HigherEd Forum

About us

9th-11th March 2021

3 days, 5 themes, 27 sessions

Higher Education worldwide is changing, and institutions are encountering challenges when adapting to the new reality and preparing for an unclear and potentially unfamiliar post COVID environment. 2020 has accelerated some of these changes, introduced new obstacles and exposed needs that were not specifically considered before.

Education Institutions are now tackling a number of issues around student migration and recruitment, the learning environment and virtual education, internationalization and employability. The question is, how do Higher Education Institutions continue to stay relevant, adapt to an ever-evolving world, address the requirements of modern students as future professionals and international citizens against a backdrop of an ever increasingly competitive ecosystem.

We at Pearson, the world's leading learning company, are happy to invite you to take part in International Higher Education Forum 2021. During the Forum we will address the issues head on and explore potential solutions. Plenary sessions and presentations will be imparted by noted thought leaders and experts in their fields, who will draw from academic research papers, case studies and success stories.

Plenary Speakers

Dan Doyle
Vice President of Product Management & Delivery, High Stakes English Assessment, Pearson

David Booth
Director of Test Development for
Pearson English Assessment

Dr Angus McDonald
Director and Registered Psychologist, Realise Potential Ltd

Jane Baker
Vice President – Higher Education Qualifications, Pearson

Dr Esther Jubb
Head of Academic Services for Pearson UK Higher Education

The conference will take place online 9th-11th March 2021 and will be divided into 5 main topic blocks.

Please find below the Conference Agenda at a glance.
Scroll further down the page to see detailed information on each of the sessions and our speakers.
You can also download Agenda at a glance as a PDF.

Time (CET)	Session	Speaker
9.50 - 10.00	Welcome & Introduction	Mario Mariani, Managing Director Europe, Pearson
10.00 - 10.30	Plenary: Destination Europe - overview of study abroad trends	Dan Doyle, Vice President of Product Management & Delivery, High Stakes English Assessment, Pearson
10.40 - 11.10	Online distance learning at scale - accelerated growth through partnership	Steven Brimble, Head of Partnership Development, Pearson Online Learning Services, UK & Europe
11.20 - 11.50	Recognition matters: attract and support more UK curriculum applicants	Basirat Agboola, Progression and Recognition Manager at Pearson, David Hawkins, Director and Founder, The University Guys, and Miguel Costa, Head of Global Admissions and Enrollment, IE University, Spain
12.00 - 12.30	India: the jewel in its own crown	Jas Pandhal, Partner, International Relations at TC Portal and Soni Khanna, Principle Consultant, International Relations at TC Portal
12.40 - 13.10	Covid-19 impact on demand for international education: lessons from the data	Carmen Neghina, PhD, Senior Marketing Analytics Consultant at Studyportals
13.20 - 13.50	International progression pathways - time to catch the Trans-Europe Express	Mark Couchman, Business Development Director at Pearson for Central and Eastern Europe and Mark Wilson, Regional Development Manager at Pearson for Spain & Portugal, International Qualifications and Resources

Time (CET)	Session	Speaker
14.00 - 14.45	Plenary: Artificial intelligence in language assessment – what are we afraid of?	David Booth, Director of Test Development for Pearson English Assessment
14.55 - 15.25 (option 1 of 2)	Webinar 1, option 1 - Breaking protocol: making remote assessment work	Andrew Khan, Senior Market Development Manager for Pearson English Assessment
14.55 - 15.25 (option 2 of 2)	Webinar 1, option 2 - Using psychometric tests for soft skill personal development	Wyn Davies, Teacher and Trainer, former Global Product Strategist at Pearson TalentLens
15.35 - 16.15 (option 1 of 2)	Webinar 2, option 1 - F is for Formative: monitoring progress during exam uncertainty	Mike Mayor, Director, English Learning Research & Design at Pearson and Eleonora Pessina, Product Manager at Pearson English Assessment
15.35 - 16.15 (option 2 of 2)	Webinar 2, option 2 - Creating a solid base for assessment: best practices for creating and using scoring rubrics in your classroom and in testing	Dr Bill Bonk, Second Language Measurement Expert at Pearson
16.15 – 16.45	Hub Round Table	Panel discussion with delegates

