Arriving at Kingdom University in late 2018, Professor Dawish identified an opportunity in the continuous professional development programme for staff at the University. As a Senior Fellow himself, he advocated and won support for a programme to support staff in enhancing ‘good practice’ skills in teaching and in preparing applications for Fellowship.
Working alongside Advance HE staff, Professor Dawish mentored and coached the staff using his own experience of reflective practice and his understanding of the Professional Standards Framework. Within a year the first 22 staff had successfully achieved Fellowship. A second successful cohort of 13 Fellows and 13 Associate Fellows quickly followed.
Describing the impact of the work, Professor Dawish said: “The experience with Advance HE has resulted in even greater confidence in our academic staff that they are continuing to deliver a quality learning and teaching.
"Our faculty are now dedicated to including these experiences in serving higher education and supporting their students to gain the 21st century skills. They are reflecting on all areas of PSF in a systematic pattern and the feedback indicated that this new element of the staff CPD programme is enhancing our students’ academic experience still further.”
One of the challenges with the second cohort was to ensure those staff who don’t have English were accommodated given that the PSF and application process is in English. Working with Advance HE staff, the University ensured these staff had access to an Arabic translation of the PSF and to a workshop led by Advance HE with translators on hand.
Ian Hall, Advance HE Head of Membership (International), said: “I am delighted that the programme has proved so impactful at Kingdom University. The staff have worked really hard to assimilate the how the PSF works and how it supports continuous improvement in teaching and this work complements the CPD provision already in place in the University.
"That’s great news for their professional development, for students, and for the University in building an even better reputation for teaching excellence.”
Kingdom University in Bahrain is an Advance HE member organisation and is looking to encourage further Fellowship applications at every category. The University has always been at the forefront of the private higher education sector in providing its staff with opportunities for continuous professional development which is carefully designed to reflect on the quality of teaching and learning. The board of Trustees and its current president have always been supportive of recruiting all human and financial resources to serve the vision and mission of KU orbiting around the provision of quality education comparative to international standards.
Higher education institutions in the GCC and wider Middle East region who wish to find out more about Advance HE development programmes and Fellowship should contact international@advance-he.ac.uk