Professor Dilly Fung publishes new book exploring research-based education

The 120-page book was published last week by UCL Press, the first fully open access university press in the UK. As of  14 June, it has been downloaded 811 times in 49 countries.

In A Connected Curriculum for Higher Education Professor Fung asks if it is possible to bring university research and student education into a more connected, more symbiotic relationship and if so, can programmes of study be developed that enable faculty, students and ‘real world’ communities to connect in new ways. Presenting the Connected Curriculum framework already adopted by UCL, she opens windows onto new initiatives related to, for example, research-based education, internationalisation, the global classroom, interdisciplinarity and public engagement.

The book is full of real examples of practice from a range of disciplines, which collectively show how enriched students' learning can be when they are able to engage with and in research and enquiry at every level of the curriculum. 

Dilly Fung is Professor of Higher Education Development at UCL. Drawing on her long career as an educator in both further and higher education, she is Academic Director of the UCL Arena Centre for Research-Based Education which focuses on advancing research-based education (and the Connected Curriculum) at UCL and beyond.

Professor Fung said: “The comments I’ve received so far have been fantastic and show high levels of interest by colleagues all over the world. I would also like to commend UCL Press which has played an excellent role in producing and promoting the book.”

The Connected Curriculum initiative aims to ensure that all UCL students are able to learn through participating in research and enquiry at all levels of their programme of study. A connected, research-based education is a major project at UCL and is at the core of UCL's Education Strategy 2016-21 and UCL 2034, the university's 20-year institutional strategy.

UCL staff are also invited to an international conference with a programme of symposia, panel events and presentations at the Connecting Higher Education conference hosted by UCL on 27 and 28 June 2017. The full programme is now published on the conference website, with abstracts for more than 100 events.

The conference is staged by UCL in partnership with the University of Adelaide and McMaster University. By booking subsidised tickets costing £20, UCL staff can join delegates from 13 countries, including Canada, Australia, South Africa, China and several European nations.

As well as this, expressions of interest are welcome from colleagues across UCL’s faculties who are interested in a 9 month, fractional secondment to work as a UCL Connected Curriculum Fellow from 1 October 2017. Up to ten secondments will be offered, with successful applicants supporting colleagues across one of the five areas/‘schools’ of UCL. Applications are welcome until 1 July.