 Hello everybody and welcome to the online award ceremony for Ireland's inaugural Teaching and Learning Research Fellows. As you know one of the key priorities for the National Forum is student success and the icon we use for student success is an acorn with a three inside. So rather than have a zoom background of an office or a white wall I thought it was more appropriate that the background for our word ceremony was the garden of Ireland that captured the potential that they they can bring to the higher education sector. It gives me great pleasure now to hand over to Lynn Ramsey the chair of the National Forum Board to welcome everybody on behalf of the board. Good afternoon it's my great pleasure as chair of the National Forum to welcome you to the very first award ceremony for the Teaching and Learning Fellowships. These are research fellowships which we developed in collaboration with the Irish Research Council and although we can't meet in person we thought it was really important that we gathered virtually to celebrate these outstanding individuals and their contribution to teaching and learning in Irish higher education. We will have the opportunity to talk to the fellows at the end of the ceremony and to explore their plans for how their research will impact teaching and learning practice and scholarship in the future. The National Forum is delighted to have led out on the development of Ireland's inaugural Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships and they are key learning impact award for our sector. They sit alongside our Delta Awards our disciplinary excellence and learning teaching and assessment awards and our student-led teaching hero awards. But we didn't develop the Teaching Fellows on our own. We worked with the sector and we worked with our stakeholders and we worked with an international panel to make sure that the fellowship processes and the fellows that we selected represented the best of Ireland's learning and teaching scholars in Ireland. The advisory group we worked with in the first instance was made up of individuals from the higher education sector who shaped the fellowship call to ensure that in that call we captured the key characteristics that they felt were important that the fellows should exhibit. We worked with our partners the Irish Research Council who helped us to navigate our way through a fellowship process. We worked with the Union of Students of Ireland. Most of all we worked with the sector and I have to say a huge thank you to the sector for the support that they actually gave. We had 54 applications across 16 institutions and all institutional types in our sector were represented. We set up an international review panel. We also set up a technical group and that technical group kept an eye to the process as it actually developed over the six months from the call to the allocation of the fellowship awards themselves. But it was our international review panel along with our own national student representative that made the final selection of our fellows. And many of them are actually have joined us today for the awards ceremony. Kevin Max Stravok represented the Union of Students of Ireland and represented the student perspective on the panel. Professor Mary Dean Sorcelini from the USA. Professor Elizabeth Cleaver from the UK. Professor Linda Castaneda from Spain and Professor Manuel Josacala from Portugal. The panel was chaired by the International Advisor to the National Forum, Professor Frank Cudden. And I now like to ask Frank to say a few words on behalf of the review panel. Let me first of all say what a pleasure it has been to be part of this fellowship process. It's been a great experience and looking at the scheme in its very first year it's attracted 54 applications at the first stage from 16 higher education institutions in Ireland and that in itself is really quite an achievement for a scheme that is in its initial stages in the first year. The review panel has been really impressed by the quality of the applications that we've seen at every stage of the process. Not just in the fellows that have been awarded the fellowships but actually at the very beginning we saw quality. And as the chair of the panel I've had experience of other fellowship schemes. None of them have been as robust as this one. This one has been organised perfectly from the beginning and great credit to the forum for that. But for me what has really made it stand out is the thought that the forum put into the selection process. That has allowed us as a panel to differentiate between the different applications at each stage. The final stage applicants that we had to choose from really were an amazing group of individuals and that made our job extremely difficult. But we did get down to five fellows in the end and what can I say about that group? It's a terrific group of people very talented with complementary skills and I think there's going to be a real benefit to the Irish higher education sector from bringing that group together, bringing that collective experience to bear on a series of projects that these fellows will work with each other on but also they'll work with the forum in terms of defining the areas that they're going to focus on. I think what that will do in the longer term is deliver significant benefit for Irish higher education so I wish everyone well going forward from this point. The work that the fellows that we are celebrating today will do will guide the higher education sector for the future