Local Programme Orientation Community of Practice (CoP): Our Story and What’s Happening Next
by Erin O’Malley, Programme Manager, UCD Engineering & Architecture Programme Office.
Local Programme Orientation CoP Workshop – 18 July 2017
Within a number of weeks of informally coming together as a group with a common interest, Irene Rose, Niall Dennehy and I found ourselves preparing for an oversubscribed workshop with an attendance list comprising of a broad range of staff from across the University.
Supported by UCD Agile, we organised the first Programme Orientation Workshop which took place in the Quinn School of Business on 18 July 2017. We had been slightly cautious about arranging this event, wondering if others would be willing to turn up and contribute to a conversation on Programme Orientation, but a diverse group of more than 30 colleagues joined us on the day so clearly there is a lot of interest in the topic.
Niall and I began by describing the background to our involvement with the group. Irene followed with a presentation on the ‘You’re On The Road ‘ concept that she has developed and implemented for students in the School of Agriculture & Food Science – further details are outlined in Irene’s article Chapter 3 in the T&L handbook ‘Universal Design for Curriculum Design’.
The workshop then split up into smaller groups for the purpose of identifying specific ideas or events that currently work well in engaging students and examples of the issues/challenges that we face in relation to Orientation. We combined and categorized the outcomes of group discussions to highlight some of the common themes that had emerged.
From the very enthusiastic level of discussion and interaction during the workshop and from subsequent conversations, it is evident that there is significant interest in further developing a network around Programme Orientation and this is what we plan to do. We are building a Community of Practice around this topic so that staff from across campus can come together to build and share skills and knowledge, and build networks and recognition. So if you missed out on the last workshop and are interested in engaging with this CoP, do not worry there is plenty more to come, join us at our next workshop or alternatively contact me (erin.omalley@ucd.ie ) or one of my colleagues Irene (irene.rose@ucd.ie) or Niall (niall.dennehy@ucd.ie) for further details.
So What Next?
Graduate Programme Orientation Sub Group – Monday, 2 Oct 2017 @ 2pm
A number of colleagues have expressed an interest in Graduate Programme Orientation so we are holding a specific session to explore this topic which will report back into the wider group. If you’re interested in attending this workshop or being involved in a Graduate Orientation Sub Group please email erin.omalley@ucd.ie and you will receive further details once the session has been finalised.
The second Local Programme Orientation CoP Workshop – Monday, 23 Oct 2017
Following on from the work of the first session, we intend to organise another Communities of Practice Programme Orientation Workshop on the morning of Monday, 23 October 2017 – more details to follow. An invitation to register for this Workshop will be issued closer to the time so please save the date of you’re interested.