Wittenborg Launches New Postgraduate Certificate and Hosts Alumni Day

Events Feature Insightful Sessions by Diverse Speakers 

On 15 November, Wittenborg hosted two significant events: the launch of its Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) Programme in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and its Alumni Day. 

The day began with the launch of the school’s new PGCert programme, a practical, hands-on, work-based initiative designed for teachers and higher education professionals, focusing on learning, teaching and assessment. The programme is tailored to help participants enhance their teaching practices and aligns with the evolving requirements and opportunities in higher education. 

With two intakes per year, in February and September, the PGCert can be completed in six months full-time or 12 to 18 months part-time. The programme comprises the modules of Advanced Pedagogy and Inclusive Higher Education, Advancing Instructional Skills through Evaluation and Educational Inquiry Project.  

Opening the launch event, Wittenborg president Peter Birdsall delivered a welcome speech on generative Artificial Intelligence and how it is going to redefine higher education. “It is crucial for teachers and supervisors to continuously learn about development in education and especially higher education aimed at business studies,” he underlined.  

Birdsall explained that the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning that Wittenborg has developed is a continuation of what the school used to provide together with the University of Brighton. “We would have preferred to carry on in that fashion but due to the UK’s exit from Europe it became impossible; so, we have adapted and developed this new initiative to fill that gap.” 

Next, Deputy Head of the School of Business Dadi Chen delivered a presentation introducing the programme and held a Q&A session about it. Chen emphasised that the PGCert programme aims to foster critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and ethical reasoning. It also seeks to equip participants to meet the diverse needs of students in an evolving landscape and stay at the forefront of educational trends. The presentation also covered the programme’s structure and content.  

According to Chen, the PGCert programme is important to the sustainable development of Wittenborg faculty and the quality assurance of the school’s education. He added that as an international institute always aiming at preparing its students for the future job market and fostering their full development, the institution needs a team of committed and competent educators that can guide and inspire students.  

“Our lecturers need to develop a sustainable plan for their professional development and form a strong learning community at Wittenborg. The quality of their professional competence will decide the quality of our education. The programme will offer systematic training to our teachers, especially in the field of integration of new technologies in pedagogy and assessment, and help them to form a bond to support each other in their career development. They will be able to apply for the Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) when they finish the programme, which will lead them to an international community of professional educators as well,” Chen remarked. 

The event concluded with an online session by Kingston University’s senior lecturer in Learning and Teaching, John Canning. Canning – an experienced lecturer, researcher and educational developer – highlighted that during his previous period at Brighton University (Wittenborg’s partner institution), he taught on PGCert courses on learning and teaching in higher education. Several Wittenborg lecturers took these courses, so he frequently visited Apeldoorn for the in-person classes.  

Titled ‘PGCert Programmes and the Professional Development of University Teachers’, his session provided an overview of how teaching and learning in higher education has changed over the past 30 years. It also covered the increasing attention being paid to the professional development of university teachers, and how professional development courses such as PGCerts help teachers in the long term as well as the short term. 

“The main message I wanted to get across was the value of being committed to our professional development as teachers in higher education, however much or little experience we have. While we cannot always predict what future challenges may arise, a solid foundation in higher education pedagogy helps us address these effectively and with less anxiety.  For example, the challenges of Artificial Intelligence can be more readily addressed by those who have a good understanding of curriculum and assessment design than those who are waiting for a set of 'rules' to be agreed or are relying on their own intuition or experience,” he said. 

The senior lecturer added that the diversity of staff and students at Wittenborg is a good reminder that whatever path an individual institution or national system might take, there are always alternatives. “We also discussed the purposes of higher education and what that might mean for us as individuals and institutions and how these discussions play out according to the demands of students, employers, governments and other actors on local, national and global scales.” 

Alumni Day 

Gathering 18 participants, Wittenborg’s Alumni Day provided the school’s graduates with a platform to reconnect and engage with one another, strengthen their bonds and expand their professional networks.  

Additionally, the event included Wittenborg senior lecturer Zijian Wang’s keynote session ‘Building a Sustainable Professional Journey: Networking, Branding and Lifelong Learning’. Wang’s interactive workshop covered three themes: career development, networking and lifelong learning. For each theme, he started with a quote and led to a core message on the topic by sharing some of his personal and professional experiences.  

According to the senior lecturer, the session was filled with critical reflection, real-life examples and plenty of laughter. “A former student of mine, Farzad Zarasvand, also attended the workshop. Farzad is truly amazing. He made use of the complimentary Datacamp classroom licence from my Data Analytics and Visualisation class, and achieved the top 1% of learners worldwide by accumulating half a million points by passing dozens of courses. He is a living example of lifelong learning,” Wang highlighted. 

Wittenborg External Relations & Events Manager, Sophia Faraji, who organised the Alumni Day, said that the event's outcome was positive, with participants engaging actively. “The keynote session by Zijian Wang stood out for its practical insights, while the networking session fostered meaningful connections among attendees. The announcement of the PGCert Programme was also a highlight, demonstrating Wittenborg’s commitment to lifelong learning. Overall, the event successfully strengthened the alumni network and provided valuable takeaways. By gathering feedback from participants, we will be able to refine future events.” 

WUP 22/11/2024 
by Ulisses Sawczuk 
©WUAS Press