and it's our students who will gain most from their work. Hi there, my name is Kevin McStrabbeck and I am the Deputy President and the Vice President for Academic Affairs for the Unified Students in Ireland and I was also a member of the selection panel for the inaugural Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships as spearheaded by the National Forum. I was delighted to be part of the selection process for this inaugural fellowship scheme and it's a really, really important initiative that demonstrates just how valuable the Teaching and Learning landscape is within the wider higher education sector. I was delighted to see such a heavy emphasis placed on student engagement and partnership throughout the selection process and have the opportunity as part of the panel to meet with and discuss with all of the candidates for these fellowships their commitment and their track record to student engagement and partnership. The caliber of talent from all of those who applied was outstanding and it was an extremely difficult decision to choose who to award the inaugural fellowships to but the five individuals that we chose all demonstrated an incredible talent for Teaching and Learning but also most importantly an incredible commitment to meaningfully engaging with students in partnership as part of the Teaching and Learning process. I'm really, really looking forward to seeing how the research projects that these five individuals will be leading are going to play out and I'm really, really looking forward to seeing how they meaningfully engage with students as part of that process. This scheme, this initiative, is an incredibly important one and one that demonstrates just how vital Teaching and Learning is within the higher education sector but also just how vital the student voice is within the Teaching and Learning landscape. Yes, I were delighted to be part of this initiative and we look forward to continuing to engage with all of those in receipt of this year's fellowships and all of those within the Teaching and Learning landscape within Ireland. These fellowships are strategically important for the higher education sector at this time and the National Forum Board has led and supported their development over the last nine months. The National Forum led and the establishment of these important and prestigious research fellowships in Teaching and Learning because we wanted to celebrate the outstanding contribution that these individuals had made to scholarship and research of Teaching and Learning in Irish higher education. The linkage between research and teaching is fundamental and in many cases has been overlooked. This is a superb opportunity for us to take a look to the future to see what might happen and to anticipate and plan for what might be coming down the line for Irish higher education. I'd like to extend a special thanks to all of those involved in the development of these fellowships in particular to the nominees. Their dedication and belief in the process has created a unique fellowship experience here for us in Ireland. We developed the fellowships in partnership with the Irish Research Council and we extend a warm vote of thanks to all of those in the Irish Research Council who were involved. Hi this is Imer Cahill, Programming Communications Manager with the Irish Research Council. I'm delighted the IRC had the opportunity to collaborate with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education to run these fellowships. I offer huge congratulations to the nine shortlisted candidates and I really look forward to hearing about the outcomes of the five awardees who are receiving their fellowship today. I hope that the research that you're undertaking will benefit the higher education system for years to come and I'd like to thank all of the applicants for their dedication to teaching and learning in higher education. I wish you all the best of luck with your research. Thank you very much. I can't think of anywhere more suitable than standing in front of this mighty oak to tell you about the award that we will be given to our nominees and to our fellows today. The award recognizes each one of you for being the national teaching and learning experts that you are. The actual award you will receive is a sculpture in oak and perspex that depicts an acorn and a tree. It turns on its head the idea that acorns are small things to show the enormity of the potential that lies within every seed and the amazing transformative growth that in the right conditions will emerge. We think these motives strike at the heart of the concepts of teaching and learning that is our mission to support and develop through initiatives like our teaching and learning research fellowships. Our five fellows will also receive this teaching and learning award however as part of their fellowship conferring our fellows will also receive a parchment that recognizes them as distinguished members of Ireland's higher education teaching profession. The conferring of a teaching and learning research fellowship recognizes your dedication and commitment to the development of teaching and learning. It is the highest individual national distinction the sector can offer those teaching in higher education. So be a no doubt today is it a very important milestone in your teaching career. I'm now delighted to start our awards. Our first awards are to our shortlisted teaching and learning research fellow nominees. Our first awardee is Dr Ronan Brie I'm a molecular bioscience