Hello! It’s great to be able to introduce myself in my first blog post in my new role. I’m Dan, and I joined the Digital Education Team just after Easter as a part-time Digital Education Co-ordinator. I’ve taken on this role alongside my PhD, which I am studying at the Department of International Politics.

I moved to Aberystwyth in 2022 to start my 1+3 research course at the university. After completing the research training component of the course, I began my PhD project on ‘the multi-level governance of second homes’ in 2023. During my time as a research student at the university, I have also gained valuable experience as a seminar teacher in the Department of International Politics, and as a Study Skills Tutor with Student Services.

As I head into the final straight of my PhD project, I’m very much looking forward to taking on this exciting new role. I’m very grateful for all the opportunities that the university has given me so far and I can’t wait to contribute to the excellent work of the Digital Education Team.

Before coming to Aberystwyth, I studied my previous degrees at Cardiff University and then worked in a couple of jobs in the politics sector of Cardiff Bay. Politics is never far from my mind, so I’ll be keeping a beady eye on the Senedd election campaign over the next month!

Other than politics, I have a keen interest in sports. As someone originally from Burry Port in Carmarthenshire, I am a big fan of the Scarlets and Swansea City FC. I also enjoy participating in sport myself, and over the summer I will be using the beautiful terrain of Ceredigion to help me train for a number of triathlons that I have entered in the Welsh Super Series. Last year, I also decided to come out of my rugby retirement to join Tregaron rugby club, where I play as a full-back.

When I want to take a more leisurely break from work, I enjoy going for a walk with my partner to see the farm animals near our flat in Lovesgrove, or going for a stroll down the prom in Aberystwyth to eat some ice cream.

I’m looking forward to getting to know more staff and students from across the university over the coming weeks and months!

We are delighted to announce the winner of this year’s annual Exemplary Course Award.

Congratulations to our joint winners:

• Dr Christopher Phillips from International Politis for the award-winning course: IP25320: Warfare after Waterloo: Military History 1815-1918
• Dr Catrin Wyn-Edwards from International Politics for the award-winning course: IPM3120: Race, (Im)mobility, and Incarceration.

The panel noted exemplary practices in the following areas:

• Community ethos and student co-creation activities
• Seminar packs with clear guidance and additional materials to expand on the main topic
• Ethos of the module as part of the welcome and orientation
• Clear and accessible module structures
• Variety of source types
• A range of assessment and feedback opportunities
• Optional exercises for developing essay writing and critical thinking skills
• Reading list organised into different sections 
• Embedding learning outcomes throughout the course

Many congratulations to our highly commended and commended recipients:

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences’ Dr Tristram Irvine-Fynn and Dr Hywel Griffiths for the course GS25520: Glacial and Fluvial Processes and Theatre Film and Television Studies’ Dr Lara Kipp for the course FM22120: Production Design Skills.

These 2 courses demonstrated some excellent practices, including innovative virtual field trip activities, anonymous student feedback mechanisms, authentic assessment design, and clarity on generative AI usage. The award is assessed based on a rubric across four areas:

• Course Design
• Interaction and Collaboration
• Assessment
• Learner Support

The courses were of such a high standard, and we look forward to sharing their practices with you in due course.

Many congratulations to this year’s well-deserved recipients.

We are now inviting proposals for the 14th Annual Education and Student Experience Conference, Tuesday 8-Thursday 10 September 2026.

Submit and view the call for proposals online.

Please complete this form no later than 22 May 2026.

The theme for this year’s conference is:

Co‑Creating Inclusive Futures: Flexible, Diverse, and Competency‑Driven Learning

The main strands of this year’s conference are:

Diversifying the Curriculum for Equity and Belonging

Building inclusive, decolonised curricula that reflect diverse identities and experiences, advancing the Race Equality Charter.

Flexible Learning for a Changing Landscape

Hybrid, blended, and accessible learning designs that support varied learner needs through thoughtful pacing, structure, and technology.

Competency‑Driven Learning

Clear, meaningful integration of skills, graduate attributes, and real‑world application of competencies.

Students as Co‑Creators and Collaborators

Authentic student–staff collaboration in curriculum design, assessment, research, and decision‑making.

Staff and students are welcome to propose sessions on any topic relating to learning and teaching, especially those that focus on the incorporation and use of technology. Even if your suggestion doesn’t fit into a particular strand, other topics are welcome.

We seek to encourage presenters to consider using alternative formats that reflect and suit the content of their sessions. As such, we are not specifying a standardised presentation format.

Booking already open

Colleagues can already book their place at this year’s Education and Student Experience. Please complete this booking form.

If you have any questions, please contact the Digital Education Team: elearning@aber.ac.uk.

There are some new features available in the latest Vevox (Polling Tool) update that we wanted to draw your attention to. 

For those unfamiliar with Vevox, the polling software can be used to ask students questions and for them to respond live using their mobile devices. For information on how to use Vevox, see our webpage. 

The update includes: 

• Scheduled Surveys and Quizzes. You can make surveys and quizzes available outside of lecture rooms with automatic start and end times (note that the session needs to be started in Vevox for this to work).  

• Feedback for Quizzes and Surveys. You can provide feedback to participants taking quizzes and surveys.  

• AI Question Helper. The AI tools will now suggest answer options based on your questions as well as creating a wider range of questions.  

• Spin the wheel. A fun way of selecting a random option from a list, for example a list of revision topics, or group names for delivering presentations. Note that the person running the poll controls the wheel (not participants).  

Take a look at Vevox’s latest product update: October 2025 for the full update. 

If you have any questions on using Vevox please contact us (elearning@aber.ac.uk).