Minister for Universities & Science praises “excellent and innovative” teaching at the University of Greenwich
The Universities and Science Minister, the Rt. Hon. David Willetts MP, praised excellent and innovative teaching at the University of Greenwich when he visited the university today, Friday 10 February 2012. He made his remarks in a keynote speech to invited guests at the launch of Teaching that Matters, a new national report on university teaching from the think tank million+.
The Minister also joined a class of undergraduates in the university Business School to take part in a virtual leadership game, in which students learn to link their academic studies to the practical skills that employers value.
“It’s great to be here to launch this very important report, and I can’t think of a better place than the University of Greenwich to do it, in this wonderful building. It is a university that has an excellent record in teaching – ranked first in London for teaching excellence and, in Economics, ranked first in the UK,” said the Minister about the university’s achievements. “There is also the Greenwich Graduate initiative which helps students develop workplace skills that employers value. I look forward to visiting Greenwich again.”
Professor David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich, said: “The University of Greenwich is leading the way in making sure teaching pushes, excites and stretches our students. Lecturers, tutors and students are all central to ensuring that our graduates contribute to the communities in which they live and work and enhance their prospects of employment. Vice-Chancellors and senior staff need to be serious about investing in and rewarding teaching excellence.”
The million+ report demonstrates that there is a teaching revolution in modern universities with new approaches to teaching increasing employability and improving the social mobility of graduates. It gives examples of innovative practice from a number of universities, showcasing Greenwich’s use of video media in assessment as well as its excellent use of action learning in the training of mental health nurses.
The report also highlights some of Greenwich’s excellent scores in the independent National Student Survey, mentioning high levels of student satisfaction with its Mathematics and Statistics courses. Maths is a particular strength at the university; one of its lecturers, National Teaching Fellow Tony Mann, won the Times Higher Education Most Innovative Teacher Award in 2010.
Economics at Greenwich is top in the UK for teaching excellence (National Student Survey 2011), while law, politics and some courses in the creative arts and engineering are all judged to be in the top two nationally. Nine other subjects, ranging from business to biology, have won places in the top ten.
Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of million+ said: “Modern universities are leading the way in making sure that the teaching and learning in our universities is delivering the knowledge, workplace and professional skills increasingly demanded by employers and by students themselves. Teaching that Matters sets out how student-centred teaching has a transformative impact on students by providing experiences that are interactive and inspirational and provides models of cutting-edge best practice which should be the basis for high quality teaching across universities.”
The report was commissioned following a request from the Rt. Hon. David Willetts MP for a review of the impact of teaching in universities and the ways in which high quality teaching is being promoted.
The million+ report can be found here.
Read the Vice-Chancellor’s blog on the visit here
Story by Public Relations