educator at Dundalk Institute of Technology. Ronan on behalf of the Board of the National Forum I'm delighted to give you this teaching and learning award. Thank you for your commitment that you've shown to teaching and learning particularly through your valued contribution to the fellowship program. I hope you will continue to support the work of the National Forum in the future. And Ronan the president of your institution Dr Michael Mulvey would also like to congratulate you. On behalf of Dundalk Institute of Technology I want to very warmly congratulate my colleague Dr Ronan Brie for his being shortlisted for the very prestigious teaching and learning research fellowship. This is a very well deserved achievement and a great testament to Ronan's continued commitment to the area of teaching and learning and the relevant research in this area. Ronan is a valued member of our Department of Health and Life Sciences and he has a long-standing commitment to his disciplinary area of molecular bioscience. His research in the area of teaching and learning allowed him to apply digital technologies to facilitate and enable actionable feedback to students while they're being assessed. This is a very interesting innovation it's a testament to Ronan's continued passion for this area and the award itself is just so well deserved. Ronan congratulations again well done and best wishes. Our second awardee is Associate Professor Tara Cusick from the Department of Physiotherapy at University College Dublin. Tara on behalf of the Board of the National Forum I'm delighted to give you this Teaching and Learning Award. Thank you for the commitment you have shown to teaching and learning particularly through your valued contribution to the fellowship program. I hope you'll continue to support the work of the National Forum into the future. My warmest congratulations to Dr Tara Cusick Associate Professor of Physiotherapy at the UCD School of Public Health Physiotherapy and Sports Science who was shortlisted for a fellowship. Her main area of teaching and research centers around interdisciplinarity. She is one of the principal investigators of the Horizon 2020 Project Chameleons championing a multi-sectoral education and learning experience to open new pathways for doctoral students. This project involves developing education for students undertaking doctoral studies in connected health. She recently linked with the School of Education and Human Development at George Mason University Virginia USA to research best practice and the needs of interdisciplinary doctoral supervisors. Congratulations Tara. Our third nominee is Dr Evnette Leiflund from the Department of Mathematical Sciences from Dublin City University. Evnette on behalf of the National Forum I am delighted to give you this Teaching and Learning Award. Thank you for the commitment you have shown to teaching and learning particularly through your valued contribution to the fellowship program. I hope you will continue to support the work of the National Forum into the future. At DCU we believe that nothing is more important to the welfare of a nation than the education of its people. In this context I'd like to congratulate the National Forum and the Irish Research Council on their decision to inaugurate these prestigious Teaching and Learning fellowships. The timing couldn't be better and I'd like to congratulate the fellows who have been selected because they will play a pivotal role not only in shaping our response to COVID but imagining the new world and the way we will teach in the future, the way we will shape our young people and create the Ireland not as it was but an Ireland as we would like it to be and an Ireland as it can be. To do all of that quality teaching and learning will be essential. In that context too I'd like to congratulate my colleague Dr Avnet Niflain on her award. Avnet has been a pillar of the STEM community in Dublin City University, not just within the university but her influence has been felt nationally. Within university of course she has led our award-winning maths learning centre and she's been a pillar of our Castell, our centre for teaching and learning in STEM education. I'd like to congratulate Castell, I'd like to congratulate Avnet and again to wish our fellows all the very best. Our fourth awardee is Dr Bernadette Barretton also from Dundalk Institute of Technology. Bernadette, I'm delighted to be able to present you this award which celebrates your achievements and contributions to teaching and learning in the higher education sector. I'm sure you go on to do great things in the future and we look forward to continue working with you. On behalf of Dundalk Institute of Technology I want to warmly congratulate my colleague Dr Bernadette Barretton for being shortlisted for the very prestigious Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship. This is a well-deserved recognition of Bernadette's long-standing commitment and indeed her passion for this area. With more than 30 years experience in higher education Bernadette brings a wealth of experience to the area of teaching and learning. Her hands-on experience has allowed her in particular to develop new methodologies in the area of inclusivity and student engagement. As a consequence of her activities and her reputation, Bernadette has been responsible for raising DKITs profiling this area both nationally and internationally. Bernadette, this recognition is very well deserved. Congratulations, well done. I would like to warmly