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What makes an award-winning CPD course?

12 August 2014

Laws CPD Course

Following the recent success of the UCL Laws Institute of Brand and Innovation (IBIL) CPD course, IP Transactions: Law and Practice, at the 2014 Provost’s Teaching Awards in June, the UCL Teaching and Learning Portal asked course designer, visiting Lecturer Mark Anderson, to share his thoughts about what makes an effective and engaging CPD course.

Mark explains: “I’ve been attending CPD courses since I qualified as a lawyer back in the 1980s. At that time, the typical model was an all-day session, and I found an awful lot were very mediocre.”

“I came away from those early CPD courses and thought, I’ve only taken away two nuggets of useful information in a day – and if I’d already read the textbook on the topic, I might not have learned anything at all. That doesn’t justify the cost of the course. What people want to know is how to apply the knowledge in real life.”

According to Mark, there are five golden rules to create an effective course: be niche; be focused; be good value; be interactive, and finally, be practical. Following these golden rules has already paid off for Mark and the rest of the IBIL team. Since the course was launched two years ago, it has been shortlisted for 2013 Law Society Excellence Award, and was the first ever winner of the Provost’s Teaching Award for CPD and Short Courses.

Read Mark’s top tips for creating an engaging CPD course full on the UCL Teaching and Learning Portal website.

IP Transactions: Law and Practice focuses on the legal and practice issues that are directly relevant to transactions IP Practitioners. The next course is due to run in April 2015.

Image courtesy of UCL Teaching and Learning Portal: Back row (left to right): Liz Carter, Events Coordinator; Mark Anderson, Convenor of IP Transactions & Visiting Lecturer; Dr Matt Fisher, Senior Lecturer (IP)/Vice Dean (Education); Dr Ilana Simon Fhima, Senior Lecturer (IP). Front row: Philip Baker, IBIL Course Administrator; Professor Sir Robin Jacob, Sir Hugh Laddie Chair in IP Law; Lisa Penfold, Events & CPD Manager.