Abstracts

Monday 14 July

Session 3

WILSON, Lesley

Secretary General, European University Association

Title: ‘National career structures - international aspirations: the challenge facing universities’
Session 3.i.

At a time of growing global competition, reduced resources and rapidly changing learning, teaching and research environments, universities’ greatest assets are their staff. Hence the biggest challenge for universities everywhere is that of identifying, being able to employ and to keep highly qualified students and staff.

What does this mean for universities at a time when internationalisation is becoming more and more important, be it within Europe or globally? MOOCs know no boundaries, the number of doctoral candidates continues to grow, in Europe we are striving to ‘finalise the European Higher Education and Research Areas’, and global research challenges can only be addressed by collaboration and working together in partnership.

However, while our environment is increasingly global, to a large degree, the HR structures, recruitment and promotion mechanisms in our universities still remain anchored in national legal frameworks, traditions and practices. This is a major challenge for the success of our endeavours in Europe.

In this context the discussion will also include analysis of the results of a recent survey carried out by the European University Association intended to improve understanding of the views of member universities on recent progress made across Europe on the important issues of doctoral training, research careers and mobility.

FALK, Emma

Research Officer, The Association of Commonwealth Universities

Title: ‘The ACU’s Salary Survey and the implications of its findings on international recruitment’
Session 3.i.

The ability for universities to recruit and retain academic staff is a critical issue for universities in an increasingly competitive national and global higher education sector. Growing accountability and financial pressures make it more important than ever that universities are able to maintain their most important intellectual asset – their academics.

Whilst remuneration is not the only factor influencing recruitment, domestically and internationally attractive salaries and benefits are an important objective for universities. It is also an issue that the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) has devoted a lot of attention to; for over a decade the ACU has produced the only long-standing recurrent analysis of international academic salaries and benefits. The survey provides comparative trend analysis of salaries and in order to provide a fuller picture of conditions for academic staff, it also considers additional benefits such as pensions and leave.

As most participating universities operate and compete – to a greater or lesser extent – for highly-skilled staff in both domestic and international contexts, the presentation will look at some possible implications of the survey findings on international recruitment of academic staff. The presentation and discussion will also highlight some additional issues that influence recruitment and mobility, such as the motivations of academic staff to enter the profession and/or migrate, demographic profiles of the academics and increasing casualisation of the workforce.

KAMASSAH, Steve Van

Deputy Registrar, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

Title: ‘The impact of brand strategy in international student recruitment in the West African sub-region: a case for revenue mobilisation for public universities’
Session 3.ii.

Branding as a concept has had very considerable influence on how universities sell their products and it’s considered by managers of institutions as a means to enhance their organisation’s public appeal. Three steps are involved in making branding as a strategy work for universities, viz: market research, analysis of the findings, and communicating the organisational values and benefits to the stakeholders.

This paper aims to offer a practical approach to the use of the university’s brand in international student recruitment in the University of Education, Winneba (UEW). The University is profiled as it relates to its vision, mission and mandate. The sub-region was also scanned in the context of competition (local and abroad), political stability, growing demand for higher education vis-à-vis increasing levels of poverty, shrinking government funding for universities, and shortage of teachers in classrooms.

The UEW brand promises the following values: education for service, cutting-edge training, excellence in human resource development and skills-based training with a career for life. These values were derived from the intrinsic attributes of excellence, pioneering and holistic education. The stated promises had been measured against the consumer’s expectations, namely: integrity, security, enduring, multicultural setting, flexibility, innovativeness and a life changing experience.

The paper presents two broad strategies adopted for realising the brand strategy for international student recruitment. First, a ‘push’ strategy, whereby UEW activities and programmes were widely advertised in the international print and electronic media. The personal selling approach involved personal visits and outreach programmes by selected staff to sell the UEW brand at exhibitions and educational fairs.

The second approach is the ‘pull’ factor, which ensures that UEW identified brand ambassadors, icons, prominent alumni and reputable funding agencies as vehicles to sell our niche products in special education, vocational education and technology, and information and communication technology education to the diverse West African potential recruits.

