Department of Learning & Teaching Enhancement colleagues Katrina Swanton and Martha Caddell, along with the School of Applied Sciences’ Sophie Foley were in Colombo last week, delivering a two–day workshop on the Scottish approach to quality enhancement to University leaders in Sri Lanka.
Attended by representatives from all fifteen Sri Lankan state universities, including vice chancellors and directors of quality, together with participants from the Sri Lankan University Grants Commission (UGC), the workshops explored quality enhancement at programme, institutional and sector-wide level, with a particular focus on graduate employability and student engagement.
The event was well-received by participants, generating much discussion and sharing of ideas and practices, and concluded with the discussion and agreement of sector-wide priorities for the Sri Lankan Higher Education sector.
This British Council funded project, on which Edinburgh Napier is the UK university lead, is one strand of a larger programme called TRANSFORM. Through this programme, the British Council is supporting the Government of Sri Lanka’s education reform initiatives to provide an internationally benchmarked quality education for all young people in Sri Lanka. The key principle of the TRANSFORM project is access to learning opportunities provided by a fit for purpose and relevant education system, allowing young people to contribute to the economic and social development of Sri Lanka while achieving their potential and meeting their personal aspirations.
Katrina Swanton, Head of Quality Enhancement, said, “The Sri Lankan state Higher Education system has a lot in common with its Scottish counterpart and it was fascinating to share and critically explore our respective approaches to managing quality assurance and enhancement. The workshop provided a rich opportunity to support the sharing of practice between Scotland and Sri Lanka, but also provided valuable space for important discussions to be had amongst our Sri Lankan colleagues to ensure that their priorities and actions were appropriate for the Sri Lankan context.”
For more information about the TRANSFORM project, contact Sophie Foley.