Welcome to the 7th Galway International Symposium on Higher Education.

Keynote speakers will include:

• Prof Kathy Isaacs, University of Pisa (History Dept)
• Prof. Liz McDowell, head of the CETL for "Assessment for Learning", University of Northumbria, Newcastle
• Prof Ferdinand Von Prondzynski, President of Dublin City University
• Dr. Kelly Coate, co-author of "Engaging the Curriculum in Higher Education", NUI Galway
• Dr. Janet Parker, Senior Research Fellow at the Open University, Editor in Chief of Arts and Humanities in Higher Education and Executive Editor of Teaching in Higher Education.
• Prof. Phil Race, Higher Educational Consultant, Leeds Met University.

• general debate on the nature of 'curriculum' in HE and the factors which shape and influence the development of programmes and courses, the tensions between competing visions of what a higher education should mean; 
• an overview of the Bologna process and its implications from the perspective of individual academic subject disciplines as well as from an educational perspective, rather than just the bureaucratic burden!
• an exploration of the issues around assessment, challenging the often narrow and limited approaches in routine use and thinking about assessment as aiding learning;
• practical aspects of designing modules and courses, linking together approaches to design that promote active learner engagement and participation, which can also be handled in the 'real world' of large enrollment classes!

This event is also being held in association with GMIT (Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology) and NAIRTL (Ireland's National Academy for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning). We hope also to showcase results from a number of other projects and collaborations including materials from the Framework Implementation Network. 

Travel and Transport

The Symposium will take place in the Aras Moyola building on the NUI Galway campus.  Driving directions and information on public transport can be accessed from the NUI Galway website.  Pay & Display parking is available in the Bank of Ireland and Arts Millenium car parks, accessible via Distillery Road.

Accommodation

The Symposium organisers, unfortunately, are unable to directly handle queries regarding accommodation. However, Galway City is abundantly provided with a range of accommodation from Bed & Breakfast to Five Star hotels. Please visit the Discover Ireland website for some listings and contact information. Note that the nearest hotel to the Symposium venue is the Westwood House Hotel and the Symposium dinner is being held in the Radisson Hotel.

Abstracts are now invited for posters on topics relevant to the symposium themes of Higher Education Curriculum, Assessment, Course Design, and the Bologna process.  Accepted posters will be on display throughout the two-day event.

Abstracts of not more than 400 words, written in English, should be submitted by email to celtconf@nuigalway.ie on or before May 15th, 2009. ** Deadline extended to May 22nd, 2009 **

The abstract should be saved as a Word or pdf document and emailed as an attachment.  The file should be named as ‘Surname_Abstract’. If you have any queries please email celtconf@nuigalway.ie.

Accepted posters should be sized A1.