BRIGGS, Professor John

Clerk of Senate and International Dean: Africa, University of Glasgow, UK

Title: 'Strategic partnership building in Africa: principles and lessons from experiences'
Session 3.ii.

This presentation will examine the underlying principles of the University of Glasgow’s approach to its partnerships with African universities. Key principles include equity of partnership and building up the idea of ‘partners of trust’. Experience has shown that building from the bottom up and starting in modest and manageable ways builds this trust on which later developments can be undertaken. Building collaborative research projects has proved a fruitful way forward for both sides of the partnerships, as has capacity strengthening, not only of academic and research staff, but also of support staff.

MOKOELE, Dr Matata

Senior Director, Durban University of Technology, South Africa

Title: ‘Management of human resources in a transnational education environment: promises, challenges and achievements’
Session 3.iii.

There is no doubt that transnational education is under-researched and so are its implications for human resource management practice. This presentation seeks to explore the meaning of transnational education which, since its advent, has attracted interest from a wide variety of perspectives including political, social, economic and cultural.

The paper from which this presentation derives seeks to determine the implications of this type of education for human resource management practitioners in relation to various areas of work including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection and appointment, training and development, remuneration, culture, policies and procedures and/or legislation.

The headcount of academic staff in South Africa is shrinking while the number of students, the majority of whom are academically deserving and come from poor socio-economic backgrounds, is taking an upward trend. Access is enabled through government financial support to this group, which puts pressure on the already understaffed tertiary industry. Institutions providing transnational education are opportunistically exploiting the plight of developing countries by ushering in global education in various forms including transnational education. What results is that those few South Africans who are qualified to teach in the higher education sector are tempted away to seek employment with what are perceived to be prestigious overseas universities doing business in South Africa. Further, the advent of technology and the proliferation of MOOCs makes it easier for these institutions to establish a presence in foreign countries.

South African HR practitioners should be investigating whether universities have strategies for becoming international or to operate in foreign countries; should be concerned about the type of managers (academic, professional and support staff) that are needed to ensure the success of this type of education and/or relationship; and should be aware of its impact on human and other practices or cultural norms.

BARR, Christine

Director of Human Resources, University of Glasgow, UK

and

STIRLING, Tracey

Recruitment Manager, University of Glasgow, UK

Title: ‘The impact on HR of internationalisation, and how best to strategise for it: the University of Glasgow experience’
Session 3.iii.

Awaiting abstract

Session 4

PLAYLE, Tracy

Director and Communications Strategist, Pickle Jar Communications Ltd

and

SPEEKENBRINK, Rob

Consultant Online Media, TUDelft (Delft University of Technology), Netherlands

Title: 'International social media'
Session 4.i.

Social media has changed communication in every aspect imaginable in just a couple of years. Every target group has become a producer of news and content and they’re telling everyone else what they think about everything, everywhere and always. The brand of any university is created by the online ambassadors of that same university: students, employees, and alumni, but also the occasional nutcase.

How can a university be in control of its own brand? How does a university influence its ambassadors? Which social media are more important than others? How do other universities cope with this challenge? What is the impact of international social media on HR and PR?

Tracy Playle will talk about the different kinds of social media platforms and the differences between platforms in different countries. Rob Speekenbrink will showcase the way Delft University of Technology, the Dutch university he works for, behaves online and what it has brought to the university.

YEOMANS, Dr Chris

Head of International Affairs, Recruitment and International Office, University of Glasgow, UK

Title: ‘Globalising mission and identity: strategic internationalisation at the University of Glasgow’
Session 4.ii.

Awaiting abstract

BEECH, Dr Diana

Research Associate, Faraday Institute, University of Cambridge, UK

Title: 'Culture, religion and the university: shaping the values and missions of universities in today’s multi-cultural world'
Session 4.ii.

 

Cultural traditions, religions and universities have a lot in common: all three have considerable sway, not only over individuals but also over whole communities and entire generations of people. They determine how we think, how we view the world, and how we conduct ourselves in various situations. Each bring with them a unique standard or code by which we seek to live our lives. They give us the values we hold dear, the knowledge and ethics we operate by, and the practices we deem rightful and beneficial to our world as a whole. In short, both religion and universities are key players in shaping today’s civil society.