Time (CET)	Session	Speaker
9.00 - 9.45	Plenary: The importance of employability skills for career success	Dr Angus McDonald, Director and Registered Psychologist, Realise Potential Ltd
10.00 - 10.45	How to turn universities into hubs of successful careers	Prof. Zwi Segal, Co-founder of Motiva
11.00 - 11.45	Critical thinking skills for the future of work	Wyn Davies, Teacher and Trainer, former Global Product Strategist at Pearson TalentLens
12.00 - 12.45	Know thyself: the importance of self-awareness for employability	Dr Angus McDonald, Director and Registered Psychologist, Realise Potential Ltd
13.00 - 13.45	Pearson for Work: bridging the gap between education and employment	Brigette Hughes, Assessment Manager, Pearson

Time (CET)	Session	Speaker
14.00 - 14.45	Plenary: No going back - the future of transnational higher education	Jane Baker, Vice President – Higher Education Qualifications, Pearson
14.55 - 15.40	International frameworks and progression pathways	Panel discussion with UK Enic, EURASHE, Academia and HELBUS Helsinki School of Business, moderated by Dr Christopher Hill
15:50 - 16:20	Attracting students to international, career-focused higher education, part 1 - case study by HELBUS Helsinki School of Business	Dr Kari Jääskeläinen, President of HELBUS Helsinki School of Business
16:30 - 17:00	Attracting students to international, career-focused higher education, part 2 - case study by ACADEMIA	Žan Dapčevič, Managing Director of Academia, Maribor, Slovenia
17:10 - 17:40	Pathways through the pandemic that support employability in the classroom and beyond	Coventry University: Barbara Howell, Barbara Tully, Dr Hanna Yakavenka, Prof. Sukanlaya Sawang

Time (CET)	Session	Speaker
12:00 - 13:00	Plenary: Online learning by design	Dr Esther Jubb, Head of Academic Services for Pearson UK Higher Education
13:15 - 14.00	Presence at a distance – building a sense of community in online education	Alastair Creelman, E-learning specialist at Linnaeus University in Kalmar/Växjö, Sweden
14.15 - 15.00	Growth mindset vs fixed mindset	Bartłomiej Janiak, Teacher Training and Assessment Senior Advisor, Pearson
15.15 - 16.00	The use of coaching in online education as an effective tool supporting students.	Marcin Miziołek, Language Coach
16.15 - 17.15	Is online teaching really teaching? (SESSION NOW FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)	Pearson team: Bartłomiej Janiak, Jan Witek, Anna Wyzińska, Jadwiga Jóźków

The conference will take place online 9th-11th March 2021

ATTENDANCE IS FREE OF CHARGE
All participants will receive conference materials
(digital pack) and a certificate of attendance.

Full agenda with detailed information on the sessions and our speakers:

Day 1 - 9th March 2021 (Tuesday) - MORNING

ATTRACTING STUDENTS

10:00 - 10:30

Plenary: Destination Europe - overview of study abroad trends

Attracting students – exciting opportunities within your reach.

Universities in Europe are facing different challenges with new developments in the world and in the European Union. This is an exciting time to be offering international study programmes and grow your student registrations. In this plenary, we'll discuss latest student migration trends, new opportunities provided by Brexit and post-Covid learning and the key elements to keep in mind when reaching out to international students.

Dan Doyle, Vice President of Product Management & Delivery, High Stakes English Assessment, Pearson
Dan Doyle is Vice President Product Management & Delivery for the Pearson Test of English (PTE). Dan joined Pearson in 2004 and was part of the team that developed and launched PTE in 2009. Dan has global responsibility for PTE which is now available in more than 100 countries and is recognised by thousands of institutions and by the UK, Australian and New Zealand governments of visa purposes.

10:40 - 11:10

Online distance learning at scale - accelerated growth through partnership

Demand for high-quality adult education is continuing to grow but learner preferences are evolving rapidly and, for universities, the competitive landscape may be hard to navigate. Are you looking to develop new revenue streams and reach new markets? Have you been tasked with expanding your portfolio of online course offerings? Does your institution have the resources and reach to make this a reality? As the world’s leading Online Programme Management (OPM) provider, with more than 40 partnerships worldwide, Pearson has unrivalled experience and a proven track record in delivering all the enabling services that your institution may need. In this session, we will describe those services in detail, plus the flexible commercial model that underpins them, and we will outline a path by which, through partnership, your university can extend reach, achieve growth and help learners meet the challenges of the future of work.

