The Second Annual Symposium on Science and Engineering Education was successfully held on 17 June 2022 in the New International Conference Center. The symposium is recognised as a significant activity of the Faculty of Science and Engineering Research Group (SEE). It aims to share and present the research outcomes on teaching and learning in science and Engineering. This year, 11 speakers from both the faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) and the Faculty of Science at the University of Nottingham UK (UNUK) have shared their research publications, insights on Science and Engineering Education, and innovative teaching and learning projects.
In his keynote speech, Professor Tao Wu, Vice Provost for the China Beacons Institute and Dean of Faculty of Science and Engineering, explained the significant steps required to develop a new engineering degree programme and how the quality assurance in science and engineering education can be maintained. Prof Wu also discussed the six areas of learning according to the Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP).
Through the three symposium sessions, speakers elaborated on essential teaching and learning topics. They shared their evidence-based findings, which give insights to the teaching and learning authorities and policymakers in higher education. Topics included: interdisciplinary research and students’ motivation, student-focused management of T&L, cooperation between the academia and the industry, problem-based learning, blended learning and its effect on students’ engagement, gamification, and methods for online labs.
Dr Sherif Welsen, the chair of the symposium, founder, and Head of the Faculty Science and Engineering Education Research Group, briefly introduced the newly established research group and its development over the past year in his welcoming speech. He emphasised that the symposium could be an excellent cross-campus opportunity for networking and discussions among academics and researchers from different faculties and departments that may lead to future collaboration on T&L and the growth of interdisciplinary research. Through the SEE group message, Dr Welsen states, “It is more challenging than ever to help our science and engineering students develop skills to face the global challenge in an ever-changing, increasingly complex world. To help our students make sense of information and learn how to gather and evaluate evidence for making decisions, our responsibility as educators and researchers is to constantly develop innovative teaching and learning methods and use the technologies to cope with the constant change.”
The Science and Engineering Education (SEE) research group was founded in 2021. The group aims to create a pool of academics, who are involved in the education process from different departments in the faculty of science and engineering, to come together to identify, study, and research a broad range of questions related to teaching, learning, and assessment. The group also promotes a wide range of research that addresses the demands on the teaching and learning process and contributes to the solutions to significant challenges the faculty/university is facing.