Yet, in spite of their shared concerns in helping us to make sense of the world around us and to live our lives in the best possible way, the relationship between religion and universities is not always harmonious. Largely due to a tendency to exclude cultural and religious influence from public, bureaucratic life, not only has a seeming vacuum of values become characteristic of universities and scientific knowledge in general, but points of conflict have emerged between the secular and supposedly more rational understanding of the world produced by universities, on the one hand, and the more spiritual or faith-based world-view promoted by the world’s various religions on the other.

In an attempt to reconcile the ever-apparent divorce between our increasingly knowledge-based society and our religiously pluralistic one, then, this paper will highlight the formative influence that both culture and religion can play in shaping the identity, values and missions of universities in today’s multicultural world. It will outline the case for (re-)connecting universities with their original spiritual underpinnings in both the public and policy spheres to ensure the future flourishing and sustainability of our multi-cultural and multi-faithed, knowledge-based society.

 

BARÉ, Liz

Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Higher Education and LH Martin Institute for Leadership and Management in Higher Education, University of Melbourne, Australia, and Partner, HR Global Innovations

and

CLARKE, Kath

Director of Human Resources, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

Title: ‘HRM implications of internationalisation: Australian, New Zealand, and UK perspectives’
Session 4.iii.

Liz Baré and Kath Clarke will co-facilitate a discussion on the HRM implications of internationalisation from an Australian, New Zealand, and UK perspective.

Areas for exploration in this participative session will include cross border universities, the impact of international rankings, attracting academic staff and the impact of international students on academic staff creating a high quality learning experience for all students and the impact of private universities and MOOCs.

Tuesday 15 July

Session 7

FARQUHAR, Andrea

Assistant Vice-President, Public and Government Relations, McMaster University, Canada

Title: ‘Building a PR team that will thrive and deliver no matter what the organisational structure’
Session 7.i.

Whether your university is centralised or decentralised or somewhere in between, how do you reach across the divides that organisational structure can create and build a PR team that can deliver results? In this interactive session, discover how to build relationships and strategies to help synchronise objectives across your organisation, develop shared core values to achieve your goals, and the most effective ways to utilise resources and staff that may not be part of your department.

Working across these complex university structures can also help you meet your staff retention and recruitment objectives. Discussion will include creation of professional development activities that span departments and will highlight steps you can take now to create a more integrated team.

DAYSH, Steve

Partner, HR Global Innovations

Title: ‘If HR gets a place at the table, is its role to ask one lump or two?’
Session 7.ii.

This workshop will take a humorous (but relevant) look at how people perceive HR in the sector at the present time and why this is so. In particular, it will ask how relevant HR is seen as a strategic resource, especially when it is not perceived as getting basic administrative processes right. It will challenge HR directors and other senior staff to ask themselves ‘do they generate change or do they only facilitate decisions that have already been made by the Senior Management Team?’.

It then examines a range of options that the HR profession has to look at in order to become more relevant and to be perceived as a strategic resource/expert in framing the business decisions that are made by the Senior Management Team.

The workshop will be delivered through a 30 minute presentation followed by an interactive session to explore key issues raised in the presentation. These will include: required skill sets, structure, metrics, staff profiling, gender balance, project analysis, enhancing the student experience, and collaboration with other universities.

AJAYI, Esther

Director, Personnel Affairs, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

Title: ‘Workplace politics and implications for university HR management’
Session 7.iii.

It is no secret that when human beings are in an organisation, politics cannot be ruled out. In the ‘dog eats dog’ environment of the workplace, the HR managers need extraordinary understanding and skills to be effective in their day-to-day running of their offices. Such skills include the capacity to read between the lines and to manage conflict resolution.

At Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, machinery has been put in place to minimise such unhealthy politics: the Committee System of Governance is practised. This allows for some degree of transparency, though possibilities of meetings before meetings cannot be ruled out.

The paper will address issues of conflicts of interest, conflict resolution, performance management and recruitment exercises in the University. It is expected that the presentation should provoke interesting discussions on the issues raised and that participants will proffer solutions to some of the HR management problems that are identified.