Steven Brimble, Head of Partnership Development at Pearson
Steven has worked with the Higher Education sector for the past 17 years, initially as an Academic Consultant and then leading the Learning Solutions team within Pearson’s HE Services division. While with Pearson, Steven has managed key commercial relationships, including setting up new contracts and work-flows with eBook platform providers. In his current role, he is responsible for all Business Development activity in Pearson’s Online Learning Services (POLS) division, having worked closely with our seven existing partners in the UK (King’s, Leeds, Manchester Met, Sussex, Northumbria, Ulster and Oxford) to drive the partnership development process from initial conversation through to contract signing and programme launch. Steven has a first degree in Psychology and Communications from the University of Liverpool and CPD qualifications in Sales and Marketing.

11:20 - 11:50

Recognition matters: attract and support more UK curriculum applicants

With tomorrow’s university applicants actively re-rationalising UK based study in light of Brexit and the global pandemic, the appeal of quality English medium undergraduate programmes closer to home has never been higher. What has not changed however is the appeal of International A level, International GCSE and their national equivalents in schools around the world and their ‘gold-standard’ pathways into global higher education. This session gets you more familiar with UK upper secondary qualifications and the required tools to supercharge your recruitment approach in an increasingly uncertain world. Join us to build inclusive and visible policies that provide UK curriculum students and their counsellors with the needed assurances to choose your institution.

Basirat Agboola, Progression and Recognition Manager at Pearson
Basirat drives relationships with universities, diploma evaluators and other government and global education partners to enhance the progression of Pearson Edexcel students from over 80 countries into higher education around the world. Before joining Pearson, Basirat developed and enhanced international partnerships and scholarship activity within transnational education (TNE), student and staff exchange, research and work abroad and international student recruitment programmes at the University of Greenwich and King's College London. Basirat holds an MA in Education and International Development from University College London (UCL) and is a Regional Assessor for the Chevening UK Master’s Scholarship scheme. She is an active Inclusion, Access and Success committee member of the International Association for College Admission Counseling (International ACAC).

David Hawkins, Director and Founder, The University Guys
David is one of a small number of independent counselors to hold the gold-standard international affiliation with the Council of International Schools. An Oxford graduate, David was the Head of College Counseling at the International School of Brussels (one of the largest in Europe), and before that was the Head of Careers and a History teacher at Taunton School. David holds memberships in the International Association for College Admissions Counseling, IECA, COBIS, HECA and the Council of International Schools. He also serves on committees for CIS and IECA. Now, as Director of The University Guys, he and his team provide bespoke, individual counseling to families pursuing global university options, recruitment services for international universities within the British Isles, and support for schools with various aspects of university advising.

Miguel Costa, Head of Global Admissions and Enrollment, IE University, Spain
Miguel Costa is currently Head of Global Admissions & Enrollment, Undergraduate programs at IE University and full-time professor of Marketing at IE Business School in Madrid. After 10 years in graduate admissions, Miguel played an active role in the foundation and further development of all undergraduate programs at IE University. Miguel is also Vice-chair of the Board of Trustees at the Council of International Schools (CIS). He specializes in developing initiatives and strategies for effective collaboration between International Schools and Higher Education institutions. He was also a founding member of The European Universities Consortium (EUC) and board member of other associations. Specialized in services marketing, his career has been largely forged in international higher education, participating actively in IE Business School. He has been Director of the International MBA, Director of Admissions, and Director of Marketing. He has been especially committed to promoting international higher education for over 20 years in recruitment and admissions at the Bachelor´s and Master´s levels. Miguel holds an International MBA from IE Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Sciences from Universidad de Valencia. He has rounded off his academic training in marketing at Harvard Business School (Boston), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), and Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (Chicago). As a professor, Miguel participates in Master´s and Executive Education programs and regularly contributes to several business media agencies. He is also a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and the American Marketing Association.

12:00 - 12:30

India: the jewel in its own crown

India - a growing industrial powerhouse, populated with over a billion people and a rising under-30 population. Jas and Soni from TC Global, the Pioneer Organisation behind Global Ed in India, will break down the facts, the myths and the opportunities that the somewhat complex Indian horizon brings for Global and Higher Ed. Discover how they’re using technology, backed by expert people, to put the student in the driving seat, breaking down the boundaries in the “middle-man” concept, providing access to the quality masses and giving universities the power to control predictable growth. Discover the opportunities you can access in this deep and diverse nation.

Jas Pandhal, Partner, International Relations at TC Portal
In 2019, Jas left London to join TC Global in India as a Consultant in International Relations. She brought along her incredible experience working across international education and government relations at an impressive number of reputable organisations. Her drive for positive transformation knows no bounds. Jas believes everyone deserves equal access to quality education. Her determination to address the needs of her clients is unshakable. An active member on the Executive Board of a Human Rights NGO, she pursues her purpose to open new avenues for learning the delightful cultures of India.

