Advance HE's new digital platform – Advance HE Connect – links higher education staff from around the world
Advance HE has launched a new digital platform, Advance HE Connect, where higher education staff can share resources, ideas and research, as they connect with other practitioners to form online global communities.
The functionality of Advance HE Connect means that users can host forums, join events, create and engage in group spaces, to share their insights and learning, developing their understanding of best practice and to work together creatively in solving issues common to the sector.
Alison Johns, Advance HE Chief Executive said, “We are really pleased to be launching Advance HE Connect. It offers a fantastic opportunity to build vibrant communities around disciplinary, thematic, leadership and management, research or subject groups; or in other professional areas such as HR - there’s really no limit.
“It’s really compelling to think of the outcomes for higher education practice where these groups can ‘share, connect and collaborate’ drawing on ideas from colleagues around the world. I think it offers a dynamic space for important insights with the real potential to lead to creative solutions in higher education.”
The shape and functionality of Advance HE Connect was informed by an intensive three-month consultation with members on how Advance HE could best provide a robust infrastructure to support the sector’s networks, including at subject level. The consultation reached over 200 individuals representing 96 institutions from over 14 countries and 28 different disciplines. Sector feedback highlighted, ‘Share, Connect, Collaborate’ as the defining characteristics for Advance HE Connect.
Advance HE Connect is freely available to anyone in higher education who wishes to join from launch until 31 July; thereafter it will be available to Advance HE members, as well as other National Teaching Fellows and Fellows who are not in member organisations.
Eunice Simmons, Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Academic & Student Affairs, Nottingham Trent University and Advance HE Board member, added, “I welcome Advance HE’s initiative to launch Advance HE Connect and to work with the sector to build online subject communities that I believe they will have a major contribution to make in tackling shared and individual challenges.”
Advance HE works in partnership with the sector: supporting transformative leadership and management, teaching and learning, equality, diversity and inclusion, and effective governance, alongside accreditation of teaching and learning programmes, Athena SWAN, and the Race Equality Charter.
Find out more about Advance HE Connect