Higher Education Development & Support Institute

Bringing together the support for all involved in education at UCL and to establish a new Higher Education Development & Support Institute (HEDS).

Formed as part of the UCL Strategic Plan 2022-27, the UCL Higher Education Development & Support Institute (HEDS) brings together UCL Arena and UCL Careers. Both retain their individual identities and focus. However, HEDS aims to streamline and co-ordinate central support provided to Faculties and Departments. 

What we provide

• Sector-leading expertise in staff and curriculum development to support excellence in student education experience and graduate outcomes.
• Support for faculties in the development, design and enhancement of programmes, to ensure high quality and inclusive education provision, aligning to UCL’s core values and education principles.
• Collaboration with faculties and the Students’ Union to empower students through the development and facilitation of co-creation initiatives to enhance UCL’s education provision and student leadership capabilities.
• High quality, responsive and collaborative professional development in higher education pedagogies for staff who teach and/or support teaching and learning, including for external recognition (eg: HEA Fellowship). 
• The lead on enriching the student experience through employability-related business development with employers and other recruiting bodies to facilitate labour market-informed education, as well as supporting co-curricular employability activity for students and recent graduates.

About us

HEDS (UCL Arena and UCL Careers) is based on the third floor, 40 Bernard Street, London, WC1N 1LE. 

Download the HEDS organisational structure diagram [Word]. 

Key contacts

• Karen Barnard (Director, UCL HEDS Institute)
• Dr Jennifer Griffiths (Associate Director UCL HEDS Institute: Staff development and recognition)
• Dr Peter Fitch (Associate Director UCL HEDS Institute: Faculty Partnership & Programme Enhancement)
• Weronika Benning (Business Development Manager, UCL Careers)
• Wendy Browne (Deputy Head, UCL Careers; maternity cover for Amy Lourenco)
• Robert Donovan (Deputy Head, UCL Careers)
• Kate Gault (Deputy Head, UCL Careers)
• Calum Leckie (Deputy Head, UCL Careers)
• Martin Brown (Research & Information Manager, UCL Careers)

HEDS Faculty Partnership Teams (HFPTs)

HEDS Faculty Partnership Teams support faculties and departments in undertaking actions identified through their Faculty and Department Education Plans (F/DEPs) and work associated with the Programme Excellence Project. 

HFPTs will:

• look at commonalities across all Faculty Education Plans to share best practice.
• consider whether any development activity could be provided on a wider scale where cross-faculty discussion may be useful.
• facilitate sharing of expertise at faculty level.
• engage student partnerships to support co-creation of solutions.

The teams consist of:

Core members

• HEDS (Arena) Faculty Lead (supported by Programme Development Team Lead). 
• HEDS (UCL Careers) Lead (supported by Work-related Learning Lead). 

Associate members

• Academic Communications Centre (ACC) Lead.
• Digital Assessment Advisors (ISD).
• Faculty Learning Technology Lead (FLTL).

How we communicate with faculties 

The core communication between the HFPTs and faculty will be through the Vice Dean Education and Faculty Tutor.

HFPTs will meet with their Vice Dean Education / Faculty Tutor at the beginning of the year to discuss the Faculty Education Plans and hold initial discussions about required actions. A follow-up meeting will take place at the six-month point to discuss progress and subsequent actions as appropriate.

HFPT core members:

	HEDS (Arena) and Programme Development Unit members	HEDS (UCL Careers) members and Work-related Learning lead
HEDS Arts & Humanities Partnership Team	Jesper Hansen (Leo Havemann)	Julie Smith (John Braime)
HEDS Bartlett Partnership Team	Frances Lane (Karen Shackleford-Cesare)	Catherine Casale (Sue-Zhen Yong)
HEDS Brain Sciences Partnership Team	Tom Langston (Natasa Perovic)	Tessa Parsons (Rebecca Ademolake)
HEDS Eng. Sciences Partnership Team	Jenny Griffiths (Karen Shackleford-Cesare)	Hannah Posner (Sue-Zhen Yong)
HEDS IoE Partnership Team	Anjoom Mukadam (Leo Havemann)	Alyssa Hickson (John Braime)
HEDS Laws Partnership Team	Jason Davies (cover) (Leo Havemann)	Stephen Gurman (John Braime)
HEDS Life Sciences Partnership Team	Sharmina Mawani (Natasa Perovic)	Calum Leckie (Rebecca Ademolake)
HEDS MAPS Partnership Team	Pete Fitch (Karen Shackleford-Cesare)	Nikki Baxter (Sue-Zhen Yong)
HEDS Medical Sciences Partnership Team	Jamie Cawthra  (Natasa Perovic)	Glyn Jones (Rebecca Ademolake)
HEDS Population Health Sciences Partnership Team	Nick Grindle (Natasa Perovic)	Jo Budd (Rebecca Ademolake)
HEDS Social & Historical Sciences Partnership Team	Jason Davies (Leo Havemann)	Hilary Moor (John Braime)