congratulate all of our four nominees today and also thank their presidents for the support they've given to the Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships. It now gives me great pleasure to turn to the awards for our fellows. Each fellow will receive an award for being a Teaching and Learning Research Fellow nominee and also a scroll for conferring the award of their fellowship. Our first fellow is Dr Michelle Flood, a lecturer at the School of Pharmacy and Biomelecular Sciences or CSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Michelle's research piece will focus on understanding and enhancing interdisciplinary teaching and learning in Irish higher education. Michelle, on behalf of the Board of the National Forum I'm delighted to give you this award for being shortlisted nominee for the Individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship. Also it gives me great pleasure to confer on you Ireland's first-ever Individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship. Thanks for your commitment to Teaching and Learning. The National Forum is really looking forward to working with you and supporting you through your research. We know it will shape the future of development of Teaching and Learning priorities in Irish higher education. I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Dr Michelle Flood on her success in securing this prestigious Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship. Dr Flood has made an outstanding contribution to Teaching and Learning in RCSI's School of Pharmacy and Biomelecular Sciences and indeed beyond it and her work is truly transformational. Her dedication to meaningful student engagement and passion for innovation in Teaching and Learning embodies the values of RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. We have been at the forefront of healthcare education in Ireland since 1784. Healthcare leaders who have gone on to practice in 94 countries have started their journey here at RCSI. Today we remain committed to the educating the healthcare leaders of the future. Innovation in education and research as so impressively showcased by Dr Flood is part of our heritage. Facilitated by world-class faculty like Dr Flood our pioneering approach to education equips our students to thrive in the complex multidisciplinary clinical settings right around the world. These fellowships will influence the future evolution of Teaching and Learning in Ireland's higher education sector. The National Forum and the Irish Research Council are to be congratulated for the initiative. They have taken in recognizing the value of an evidence-based approach to the advancement of Teaching and Learning. Once again congratulations Dr Flood. Your colleagues at RCSI are immensely proud of what you've achieved and we greatly look forward to learning from the research you undertake during this important fellowship. Our second fellow is Professor Chris Lynch. Professor and Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at University College Cork, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dentistry, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the Royal College of Surgeons, University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland. Chris's research piece will focus on working with higher education institutions and professional regulatory bodies to enhance the competencies of future professionals. Chris on behalf of the Board of the National Forum it gives me great pleasure to give you this award for being shortlisted nominee for the Individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowship. I'm also delighted today to confer on you one of our inaugural Individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships. The National Forum looks forward to following your research and to supporting you in the 18 months to come. Huge congratulations to Professor Chris Lynch of University College Cork on your award of the Fellowship, Chris. We're really proud of you at University College Cork as a colleague, as a friend, but also as a teacher and as a consultant. At University College Cork we have a simple mission. They were student-led, research-informed and practice-focused. I can't think of a more wonderful example of someone who's led by their students in terms of their needs of their curriculum, in terms of their support that they need, research-led being involved in a huge amount of research yourself, but also with the editor of journals, and also practice-focused as a consultant. That amazing combination has enabled you to be a magnificent teacher, which has been recognized here today and we're really proud of you, Chris. Congratulations and I hope people won for the year ahead. Thank you. Our third fellow is Associate Professor Geraldine O'Neill, is an Associate Professor and Educational Developer in UCD's Teaching and Learning Unit. She has supported many institutional teaching, learning and assessment projects, recently leading the development of UCD's framework for programme-focused assessment and feedback. Geraldine's research piece will focus on work-based assessment, exploring barriers and solutions to an emerging assessment challenge. Geraldine, on behalf of the National Forum Board, I'm thrilled to give you this award. It represents your contribution being shortlisted for a nominee for the individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships. I also have the pleasure today of conferring on you one of our