Soni Khanna, Principle Consultant, International Relations at TC Portal
The very first to join the TC Global family over 25 years ago, Soni’s commitment to the organisation has never faltered. A passionate and skilled member of TC Global, Soni takes ownership of her work, be it big or small. Soni has a wealth of knowledge, experience and background in international education, events organisation and marketing.

12:40 - 13:10

Covid-19 impact on demand for international education: lessons from the data

It’s been a roller coaster year for higher education, and we are still coming to grips with the impact of Covid-19 on higher education. In this session, based on Studyportals data, we will explore what has changed in higher education over the past year and what it means for student recruitment and marketing. Has the interest for online degrees skyrocketed? Do students prefer different destinations than they did before? Is there more interest for specific disciplines? This session will be interactive, so feel free to submit your questions in advance if there’s anything in particular you want to deep-dive in.

Carmen Neghina, PhD, Senior Marketing Analytics Consultant at Studyportals
Carmen Neghina, PhD is a Senior Marketing Analytics Consultant at Studyportals. She is an experienced researcher in higher education and services marketing. Carmen has a PhD degree in services marketing, with a specific focus on value co-creation and service interactions, as well as a Master’s degree in Marketing and Business Administration from Radboud University. Her work has been published in scientific journals such as Marketing Theory and the Journal of Services Management.
She has co-authored a variety of research articles and whitepapers, more recently focusing on international education, student mobility patterns, online study choice behaviour, international student satisfaction and two reports on the growth of the pathway sector. In her previous roles as Head of Intelligence and Thought Leadership Manager she has published several reports based on Studyportals data in collaboration with EAIE, British Council and Cambridge English. Her work has also been publicized in the media, and she has offered interviews for Times Higher Education, University World News, the BBC and Washington Post.

13:20 - 13:50

International progression pathways - time to catch the Trans-Europe Express

In this final session for "Attracting students" we will showcase two real examples where European Universities and Higher Education institutions are growing and expanding their reach. Both focus on students looking for transnational progression pathways and offer tangible development models for your institutions.

Mark Couchman, Business Development Director at Pearson for Central and Eastern Europe
Working in the Education sector for sum 20 years Mark presently works at Pearson Central and Eastern Europe as Business Development Director. Following his graduation in 1998, with a BA (Hons) in International Business, Mark moved to Poland to begin his career in education by opening a training company. Following a successful 10-year period Mark was offered the opportunity to work on a more international footing at Pearson. Over the last 10 years Mark has worked all over the world, the last 6 years focusing on Educational Development, working with Governments, Donor Organization and various Education Institutions in the countries that make up Central and Eastern Europe.

Mark Wilson, Regional Development Manager at Pearson for Spain & Portugal, International Qualifications and Resources
Mark has worked in international education for over 30 years, holding a range of sales and marketing managerial positions at Pearson in Western Europe since joining the company back in 1993. His specialist fields are international academic and vocational qualifications. He has an MA in Language Testing and Development from Lancaster University.

Day 1 - 9th March 2021 (Tuesday) - AFTERNOON

ASSESSMENT

14:00 - 14:45

Plenary: Artificial intelligence in language assessment – what are we afraid of?

Technology has revolutionised many aspects of our lives. Our businesses, for example, rely on multi-disciplinary, remotely based teams, communicating through email, chat and virtual meeting spaces. We share ideas across the globe, meet mutual deadlines and corporate goals often never having met our business counter parts. This has become even more apparent in the recent globalisation of crises, where each one of us can be directly impacted by a single issue or event.

But we are still resistant to change. Whilst technology has helped us overcome significant challenges which have affected our businesses, we still do not trust it or perhaps trust the people behind it.

In this talk we will look at how technology has impacted most strongly on language testing. Replacing the tired and dated models of language assessment by ‘experts’ and replacing that with bias-free automated assessments which are more convenient and fairer to the learner. We will also look at how specific aspects of computer-based testing is changing the way we test now and in the future. This is especially important in the context of high stakes testing where livelihoods and future prospects are at stake; based on the decisions made in the high stakes test environment.

Technology is an enabler. In the cases we will refer to we will see how it helps provide solutions to problems which have haunted language testing for years; issues which have been largely ignored and ‘swept under the carpet.

