¹û¶³Ó°Ôº

Piloting in 2012-13, the programme will involve five hundred first-year students, drawn from across the institution. It will run in the two weeks after examinations have finished.

The programme aims to:

• provide opportunities for students to come together on projects which reflect ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's vision and values
• give all students the chance to work across disciplines during their programme
• encourage identification with ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's research agenda and its commitment to the resolution of global problems
• make better use of the period post-examinations for students in disciplines which do not currently have activities in this period

Organisers are looking for academic staff who are interested in collaborating to help design one of four courses, which will be open to between 100 and 125 students each. The courses, which will run parallel, will each focus on the significance of water for one of the four ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº research Grand Challenges, inspired by the 2013 UN International Year of Water Co-operation

Developers will be asked to think of putting together activities which include some or all of the following:

• keynote speakers brought in from ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº or externally
• debates (possibly exploring the overarching theme from a variety of discipline perspectives)
• project work or scenario-based activity
• object-handling work and opportunities to explore ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's Museums & Collections
• skills sessions (supporting students to prepare for the project work elements)
• some form of final output - e.g. posters, presentations, performances

Professor Anthony Smith, Vice-Provost (Education) explained: "This is a fantastic opportunity for staff to help develop a distinctive new feature of the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº undergraduate experience, bringing our students closer to our research agenda and giving them a chance to explore cross-disciplinary approaches to learning."

Submissions should be received by Friday 19 October. For more information, email Josh Blacker.

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