inaugural Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships. Your research will no doubt be impactful and make a very positive contribution to teaching and learning in Irish higher education in the future. My warmest congratulations to Dr Geraldine O'Neill, Associate Professor and Educational Developer in UCD Teaching and Learning. She has supported many institutional teaching, learning and assessment projects, recently leading to the development of UCD's framework for programme-focused assessment and feedback. In a two-year succumbent to the National Forum, she coordinated the assessment enhancement theme 2016 to 2018. A key aspect of this national project was the shift towards empowering students in the assessment and feedback process. Dr O'Neill has a track record of research dissemination focused particularly on curriculum design, assessment and professional development. She achieved a UK Higher Education Academy Principal Fellowship in 2018. I'm confident that her fellowship will help inform the implementation of key national education and skills priorities. Congratulations Geraldine. Our next awardee is Dr Barry Ryan, a biochemistry lecturer and programme director and an award-winning and research active applied scientist with a proven expertise in the practitioner use of and leadership in evidence-based pedagogies in modern higher education settings at Technological University Dublin. Barry's research piece will focus on identifying and understanding and addressing group work gender patterns in sciences in Irish higher education settings. Barry on behalf of the board of the National Forum I'm delighted to give you this award for being a shortlisted nominee for the Individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships. I also have the pleasure of conferring on you one of the inaugural Individual Teaching and Learning Research Fellowships. We celebrate your contribution to teaching and learning to date and look forward to your research as it develops during the course of your fellowship. As president of TU Dublin it's a great pleasure for me to be able to congratulate Dr Barry Ryan for being one of the first recipients of a Fellowship Award from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. In recognising the achievements of those who have already delivered in the enhancement of teaching and learning this award is particularly appropriate as Dr Ryan has already made significant contribution through the implementation of research-informed practices and policy changes. Within its fellowship Dr Ryan will look at the critical issue of gender and gender issues particularly as they relate to group practice and group work in the sciences. I very much look forward to being able to see the outputs from his work and to develop a further understanding of how his suggestions and implementation pathways can be applied in other fields of study. Once again I'd like to congratulate my colleague Dr Ryan on being the recipient of this award and wish him and his fellow recipients every success in the coming year. Our final awardee is Dr Brett Becker, an assistant professor in computer science at UCD where research is computing education. Brett strives to make computing education more accessible and useful to students of all disciplines. Brett's research piece will focus on teaching and learning for the next era of digital innovation. Brett on behalf of the board of the National Forum I'm delighted to give you this award it represents your work and being shortlisted as a nominee for the individual teaching and learning research fellowships. I'm also thrilled to be able to confer on you one of the inaugural individual teaching and learning research fellowships. Today we're celebrating your commitment to teaching and learning and we look forward with much anticipation to the research that you'll produce over the next 18 months. My warmest congratulations to Dr Brett Becker who is an assistant professor in the UCD School of Computer Science. Dr Becker strives to make computing education more accessible and useful to students of all disciplines. He is author of the textbook Computer Science for Leaving Certificate and president of the All Island Society for Higher Education. He holds several international positions including steering committee chair for the ACM Global Computing Education Conference and associate editor for the journal Transactions on Computing Education. He holds an MA in Higher Education and received the UCD College of Science Teaching Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. I am confident that his fellowship will help to highlight the critical influence teaching and learning increasingly has in Irish Higher Education. Congratulations. Once again I would like to congratulate all of our research fellows and thank the presidents of their institutions for their support. As we bring our awards and conferring ceremony to a close, as director of the forum I would like to extend my thanks once again to all those who have made these fellowships possible. I would like to say a special thanks to the National Forum team who worked so hard on the development of these awards. The work that the fellows undertake over the next 18 months will be showcased at the National Forum Summit. The team of the summit is valuing Ireland's teaching and learning and it'll run from the 8th to the 12th of November 2021. I invite you all to join our fellows next year when they will share their findings that will shape the future of teaching and learning in Irish Higher Education.