In this ‘new age’ we will need to take advantage of all the tools at our disposal to ensure that language testing meets the future requirements of test takers. That it is fair and free from bias and truly reflects the language skills and abilities which test takers have learned.

David Booth, Director of Test Development for Pearson English Assessment
David Booth is the Director of Test Development for Pearson English Assessment. He is responsible for the development of specific Pearson tests ensuring that all tests are developed to the highest standards. He is an experienced teacher, teacher trainer and assessment professional.

14:55 - 15:25

Webinar 1, option 1 - Breaking protocol: making remote assessment work

With traditional testing methods still disrupted, many schools, universities and companies have needed to think creatively about how to assess achievement and proficiency. In this session we’ll look at different models for testing in the COVID-19 era, as well as some of the positive and negative responses to the idea of assessing learners at home, and cover test tips and lessons learned from the delivery of Versant English Tests with Remote Monitoring.

Andrew Khan, Senior Market Development Manager for Pearson English Assessment
Andrew Khan is Senior Market Development Manager for English Assessment at Pearson and has been with Pearson since 2006. He travels the world, meeting with schools,
universities and national governments, to help ensure that Pearson’s assessment solutions best meet the needs of learners and teachers. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he’s based in Rochester, Kent.

14:55 - 15:25

Webinar 1, option 2 - Using psychometric tests for soft skill personal development

Psychometric or psychological tests are widely used in employment settings to assess soft skills and other key factors. A 2017 survey showed that 75 percent of FTSE 100 companies used psychometric tests when recruiting staff to a wide range of roles, whilst the number of smaller firms using them is also rising. As well as hiring staff, psychometric tests are also extensively used when developing and coaching individuals and teams within the organisation. In addition, they are often used in career guidance discussions. This webinar looks at what psychometric tests are and their benefit for students. It will present psychometric characteristics and features, what they are designed to assess or measure, the guidelines and best practice for their use, and how they differ from other types of tests and assessments. We will also look at how they can help individuals understand more about their strengths and areas for development, give some guidance into the sort of job roles they might enjoy doing, as well as offer insight into how they think and behave and how this may be similar or different to others.

Wyn Davies, Teacher and Trainer, former Global Product Strategist at Pearson TalentLens
A teacher, trainer, facilitator and coach in both the adult education and corporate L&D sectors. In addition to possessing a wealth of experience in teaching and training, Wyn has the added benefit of possessing strong strategic, team/people management and sales expertise, along with commercial and marketing skills. Wyn worked for a number of years at Right management (a global career transition and HR consultancy) before moving to Pearson Education in the global Talent Assessment division. His roles included designing and delivering a range of training modules, including critical thinking.

15:35 - 16:15

Webinar 2, option 1 - F is for Formative: monitoring progress during exam uncertainty

Many teachers will be familiar with the truism: just because you are teaching, doesn’t mean that they are learning! One of the key tasks of any teacher is to ensure that learning is taking place and this has become even more challenging as more and more teaching has moved to remote online delivery. In this session we show how Pearson English courses and digital assessments work together, within the framework of the Global Scale of English, to create a purposeful, well-structured educational experience. Teachers will be given practical advice on how to structure their end-to-end teaching programme - identifying and addressing skills gaps and monitoring progress throughout.

Mike Mayor, Director, English Learning Research & Design at Pearson
Mike Mayor is Director, English Learning Research & Design at Pearson. In this role, Mike heads up research into creating audience-specific learning objectives aligned to the Global Scale of English, working with content teams to ensure that these learning objectives underpin all new products and services. He also works with educational institutions and ministries around the world to support the use of Global Scale of English in curriculum design and progress monitoring.
Mike joined Pearson in 2003 and headed up the Longman dictionaries list until his move to the Global Scale of English in 2013. Mike has a BA (Hons) in French Language and Literature, a Dip. TEFLA and an MPhil in English and Applied Linguistics from Cambridge University.

Eleonora Pessina, Product Manager at Pearson English Assessment
Eleonora Pessina is a Product Manager at Pearson English Assessment, and the Portfolio lead for proficiency tests designed to level and benchmark English language proficiency for young learners and adults. She brings over 15 years of experience in the language education sector where she has held positions as a teacher, content developer and instructional designer. At Pearson, she has designed market-leading ELT products and services both for local and global markets.