SOUNDARAPANDIAN, Professor Mookkiah

Director, Distance and Continuing Education, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, India

Title: ‘The role of HRM in the business of distance education’
Session 7.iii.

Most of the state universities in India are facing financial constraints in a context in which only a block grant has been released to the universities by the State and Central Government on a sharing basis. The universities have to generate income sources through their own activities - and one such activity is distance education. Many modules are developed to strengthen distance education and to provide quality education. However, because there is such tough competition, the performance of distance education has been deteriorating with a resultant huge loss in revenue.

This session provides an opportunity to look at the vital contribution Human Resource Management professionals can make to the quality and strength - not to mention the ‘business’ - of distance education. HR colleagues can be fully utilised in the advertising, enrolment of admissions, distribution of study materials, preparing the self-instructional materials, online examinations, declaration of the results, and the timely issuing of mark statements and degree certificates. Both skilled and unskilled manpower could be properly trained for strengthening distance education in universities. Suitable training modules, proper methods for developing work ethics and the best possible working environment could be created towards the same end.

Session 8

GROBBELAAR, Dr Johan

Senior Professor, University of the Free State, South Africa

and

LOMBARD, Anita

CEO Personnel Union, University of the Free State, South Africa

and

MOCWANA, Chelepe David

Senior Officer, Employee Relations, Human Resources, University of the Free State, South Africa

Title: ‘The business of higher education – changing policies, practices and conditions of service to maintain financial sustainability’
Session 8.i.

Since the establishment of trade unions at academic institutions, they have become role players in all spheres of the institutional functioning and they should ideally play a vital role together with HR to help maintain the financial sustainability of their specific higher education institution. Although salary negotiations are often the most important function of unions in the workplace, their role in helping to establish a stable workforce with favourable conditions of service, can never be under-estimated. To have a qualified and stable workforce at academic institutions, trade unions and HR’s Employee Relations Division can cooperate to formulate policies that regulate conditions of service that are in the best interest of all parties.

Globalisation, internationalisation and many other factors transformed what we once knew as traditional universities, into higher education businesses. Often these ‘businesses’ are crippled by financial constraints. To maintain financial sustainability, it thus became necessary for universities to ‘abandon’ certain conditions of service that might jeopardise their financial sustainability in a dynamic and constantly changing higher education environment. Unions in higher education environments can, in cooperation with HR, play a constructive role in identifying outdated conditions of service which are hindering financial progress and are putting huge financial burdens on institutions.

At the University of the Free State, South Africa, certain practices, policies and conditions of service created substantial financial burdens for the institution over a period of time. These issues were successfully addressed during recent annual salary negotiations between unions and the University Council representatives (HR and the Finance Division).

Examples of these practices, policies and conditions of service, obstacles encountered, mistakes made, workable plans, practical solutions and several ways and means of creating sound financial practices, will be discussed during this presentation.

NYONI, Lindiwe

Information and Public Relations Officer, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe

Title: ‘Student-centred marketing - perspectives from an African university’
Session 8.ii.

The importance of channelling your entire PR and marketing efforts towards the prospective student, the current student and the former student is steering the institutional strategy in the right direction. This is because it is all about the student.

Student-centred marketing and PR is a practical approach for organisations in managing their institutional strategy and overall brand. More importantly, if properly executed and effectively managed, it has the power to transform the image of the university as a student-centred university, whether prospective, current or former.

This paper focuses on the understanding of a student-centred marketing approach in a (small state) African university setting. It adopts a case study approach, outlining strategies implemented and challenges faced. Preliminary evidence indicates that the PR professional should be aware of the potential positive implications of focusing on the student and using the student to pursue the marketing goal of the university. Aligning the perceptions of students and other stakeholders of the university provides a basis for measuring the extent to which the university has achieved its goals of ‘offering quality academic programmes that respond to a dynamic environment and meet student needs’ (NUST Strategic Direction 1, 2011-2015).

In the competitive market for students, under various limitations – financial, technological and geographic – the PR professional needs to devise new ways to meet the diverse and constantly changing needs of the student. The paper will seek to inform policy in terms of strategies, guidelines and tools for effective student centred marketing in an African university.

