Rewind! Presentations from UAL Education Conference 2024

Ahead of the event, we are spotlighting 4 presentations from 2024 to illustrate the different types of presentation formats and subjects that can occur at the Conference. The case studies below are a small sample, offering more insight on the range of University staff who present at the Conference, why they were interested in presenting, how their work was engaged with on the day and how projects have developed since.

Who are you and what do you do? 

We are both Senior Lecturers in Communications and Media at LCC:

Thomas Giagkoglou was course leader for 12 years before recently taking on a wider role as Programme Coordinator for theory and research. He engages in extensive evaluation within the Media School’s (London College of Communication) Unit Evaluation programme on the Year 3 Research Project unit, which he leads, and currently develops research activity in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector connected to the Year 3 Final Major Project unit that he co-leads.

Irida Ntalla has been part of London College of Communication (LCC) for the last 3 years as a Senior Lecturer in Communications and Media. Irida teaches and supervises on subjects of transmedia storytelling, media lives, creator culture and mediated intimacies. Her research expertise lies on immersive and digital economies within the cultural sector, audience research and digital intimacies. As part of her role as a Knowledge Exchange (KE) Coordinator for the Media School, Irida is also interested in collaborative research with industries and the cultural sector.

Why were you interested in presenting at the Education Conference last year and how would you sum up your experience? 

We wanted to share our own experience working on a student KE project with partners from the GLAM sector as part of the Year 3 Final Major Project unit. Our aim was to present and receive feedback on a pedagogical research as part of the student KE project, which critically evaluates it as a process of active learning. The presentation was well received, and attendees especially welcomed the findings from the student interviews and discussion shared during the session.

Tell us about your presentation on the day? 

'Towards a Critical information literacy curriculum' introduced ideas about critical librarianship, critical pedagogies and critical literacies, going on to explore ways that information literacy could help students take a critical view of their research.

The session shared some of the key practices that librarians use in information literacy teaching to help students with evaluating information, asking workshop participants to look at sources for research and to critically evaluate them using traditional concepts of academic authority. Participants then discussed the possible ways which this approach could be expanded to acknowledge the limitations of taking a very binary approach to what was an ‘authoritative’ source.

The conversation explored the many ways that a more nuanced awareness of the information landscape and some of the biases inherent in it might be discussed through librarians supporting delivery of course material, working in briefs to support research techniques. We discussed ‘WEIRD’ thinking, citational justice and patterns of knowledge production across the world.

We wrapped up by discussing whether this critical approach serves us well, with one participant posing the question: “Are we now in a post critical time?”. Food for thought that has since sent me on my own research journey to explore the world of ‘postcritical’ thinking. I remain unconvinced but open-minded!

How has the material developed since? 

I have since presented the material to librarians at our staff development conference to help them to generate conversations with academics in their liaison work with courses and to support them developing their practice in this area. I also worked with the Exchange who introduced us to an independent publisher to trial some author talks in libraries. It’s still a work in progress, trialling new ways to build on these ideas, but keeping the conversation live is very helpful for our reflective practice in libraries, and it hopefully filters through to courses as we engage with them.

Where can staff find out more, if they are interested in your research or practice?

To contact Rowan Williamson, please email r.williamson@arts.ac.uk.

For further information on the subject matter, see references:

• Gregory, L. and Higgins, S. (2013). Information literacy and social justice: radical professional praxis. Sacramento, Ca: Library Juice Press.
• Downey, A. (2016). Critical information literacy: foundations, inspiration, and ideas. Sacramento, Ca: Library Juice Press.
• Accardi, M.T., Drabinski, E. and Kumbier, A. (2010). Critical library instruction: theories and methods. Duluth, Minn.: Library Juice Press.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m the Head of Strategy at Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion. I’m a linguist and multilingual educator with expertise in intercultural collaborations, participatory design and cultures of sustainability. I learnt English in secondary school and lived in an English-speaking country for the first time as an international university student.

Why were you interested in presenting at the Education Conference last year and how would you sum up your experience? 

I had presented once before when we were all online, so I was looking forward to an in-person conference. The UAL Education Conference is a great opportunity for deep dives into topics that we don’t always get exposed to or finding out what is happening across UAL. The sessions I attended were great, and it was equally wonderful to catch up with colleagues from across UAL between the sessions.

Tell us about your presentation on the day? 

The university is more and more diverse, culturally, linguistically and in many ways. Multilingual learners (often referred to as learners of English) bring a rich cultural and linguistic background to the community. Yet often, we do not recognise the value in the linguistic, cultural and cognitive diversity they bring, or speak in a way that is asset-based. For example, we often refer to learners of English as being non-English speakers; having inadequacies and gaps. It’s about shifting mindsets.

The presentation 'What can a creative university with language justice look like?' shared practices of language justice – simply defined as the right to communicate in the language in which one feels most comfortable (Antena, 2013) - and explored how language is core to how we express ourselves and connect with each other, while also inextricably linked to culture, identity and power.