, the wider University, across Scotland’s Colleges and internationally.
Year
2021
Institution
University of Aberdeen

The collaborative team includes University and College educators from diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds who work together to offer the Teaching Qualification for Further Education and BA Professional Development programmes. The team provide educators in Scotland’s Colleges and related contexts with accessible, inclusive and flexible learning opportunities and the programmes of study reflect the University of Aberdeen's strategic commitments to inclusion, internationalisation, interdisciplinarity and sustainability. They work at the boundaries between multiple learning communities; between educators, disciplines, Colleges and Universities in the UK, Europe and beyond.

Their approach encompasses reflection, enquiry and collaboration. They collaborate with students, local and international partners to develop research-led programmes with an emphasis on the enhancement of practice and development of professional identity. The team’s approach allows them to be responsive to the challenges and changes facing educators and to widen their own and their students' horizons. A respect for diversity permeates and the collegial approach of the collaborative team nurtures an ethos of learning together through curiosity, research and enquiry. The team strives to create a community which learns together through boundary-crossing and brokering to support individual and institutional growth. 

The team approach has a significant impact on individual students, opening and supporting opportunities for them to enhance their academic qualifications and professional careers. They have developed effective and innovative digital and international learning experiences which have had a significant impact within the University of Aberdeen, across Scotland’s Colleges and internationally. They also have an impact through knowledge exchange within the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS+) Strategic Partnerships and other international initiatives and through published research. 

The development of innovative digital practice within an international context is simultaneously the focus and form of their collaborative work. The team are constantly seeking to develop the student experience, enhance partnerships and extend their reach through practice-based research and collaboration which contributes to the creation of expansive learning environments at the leading edge of professional education. 

Team members: Sarah Cornelius, Rachel Shanks, Aileen Ackland, Chris Aldred, Yvonne Bain, Christine Calder, Mary Stephen, Stephanie Thomson.

Advance HE recognises there are different views and approaches to teaching and learning, as such we encourage sharing of practice, without advocating or prescribing specific approaches. NTF and CATE awards recognise teaching excellence in a particular context. The profiles featured are self-submitted by award winners.