GESWINDT, Paul

Director, Alumni Relations and Fundraising, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

Title: ‘Institutional advancement – the strategic role of alumni’
Session 8.ii.

How can alumni as a stakeholder group advance the interests of their alma mater other than being targeted as potential donors? What is the business case for maintaining and growing this relationship and the various roles alumni can play? To what extent do institutions factor in alumni roles in their strategic planning process apart from considering alumni as a target group to be persuaded to give back to their alma mater?

This special interest talk and interactive session will attempt to respond to the questions highlighted and deal with the alumni relations function in a more holistic and integrated manner. Alumni involvement must advance teaching, research, engagement and overall institutional operations and brand value. Understanding the strategic value of alumni and building alumni cultures should not only be considered as long term strategies, but be part of standard institutional thinking. There cannot be a return on the relationship if no relationship exists.

SANDHU, Col (retd) Prabhdeep Singh

Registrar, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, India

Title: ‘Road map for higher education in India and other developing countries’
Session 8.iii.

In 1950, the Indian government set up a planning commission to make a road map for improving the life of the common man, not least by addressing education. The commission aimed to eradicate illiteracy, provide elementary education, initiate skills-based training programmes and improve the standards of education. The Indian government also recognised that investment in the higher education sector would enhance the available human resources in the country and the rest of the world. In the 20th century, several new academic/research institutes were started and the country currently has 16 IITs, 30 NITs, 13 IIMs, 45 central universities, 312 state universities, 129 deemed universities and 173 private universities. The higher education sector in India has grown exponentially in terms of quantity, quality and student numbers.

The session will begin with an outline of the current Indian education system and point to what it could be in the future. There are several issues which are of common concern in the universities of the developing world and which need to be addressed if an institution wishes to rise up the rankings. Quite a few of these issues can be resolved with some smart human resource management. The presentation will focus on best practices/new approaches for improving the recruitment processes, teaching quality and research, and on producing world class students thereby enhancing the quality of the institution. Thus, the core contents of the presentation will be:

• Recruitment: three tier system, four tier system, non-tenure track, tenure track, trainee teachers, inspire faculty scheme, UGC faculty scheme;
• Teaching quality: training for faculty in the core areas, contribute for NPTEL, develop curriculum in their areas of expertise, faculty exchange programmes;
• Research: PPP programmes, industry sponsored projects, chair positions sponsored by industries, amendments in scholarships for research scholars, bottom up approaches in research; and
• Student quality: excellence in technical skills, aptitude and attitude.

Session 10

FRYER, Andy

Head of Communications and Membership, UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association), UK

Title: ‘HR/PR/IR – working to communicate the benefits of working in our successful sector while addressing the growing concerns’
Session 10.i.

The aim of this workshop will be to get HR and PR attendees discussing the very issues they are – or perhaps should be – discussing in their institutions. These are issues that cross campuses and borders, relating to all staff and students. The session will focus on ‘3 Ps’: Pay (issues, industrial action); Pensions (challenges and changes); Perceptions (including such ‘other’ issues in the UK as the Living Wage, job security, zero-hours contacts). The presentation will also draw on excellent case studies from UK universities in addressing the need to communicate the above issues with staff, students and stakeholders.

The use of a Communications/PR strategy is vital to ensure that emerging issues at institutional level are appropriately addressed. Similarly, HR staff looking to address communications issues, such as claims on social media that staff are being mistreated by the HE institution, need professional PR support.

This presentation will explain why internal communications and social media are key in HR/PR related matters: these teams should work side-by-side to deal with a growing number of issues, from changing pensions matters to student occupations. The session will also look at how to work with both HR and PR professionals in addressing such ‘negative’ national issues as industrial action during pay disputes, and such ‘positive’ issues as a current ‘Value of Working in HE campaign’ – demonstrating how this campaign has already drawn significant national media success of rare ‘good news’ stories of working in HE. Perceptions speak louder than words; HE is moving on but perceptions of what it is or what it should be like to work in HE haven’t quite kept up. The session will explain how and what has been achieved through the campaign and conclude with some questions to encourage institutions /attendees to respond and start a discussion about HR and PR working together in their countries/universities.

