Congratulations to Esther Cable (Deputy Librarian, LaSS Library) who achieved the award of HEA Associate Fellowship, through UCL Arena, this summer.

HEA Associate Fellowship is a recognition awarded by Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) to individuals who demonstrate effective teaching and support for learning in higher education. It is nationally recognised, grants you post-nominals, and can be great evidence for your CV or when applying for jobs. What’s more, the process of applying for fellowship means you reflect on your work in the areas of supporting learning and teaching, and helps you identify areas for development of your skills. In so doing, it enhances your support of students and so contributes to the user experience.

Is HEA fellowship for me?

There are different categories of fellowship depending on your role and experience. Associate Fellow is suitable for anyone in a role that supports learning, whereas colleagues with significant teaching responsibilities and at least 3 years of experience might prefer to apply for Fellowship.

What’s involved if I want to apply?

UCL Arena Fellowship provides an accredited route to all categories of HEA Fellowship and is free for UCL staff. To apply you need to write a reflective report which outlines your areas of activity and includes case studies which illustrate how your work meets relevant criteria outlined in the Professional Standards Framework (PSF). You can submit throughout the year.

What support is available?

In addition to events and support through UCL Arena, there are monthly peer-support hybrid meets for LCCOS colleagues interested in or working towards all categories of fellowship. Esther gained support and encouragement from the meets, as well as motivation to get her application written and submitted.

How can I find out more?

The UCL Arena Fellowship website and Moodle course are great places to get started with finding out more, or attend a UCL Arena Fellowship initial guidance session. To join an LCCOS HEA Fellowship support meet, or be added to the Teams site, please contact Angela Young.

Many congratulations to Jo Baines (Academic Liaison Librarian / Archivist – Special Collections) who has achieved the award of HEA Fellow, through UCL Arena Fellowship, which is testament to Jo’s commitment to professionalism in supporting learning and teaching in higher education.

Why apply for HEA fellowship?

HEA fellowship is a nationally recognised award and can be great evidence for your CV or when applying for jobs. In addition to gaining post-nominals, the process of applying for fellowship means you reflect on your teaching and work to support learning and develop your skills, identify areas for your future development and enhance your support of students so contributing to the user experience. There are various categories of fellowship depending on your role and experience, including Associate Fellow, Fellow and Senior Fellow, so it’s relevant to all sorts of roles across LCCOS. UCL Arena Fellowship provides an accredited route to HEA Fellowship and is free for UCL staff. Why not make working towards HEA Fellowship a development goal in your appraisal this year?

LCCOS support for HEA fellowship

Did you know that there are monthly peer-support meets for colleagues in LCCOS who are interested in applying for HEA fellowship? Jo found the meets invaluable for providing encouragement and support, as well as motivating her to get on with her application and get it submitted. Jo will return to a meet soon to share her experiences and what worked for her.

We also have an LCCOS Teams site for sharing friendly tips, asking questions and providing peer support and motivation for getting started and getting on.

How can I find out more?

The UCL Arena Fellowship website and Moodle course are great places to get started with finding out more, or attend a UCL Arena Fellowship initial guidance session. To join an LCCOS HEA Fellowship support meet, or be added to the Teams site, please contact Angela Young.

Aside from obtaining a formal qualification (e.g. Masters / diploma / apprenticeships), there are several options available to LCCOS colleagues who wish to advance their professional knowledge, experience and skills. This can provide evidence for your expertise and commitment to professional development in the sector through attainment of a professional qualification. This survey will give us an understanding of the current status and future aspirations of LCCOS colleagues in relation to these qualifications, which will inform how we can best support staff who would like to work towards them.

To get a full picture, we kindly request all within LCCOS complete the survey by 12th January 2024.

All responses will be treated in confidence.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Many thanks

Craig Martin, Subject Liaison Librarian
Angela Young, Head of Library Skills

What is ‘Get on and write’?

This series of sessions is for any UCL library staff working towards their HEA Fellowship, or anyone interested in doing so. Each session will give you some protected time where you can focus on getting some work done towards your application whilst also getting some support from peers. It’s an opportunity to bounce ideas off colleagues, discuss what you might include in your application and find out more about HEA  Fellowship. Angela Young, Head of Library Skills, will be there to provide support from the perspective of someone who has been through the process already. There will be samples of successful applications from Library Services colleagues for you to look at. Every session is open to any library staff interested in applying for fellowship or who are at any stage in the application process. Sessions are in Room 417 in the Science Library on the following dates:

• Thu 7 Nov 2019, 10.30-12.30
• Mon 2 Dec 2019, 10.00-12.00
• Tues 14 Jan 2020, 10.00-12.00
• Wed 12 Feb 2020, 11.00-13.00
• Tues 17 March 2020, 14.00-16.00

Come to as many dates as you like, and if you cannot make a whole session then it’s fine to turn up for part of it.

What is HEA fellowship?

If you don’t know much about HEA fellowship, it’s a nationally recognised award which gives you formal recognition for your commitment to professionalism in supporting learning and teaching in higher education? The UCL Arena Open programme, which is free to UCL staff, provides a route to Higher Education Academy (HEA) fellowship and is open to all staff at UCL who teach or support students’ learning, regardless of role or job title, so it’s relevant to all sorts of roles within Library Services. In addition to gaining you post-nominals, the process of applying means you reflect on your teaching and learning support work and develop your skills, identify areas for your future development and enhance your support of students so contributing to the user experience.

If you would like to attend any of the dates, please contact Angela Young to secure your place.