International Academic Symposia Comes to Hamilton

International Academic Symposia Comes to Hamilton

The New Zealand Curriculum Design Institute will host more than 50 International and national researchers and academics at their CBD premises in Hamilton later this year. The Institute which specialises in higher education sector capacity building and the designing of international quality higher education courses in New Zealand and further afield will host the Symposia. Visitors to the Symposia will present on their research, scholarship and practical insights into either higher education curriculum design or academic leadership.

Presenters will arrive from South Africa, the United States of America, Australia, Iran, Taiwan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and New Zealand. The Symposia starts with a half day pre symposia workshop by Professor Hunt which will examine ‘getting the context right for learning and teaching in higher education’. Emeritus Professor Lynne Hunt from the University of Southern Queensland, and Adjunct Professor, University of Western Australia is this year’s special Keynote Speaker.

Professor Hunt has provided leadership to promote university teaching at faculty and university levels in three Australian universities. She is the recipient of three, university-level awards for teaching excellence and she received the 2002 Australian Award for University Teaching in the Social Science category and the 2002 Prime Minister’s Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year. Following the pre symposia workshop on the 3rd of December, the New Zealand launch of Professor Hunt latest book which she co-edited entitled University teaching in focus: A learning centred approach will also be launched by MP for Hamilton West Tim MacIndoe.

The Symposia aims to bring together academic leaders, researchers and community members to examine how student learning in the tertiary sector can be optimised and accelerated in New Zealand and in other countries. The Symposia will focus especially on the contributions that professional level curriculum design and academic leaders who ‘work at the coal face’ can make. The Symposia will also examine the barriers, challenges, supports academic leaders who strive to enhance learning outcomes encounter and experience. The Symposia will be the first focussed on tertiary and higher education level curriculum design in New Zealand. Presentations include topics as diverse as the’ World Bank’s view of Curriculum Design’ ‘Colonisation through Curriculum Design and ‘Achieving Excellence in Higher Education Curriculum Design’.

Other keynote speakers presenting at the Symposia include: Lawrence Green, Dr John Hinchcliff, Dr Linda Leach, Dr Timote Vaioleti, and Susan F. Stevenson the Institute’s Director.

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