HUYSAMEN, Dr Renalde

Director, Performance Management and Staff Development, University of the Free State, South Africa

Title: ‘Performance management: planning the performance appraisal discussion’
Session 10.ii.

While employees want to know how well they perform in their jobs, performance appraisals are more often than not a manager’s least favourite task as part of the management function. The performance appraisal has two core components to cover: first, the review of the whole cycle (usually the previous twelve month period), including all the updated discussions that should have occurred and second, the consideration of forward goals and objectives for the next cycle (also usually a twelve month period).

In order to achieve a mutually satisfying outcome for both the line manager and the employee, line managers need to plan performance appraisals as an event. There is general consensus among researchers that performance appraisal training of line managers is a crucial factor to ensure constructive and positive performance appraisal discussions.

Surveys conducted at the University of the Free State, South Africa, between 2008 and 2012 highlighted the dissatisfaction of employees regarding fair performance assessments, as well as performance feedback during their performance appraisal discussions. Traditional performance appraisal training focuses on the following broad processes:

• Setting expectations for the performance appraisal discussion;
• Inviting the person to explain their self-assessment;
• The line manager’s perspective on the employee’s performance;
• Jointly determining the next steps; and
• Summarising the key factors.

This paper will present the case for additional topics to be included in the training material to ensure that line managers prepare extremely well before the actual performance appraisal discussion. A rationale for and overview of the content of the training programme will be presented, with its focus on the individual character and perceptions of the employee, the organisational work environment reality, and the character and skills of the line manager.

HAWA, Harriet

Senior Employment Officer, Human Resources, Makerere University, Uganda

Title: ‘Managing staff turnover at Makerere University’
Session 10.ii.

The purpose of this review is to identify the existing mechanisms for university staff retention that are feasible in Makerere University, Uganda, under currently severe financial constraints, and to gauge the effectiveness of Makerere University Management and Council in offsetting the risk of staff loss commonly associated with capacity building efforts.

A solid university education base is crucial for socio-economic, scientific and technological transformation to take place in a country. Unfortunately, much of the expertise base of Makerere University has been eroded to the extent that there is not enough capacity to provide quality training in some units. This erosion is due to a variety of factors, including inadequate and non-competitive salaries vis-à-vis local and international organisations, and lack of job satisfaction due to non-monetary reasons.

There is clear evidence that most units in Makerere University are operating far below their capacities. Most units feel that they have difficulty recruiting staff at the same time as some of them are losing those they have. The recruitment problem is compounded at senior levels, because the services of individuals at those ranks are in high demand in a competitive job market. A corollary to the recruitment problem is the fact that most units have to contend with the reality of an aging professoriate.

The review also shows that the appointment process is unnecessarily cumbersome, tedious, and time-consuming, leading to the loss of potential employees. The review shows variations in professional development efforts where some staff are generally dissatisfied with support for research in the University. To combat this situation, Makerere has put in place some strategies (e.g. a multi-track and flexible promotion policy, and biological children sponsorship scheme) to retain staff and attract potential candidates.

 

WOOD, Dr Alison

Mellon/Newton Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Cambridge, UK

Title: ‘The language of excellence and post-doctoral researcher development’
Session 10.iii.

This workshop focuses on the language of excellence and the realities of post-doctoral formation. It draws on work at the University of Cambridge (including the recent establishment of the Office for Post-Doctoral Affairs) and Dr Wood’s experience working with EU and North American colleagues on researcher development initiatives from an arts and humanities perspective.

Specifically, the workshop will comprise a presentation, some group work, and discussion, and will examine:
• Post-doctoral researcher development in relation to decision-making processes;
• Early career research leadership – structures, ambitions, goals; and
• The tensions between the idea of excellence and systems surrounding early career researcher development.

 

Session 11

CHOO, Siow Leng

Director, Human Resources, National University of Singapore

Title: ‘Managing stakeholder expectations in an increasingly diverse higher education workforce’
Session 11.i.

 

When East meets West, the melting pot enlarges and managing a multi-generational workforce is the new order of the day; delivering HR values with a broader range of stakeholder expectations calls for a different strategy.

