About King’s Academy
King’s Academy is the equivalent of LINK. Within King’s College London, they operate independently from faculties, holding a high level of governance, and they report directly to the Vice President for Student Success. The centre is related to other central units such as King’s Digital and King’s Experience, and internally it is organized in different thematic teams like Education for Sustainability, Operations Team, Generative AI and Assessment and Feedback.
King’s Academy’s main goal is to improve teaching and learning across the institution, and other overarching goals are to advise on policies, to be a research-based centre, to support innovation in education and support educational recognition of staff.
To become a staff member, it is not required to have knowledge of pedagogy itself. However, due to Strategy 2020-2030, it is necessary to hold a doctorate or be in the process of obtaining one, have an academic contract and, finally, be part of a faculty liaison where the members are connected to a specific faculty.
We sat down with Rebecca Lindner, Deputy Director for Kings Academy and Educational Leadership Development Lead, to learn more about King’s Academy and how they operate at KCL.
While teaching experience is not a formal requirement, it aligns well with job expectations and most team members have prior experience as educators, says Rebecca.
King’s Academy assesses educational quality through assurance, which refers to government-mandated and institution-wide requirements that specify what educators must do. Quality can also be evaluated through enhancement, which focuses on what educators should or could do to improve educational practices. Additional approaches to defining and measuring educational quality include employability and student collaboration, sustainability in education, inclusivity, effective design and delivery, and the implementation of guidance and recommendations related to artificial intelligence.
The most valuable competencies which we focus on in recruitment are the ability to lead without formal authority, skills in facilitation, support and guidance without prescribing action, engagement in evidence-based practices and educators’ genuine care for their students, tells Rebecca.
What is LEaP?
Currently, University of Oslo, King’s College and Aarhus University participate in Leadership for Education & Programme Design (LEaP), a Circle U. funded project dedicated to advancing educational leadership across diverse disciplines and international higher education settings.?Here you can find a pdf-file with presentation about the work process behind establishment of LEaP.?
LEaP aims to build a collaborative network for Circle U. colleagues in programme leadership roles to:
- support shared learning for effective programme leadership practices,
- enhance recognition of educational leadership in the context of this role, and
- create professional development opportunities for colleagues in programme leadership roles.
The collaboration has expanded our own international and professional networks as a project team, but importantly it has also created opportunities for colleagues across Circle U. to build new connections, explore shared interests across institutions and disciplines, and spark new avenues for collaboration and co-creation, summarises Rebecca.?
LEaP addresses a gap in professional development support for academics in programme leadership roles and also offers opportunities for collaborative curriculum design across the alliance. Effective education leadership is central to addressing the challenges and opportunities facing universities in a rapidly changing educational landscape.
The specific responsibilities and expectations for programme leaders vary across disciplines and institutions, but invariably these leaders play a critical role in student success, quality assurance and academic governance.
Our institutions benefit from sharing our current effective practice and experience of educational leadership development, and also, importantly, we – and?the university alliance more broadly – benefits from co-creation of resources for all Circle U. institutions.
From the CU.til group and colleagues leading Open Campus developments, to the CU seed-funding team and the institutional leads for CU planning and strategy, we’ve been able to seek advice, test ideas, access relevant expertise, and stay aligned with broader alliance priorities, says Rebecca.
After our conversations at King’s Academy, we see many parallels with the work at LINK, something which motivates us to continue collaborating together in future projects. There are also differences but our experiences at King’s Academy have inspired us to help LINK provide the best education for students, academics and staff members at our institution.