Kingdom University (KU) in Bahrain hosted a celebration day last week, recognising the fantastic work undertaken in collaboration with Advance HE on their teaching and learning.
KU have been working with Advance HE since October 2013, when they signed an agreement to develop a culture of teaching and learning quality across the Bahraini HE sectors. As a result, there is now 611 Advance HE teaching Fellows recognised across Bahrain, including seven Principal Fellows, with 44 of these at KU.
Acting President of KU, Professor Nader al Bastaki, and Professor Saad Darwish, Head of Community Engagement and Continuing Education and Principal Fellow, spoke at the event remarking on the fantastic impact that the Fellowship scheme has had on the institution’s culture and quality of teaching and learning provision.
Professor Nader Al Bastaki Professor Saad Darwish
Professor Saad said: “If someone is achieving a Fellowship, it is a sign that the recipient and the institution that gave the Fellowship deserve recognition for their achievements. The purpose of the Fellowship program is to recognize and celebrate the contributions made by educators at all stages of their careers, from Associate to Principal, for the work they accomplish in the classroom, leadership and the impact they have on their students.”
“Students play a crucial part in this, as their expectation that they are getting an education of high quality is what inspires teachers to go above and beyond what is expected of them.”
Fellowship recognises that an individual’s teaching practice is aligned with the Professional Standards Framework (PSF), an internationally recognised framework for teaching excellence. As custodians of the PSF, Advance HE is currently undergoing a review of the framework in partnership with the HE sectors around the world, in order to ensure it remains relevant and fit for purpose in the future. The revised PSF will be launched in January 2023.
In November 2022 Advance HE will be delivering a programme aimed at embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship in KU’s curriculum, giving students the skills needed to thrive in today’s economy. Developed in partnership with other sector bodies, the four-day programme incorporates the Advance HE Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education Framework to focus on embedding enterprise education in the curriculum, building a culture of entrepreneurial activity, a key strategic priority outlined in the government’s Vision 2030.
Professor Saad Darwish, Dr Abdul Rahman Meero, Dr Anjali Gomes and Dr Venus Bunagan receiving awards during the event
Kristian Rumble, International Partnerships Manager at Advance HE said: “That Kingdom University arranged a special occasion to mark the work that they have done alongside Advance HE is a fantastic acknowledgement of the impact of the work that we have done with them over the past nine years.
“We are very proud of all of the staff at KU that have been recognised as Fellows and believe that the initial aim to develop a culture of high-quality teaching and learning has been firmly achieved. We can’t wait to get started on the upcoming enterprise education project at KU and look forward to seeing the continued impact of our work and to continuing to work with Professor Saad and the whole team at Kingdom on developing their world-class teaching culture.”
Fellowship demonstrates a personal and institutional commitment to professionalism in learning and teaching in higher education. Find out more here.
Find out more about working with Advance HE to enhance your institution's teaching and learning here.