This paper aims to take a more holistic perspective of the new challenges and dynamism of the higher education workforce in Asia. It aims to look at these issues from the context of the new expectations where the boundaries have expanded exponentially, the game of attraction and retention gets trickier in the light of thinning top line and engaging a wider span of stakeholders that come from different backgrounds is also part of the equation.

Specifically, the key take-away that is intended here is to share from the perspective of an Asian university on what HR can do to position itself pro-actively to add value to the organisation so as to move further up in the trajectory.

 

WAN, Monisa

Director, Human Resources, The Open University of Hong Kong

Title: 'Succeed in succession for further success'
Session 11.i.

Succession planning is critical for all organisations, in particular for higher education institutions, no matter if it is for survival or for further success. Succession planning is a process aiming at a succession plan, covering key positions.

However, is this myth or reality? Are there any specific characteristics for succession planning in HEIs which differ from other sectors?

This session is intended to share some simple models adopted in non-HEIs, to look at the common barriers to succeed in the succession planning process, and to implement succession plans. Participants will be invited to exchange or showcase the key success factors of their experience in the HEIs on the subject.

 

JOHNS, Alison

Head, Policy for Leadership, Governance and Management, HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England), UK

Title: ‘Efficiencies in the HE workforce’
Session 11.ii.

In this presentation, Alison will explore the background of HEFCE’s (Higher Education Funding Council for England) involvement with reforming the leadership, governance and management of the higher education workforce in England. The presentation will describe HEFCE’s significant investment made between 2002-2008 in human resources reform (through the Rewarding and Developing Staff Initiative) and reference their two major reports on the future of the HE workforce (the 2006 and 2010 HE workforce frameworks). She will describe the UK Coalition Government’s higher education reforms (2010 onwards) and discuss HEFCE’s role in implementing these.

The presentation moves on to describe the context for the HE workforce in England: its size, shape and costs – and how the trends over time have changed. Alison will describe the arrangements for national HE pay bargaining, through the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (New JNCHES) arrangements, and the efficiencies this has delivered since 2009.

Alison will showcase HEFCE-funded projects which aim to enhance productivity and effectiveness in HE, with a particular focus on academic and professional staff working together (for example i-MAP). The presentation includes a case study of an English HEI which has put this approach into practice. She will also explore the HEFCE-funded work of the Leadership Foundation of HE to produce good practice on the management of academic workloads – and the attendant gender equality implications of this approach.

In looking to the future of HEFCE’s involvement in this agenda, Alison will conclude with a description of the Council’s work with the UK’s Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and Universities UK on the next phase of the ‘Diamond’ review of efficiency and effectiveness of HE. HEFCE is providing data and analysis on a range of areas in HE (e.g. space utilisation, HE workforce and efficiency metrics) for publication in early 2015.

 

HALL, Julie

Director, Academic Enhancement, The University of Roehampton, and Vice-Chair, SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association), UK

Title: ‘Using a Professional Development Framework (PDF) with different groups of professional staff across a university - lessons from 20 years of SEDA PDF’
Session 11.iii.

This session will introduce SEDA’s (Staff and Educational Development Association) Professional Development Framework which has been used in UK universities and internationally to provide skills and knowledge across a range of university roles. By the end of the session delegates will be able to:

• See how the SEDA PDF has supported the development of staff at one UK university from librarians to course administrators to research supervisors;
• Consider how the SEDA PDF might be used in their setting;
• Take the first steps in designing a tailored PDF; and
• Question SEDA experts about the scheme.

With the pressures of competition and quality in a harsh global economic climate and the changes being brought about by technology and student expectations, universities need to take a more strategic, holistic and coherent approach to embedding the professional development of their staff. University employees at whatever level need to be committed to the best possible student experience, to be open to the effective uses of IT and to understand that change will be constant.

The SEDA Professional Development Framework provides an approach which uses and integrates staff development, human resource development, organisation development, values and horizon-scanning and reflection. It began twenty years ago in the UK when a small number of university staff came together, all searching for a well-designed scheme to help lecturers learn more about teaching. This became the first SEDA Professional Development Programme – in learning and teaching in HE. This programme is now used across the UK and internationally from Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka.

