HECA is an association of independent, private providers of higher level education. The association was formed in 1991 to represent the interests of its member colleges and their students. HECA members currently provide higher education for approximately 19,000 students.

The theme of this year’s conference is “The Higher Education Agenda: Internationalisation and Employability”. As well as a number of keynote speakers, parallel sessions on both topics will run during the day followed by question and answer sessions and open discussion. Please see attached programme for the full conference details.

Registration for the conference is now open on https://heca.dbs.ie or from the HECA website www.heca.ie

It should be an interesting and informative day and  we would be delighted to see you there.

Simply email info@icep.ie with the subject line “Mentoring” for more information or to opt in. This feedback can be availed of at many different stages, from discussing your initial idea all the way to advice on the final version of your paper.

You may also be interested in our past proceedings.

Professor Sally Brown is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Professor of Higher Education Diversity in Teaching and Learning at Leeds Metropolitan University. Originally trained as a classroom teacher of English and therapeutic drama, she was previously Director of Membership Services for the Institute for Learning and Teaching (now merged into the Higher Education Academy). Prior to that she worked at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle for almost 20 years as a lecturer, study-skills practitioner, educational developer and Head of Quality Enhancement. Growing from her commitment to student learning, Sally has co-written or co-edited more than 30 books and is an enthusiastic keynote speaker in the UK and internationally on innovative teaching approaches, inclusivity and especially assessment.

We are delighted to announce that the ICEP 2010 conference will take place at NUI, Maynooth on Friday, January 28th. We will post more details as the date approaches.

Happy New Year,
The ICEP Team.

On 23rd April 2009 a new reviewed journal entitled ‘Socheolas: Limerick
Student Journal of Sociology’ was officially launched. The journal, now
in its 3rd issue, is produced, edited and managed by a small team from
within the Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick. The
key purpose of the journal is to showcase the high-quality academic work
undertaken by its undergraduate and postgraduate students. The journal
offers undergraduate and first-year postgraduate students in the
Department of Sociology an opportunity to improve their writing and
sociological skills, both as authors and as readers of sociological
research. It allows students to have first-hand experience of the
process of editing and rewriting for publication in a supportive and
constructive environment, while giving them the opportunity to see their
work published online.

This paper will document the establishment of Socheolas from its origin
as part of a drive to increase the profile of sociology among both the
faculty and student body in UL, to its position as a central element in
the active teaching and learning culture of the department. Critical
reflections of the editorial team are presented, offering key insights
into the practical and theoretical challenges as well as the
contribution and benefits arising from the journal’s evolution and
development. These practical insights are supplemented by the findings
from a series of small focus groups conducted with a number of student
authors. These findings illustrate the positive and negative experiences
of students as well as offering insight into the value and importance
placed by them on the process of writing for publication. Together,
these staff and student reflections inform an overall evaluation of and
critical engagement with Socheolas as it prepares to move onto the next
stage of its development.

The study of perception, learning, memory and recall are converging to unite education with neuroscience – the scientific study of the nervous system – around the emerging field of neuroeducation. In this regard, brain research shows that different circuits are called upon in the brain for different activities such as math, music and reading. In addition, learning and practicing particular skills can cause corresponding areas in the brain to grow or change by adding a tiny fraction of the brain’s neural circuitry and eliminating old ones. This paper contributes to this dialogue by summarising what we already know about the learning process in the brain and suggests how it might inform the teaching/learning process in the classroom.