Martin McAreavey

Purpose Based on initial observation, this paper aims to explore the current practices of collaborative knowledge sharing (KS) between North West Universities and highlight new avenues of future relevant research. Design/methodology/approach A netnographic observation was conducted to unveil the current practices of KS between North West Universities. Findings The paper concludes that there is little or no evidence of collaborative KS practices amongst North West Universities in response to the present Covid-19 transition. Practical implications This paper provides useful, practical insight that may assist decision-makers to establish KS initiatives within North West Universities and beyond. A strategy is also proposed to nurture collaborative KS amongst North West Universities and within wider work-applied management practice. Originality/value This paper presents an unconventional conceptualisation of KS practices amid the present Covid-19 pandemic with the fresh perspective of North West England Universities.

On 7th April 2017, we attended a video conference (International Conference on Responsible Research and Transformation in Education) in London. Our paper evaluated perceptions and attainments of Chinese students in relation to the use of translanguaging support via WeChat (Tencent Holdings Limited, 2011). We developed a honeycomb framework for the implementation of this kind of support with quick response, accurate information, informal communication style, convenient communication platform, variety of communication choices, and collaborative environment (Sun et al., 2017b). Delegates from different parts of the world appeared to have great interest in this piece of research. Many questions were asked during the video session. However, we felt a question on ‘how to motivate our Chinese students’ has provoked us to reflect on another dimension of this project - the impact of personal influence from the lecturer on students. This might be an inspiring topic to be explored further.

This research explored the impact of the implementation of translanguaging pedagogy through a fragmented approach for Chinese students in a business school in the North West of England as a pilot study. It examined the influence of bilingual academic support via social media on their performance, motivation, and engagement. Chinese international students in the UK face many challenges when they study in UK universities for the first time. Moreover, many factors could affect Chinese students’ expectation due to differences in cultural background and education system between China and UK. These factors include adjustment problems, perceived isolation, limited understanding of academic requirements, language barrier, etc. Nevertheless, communication difficulty was perceived as the main barrier by the Chinese students to study abroad. This research postulated that communication issues can be alleviated through adopting a translanguaging pedagogy by having different type of lecturers who know various languages and provide support through social media. Instead of having timetabled classes to give support, an education support worker (in this case an Associate Lecturer) who speaks both Chinese and English, provided support to students through social media. So students can make better use of their out of class hours (fragmented time) ask for help.
Findings showed that the bilingual academic support via fragmented approach has positive impact on students’ performance, motivation, and engagement to empower students to achieve better results in higher education. There are total 21 Chinese students in business school in 2015-16 and 31 in 2016-2017. Two focus group (n=10*2) were conducted to explore and evaluate students’ expectation and perception before and after the bilingual academic support. These focus group lasted around 2 hours per session. Moreover, students’ assessments and exam results were compared between 2015-16 and 2016-17 to evaluate the before-after effect of this kind of support on their performance. Furthermore, questionnaires’ results were collected and analysed to assess the impact of this support on their engagement and motivation. This provides insights on university strategies to improve Chinese students’ satisfaction due to the effect of implanting bilingual academic support and fragmented approach.

Developing a postgraduate programme suitable for graduates from any academic discipline presents many pedagogical, practical and process challenges. These challenges are amplified when the programme is architected around a ‘Blended’ delivery model developed and deployed within a compressed time scale and in the context of a rapidly changing landscape for Higher Education (HE) in the UK.
The paper explores the challenges encountered in high expectation, high pressure, high visibility, multi-disciplinary programme development. It focuses on the lessons learned from the development and deployment of two similar postgraduate courses designed to meet the needs of heterogeneous graduate students from two geographically disparate UK universities serving similar demographics. These issues are placed within the context of an increasingly dynamic and turbulent landscape for UK HE, driven and shaped by market forces and the notion of students as customers rather than consumers (see BIS 2011, BIS 2016, McAreavey 2015).
The paper explores key themes and issues emerging from a ‘marketised’ UK HE landscape, highlighting the drivers shaping HE Institutions (HEI) to consider new forms of provision and approaches to delivery. This is followed by an outline of two initiatives designed by HEI operating towards the vocational end of the HE continuum, but in geographically separate catchment areas / target markets. These ‘case studies’ illustrate areas of commonality and similarities in responding to perceived challenges emanating from competitive pressure and student demand. The paper concludes with a short assessment of the potential for further development along the lines established by these HEI, and identifies areas for additional exploration and study.

This workshop showcases an initiative that successfully closed an 'Employability Gap' between students and employers at another North West HE Institution, and provides a forum for Bolton staff from all disciplines to share experiences of what works (and what doesn't), when designing Employability into the curriculum.
Employability is a term liberally sprinkled around Higher Education both in terms of what we offer students (i.e. value added opportunities from study) and how we are measured (i.e. the relevance of student occupations post-graduation). As facilitators responsible for the 'employability process', teaching professionals are expected to design curricula to meet both student and employer expectations - even though these can change rapidly due to changing economic and social circumstances. No surprise then that Employability can be a challenging issue. Delegates should be prepared to share personal insights and examples of local practice from their discipline areas with colleagues across the University.