Over 20 years, more named awards have been developed in response to university needs– Embedding Learning Technologies, Professional Practice, External Examining, and Leading Change, for example. When a university decides to be accredited to offer a SEDA award, a process is followed which involves being mentored by another university which already uses the award. It also involves an in depth review of HR policies and university values. This is to ensure that the award fits the university context and that the structures in place will support the award. While each award shares the same generic outcomes and the SEDA values, universities are free to adapt content and delivery modes to their own needs and contexts.

 

Wednesday 16 July

Session 13

WOOD, Professor John

Secretary General, The Association of Commonwealth Universities

Title: ‘The research data revolution and the “Open Science” phenomenon’
Session 13.i.

 

The influential European Commission report ‘Riding the Wave’ starts: ‘We all experience it: a rising tide of information, sweeping across our professions, our families, our globe. We create it, transmit it, store it, receive it, consume it – and then often, reprocess it to start the cycle all over again. It gives us power unprecedented in human history to understand and control our world. But, equally, it challenges our institutions, upsets our work habits and imposes unpredictable stresses upon our lives and societies.’

This report published at the end of 2010 plus others from other regions of the world unleashed one of the most dramatic developments in global research resulting in the formation of the global Research Data Alliance in 2013 involving over 70 countries one year later. In the report, sharing of data across disciplines and communities is described as a ‘collaboratory’ breaking down historic boundaries and opening up research to citizens in general (Citizen cyber-science). Not only is this leading to the democratisation of research, but it also starts to raise questions on the nature of institutions, nationhood and democracy itself.

The drivers range from linguistics and cultural heritage including indigenous knowledge through to biodiversity, biosocial longitudinal studies, and ending up with massive data sets regarding the nature of our universe at the exabyte level. Initiatives are growing daily, ranging from food security to the impact on development.

Key questions for universities result. How to train staff and students in this environment, how to remain distinctive when open science (often called Science 2.0) becomes the norm? This presentation will give an overview of the changing situation and how the academic community is starting to respond with the new profession of ‘data scientist’ and how the growth of collaboration and openness can be fostered. There are great challenges and great opportunities in front of us and, some would argue, are here now.

 

 

ASIF, Aqeela

Assistant Professor, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan

Title: ‘New universities emerging in Asia and the Middle East’
Session 13.ii.

 

Social media has had a positive impact on the traditional styles and methods of PR – not least in the new universities emerging in Asia and the Middle East. There are a number of media which the field of PR must continue to adopt as the tools of today, including blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and websites. Social media has made it much easier to monitor different company brands, needs, responses and popularity.

Professionals working in the PR field are linked through social media with all types of mutual interest groups in almost all regions of the world. In this age of globalisation, social media is the tool which has made it possible to maintain quality information sources and potential business relationships. In higher education institutions numerous activities such as professional training, research papers, and teaching methodologies are now generated by social media. Social media allow us to enhance our network at several levels in any field. Moreover, given that social media tools are free or low-cost, it is helpful – if not essential – to create a culture that support the ‘change’.

There is a potential in social media for collaboration and the sharing of new ideas or to find solutions to the problems in any field of life through innovative ideas and strategies. Social media is now widely used by PR professionals to share and disseminate information with their relevant peers as a network tool. People are using all social media sources such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and webinars. Online jobs and learning is now possible because all professionals have access to social media. Although social media can be abused, the overall benefits far outweigh the risks of inappropriate use, especially in PR and HR.

 

LOKHUN, Natasha

Communications Manager, The Association of Commonwealth Universities

and

CHAZARIN, Emmanuelle

Communications Assistant, The Association of Commonwealth Universities

Title: ‘How can universities champion their contributions to wider society?’
Session 13.ii.

What are universities doing to tackle the big challenges of our time? How can they champion their contributions? How are they communicating and strengthening their role in their communities and societies? Why is it important for universities to demonstrate their relevance?

This session will look at how universities can and should respond to global challenges after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015, using examples from the ACU's ‘The world beyond 2015 – Is higher education ready?’ campaign.

Participants will explore how their university’s activities converge with the global development agenda, why it is important to communicate this to the wider public, and whether ‘relevance’ is a significant factor for their brand and reputation.