We’re delighted to welcome several stands across our in-person days at this year’s Annual Education and Student Experience Conference.

All stands will be in the Think Tank on Wednesday 9 September and Thursday 10 September.

AberSkills

Library Academic and Digital Services’ Non Jones will be hosting a stand to showcase the latest news from AberSkills, the home of skills development at Aberystwyth University.  We’ve got some sessions as part of the conference focusing on Skills – Jim Dickinson from WONKHE and Trish McGrath from UndebAber will be leading a session, and Joy Cadwallader and Keziah Garratt-Smithson will be launching the Digital Discovery Tool.

Education and Student Experience Award Recipients

Recipients of last year’s Education and Student Experience Awards will be staffing stands so that delegates can hear all about the projects:

• The Aber Medieval Physic Garden
• Developing a Sustainable Student Gear Hub
• Inclusivity and Accessibility in Assessment Design and Feedback Practices
• Pulling together– supporting teamwork assessment more effectively

RLF Writing Stand

On Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 September, we are delighted to welcome Samanthan Wynne-Rhydderch who will be hosting a stand.

Samantha is the Royal Literary Fellow here at Aberystwyth.

The RLF Fellowship scheme for writers was launched in autumn 1999 and is based in UK universities. About 750 writers work as Fellows at over 100 different institutions. The principal aim of the Fellow’s work is to foster good writing practice across all disciplines and media by showing students how to write with clarity and flow. Typically, a student will see the Fellow,  a professional published author, one-to-one, for 50 minutes. 

Samantha can help with: 

• Structuring an argument
• Writing clearer and more compelling prose
• Rewriting and editing
• Planning and time management
• Tackling the word count
• Critical thinking
• Paraphrasing

You can find more information about the RLF here: Aberystwyth University – Royal Literary Fund and Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch – Royal Literary Fund

Book your place online.

See our full programme on our webpages.

Welcome to our newest member of staff, Caitlin Evans, to her role as a Digital Education Co-ordinator.

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.