15:35 - 16:15

Webinar 2, option 2 - Creating a solid base for assessment: best practices for creating and using scoring rubrics in your classroom and in testing

In the past, the only way to quickly and easily score second language performance was to make questions that could be objectively scored (such as multiple choice, matching, etc.). But we all know that the world we live in requires us to produce language for communication, not choose A, B, or C. Performance assessments including interviews, scenarios and conversations are becoming more valued but the required human judgement comes with the cost of extra time and effort, scheduling, training, subjectivity… and scoring rubrics! At Pearson we use many of these scoring rubrics as the basis for our automated scoring systems which drives our assessments like the Versant English Tests and PTE Academic. In this session, we will share best practices about how to design and write good rubrics and discuss how you can incorporate them into your own classroom assessments and grading practices.

Dr Bill Bonk, Second Language Measurement Expert at Pearson
Dr Bill Bonk is a Second Language Measurement Expert at Pearson. He has a joint PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science, and a master’s degree in Second Language Studies. His interests and work have been in growth modeling, data visualization, learning and memory for sequences, foreign language psycholinguistics, and second language teaching and testing. In addition to the US, Bill has lived and worked in France, Italy, Ecuador, Japan, Hawaii, and Brazil.

16:15 - 16:45

HUB ROUND TABLE

At the end of the day there will be an opportunity to talk with other delegates or a Pearson representative from a given region.

Day 2 - 10th March 2021 (Wednesday) - MORNING

EMPLOYABILITY

9:00 - 9:45

Plenary: The importance of employability skills for career success

The world is changing rapidly, and this impacts the world of work and the demands it makes on workers. This session will provide an overview of the employability soft skills that are essential for career success both now and in the future, as well as how to measure them via assessments. We will provide an interesting overview of the TalentLens Future Skill assessment as part of this session.

Soft skills are those general and transferable skills that contribute to how someone works, both individually and with others, sometimes known as ‘21st century skills’ or ‘Future Skills’. Everybody needs these skills, regardless of one’s specific occupation. These skills are highly sought after and valued by employers and are those that are most likely to be in demand in the future as technology automates processes. Both academic success and workforce performance have consistently been predicted by competence in these skills.

Dr Angus McDonald, Director and Registered Psychologist, Realise Potential Ltd
Angus has worked in careers and personal development for the past 20 years. He is an expert in objective assessment for organisational selection, education and career development, and is a member of the AGCAS (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services) Psychometrics Task Group. He has developed over thirty psychometric tests including tests of ability, personality, motivation, interests and judgment, as well as developing assessment exercises for many roles. Angus has acted as an adviser to test developers, publishers and other organisations, and has written widely on the area of assessment.
Angus is committed to promoting excellence and best practice in test use, being past Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Steering Committee on Test Standards and a Senior Verifier for the Society’s Test User Educational and Occupational qualifications. He is a Consultant Editor for BPS test reviews, is currently leading their working group on establishing test standards for Health and Social Care settings and has trained over 1000 people in test use qualifications.

10:00 - 10:45

How to turn universities into hubs of successful careers

One of the major problems of universities is that too many students enroll in a course of study without really knowing how well it suits them. The best study program with the best professors will never make a student who is not motivated or who has little motivation to succeed in his studies and his entry into professional life. To solve this problem, it is essential to turn students into actors of their university curriculum, to help them identify more precisely what motivates them and the professions that match them and the skills they need to develop in order to be able to access these professions. This innovative career thinking process is a small investment that can pay big dividends for the image of a university. The foundations of career thinking are the following: to become an expert on oneself (my interests, my motivations, my strengths, my skills, my mindset), to have a better understanding of the job market and to project myself into it (professions that fit me, types of organizations, job surveys...), to take regular reviews and to adjust if necessary. We will also present a very innovative and engaging online career thinking solution that can improve the student's chances of success in his/her university.

Prof. Zwi Segal, Co-founder of Motiva
Zwi Segal is a Co-founder of Motiva, Former Dean (for 8 years) of the business school of Derby University in Israel (under & post graduate programs, 6000 students), Doctor of I/O Psychology (Paris Descartes University). Zwi Segal is an internationally renowned expert in the areas of Human motivation and careers. Co-author of the book “Motivation as a Developing Competency”, Pearson 2015.

11:00 - 11:45

Critical thinking skills for the future of work

Critical Thinking is the ability to look at a situation logically and clearly understand it from multiple perspectives while separating facts from opinions, myths, prejudices, hunches (intuition) and assumptions. It involves the ability to question assumptions in order to make logical decisions based on a consideration of all the options and evaluation of all the facts. Critical thinking is seen as a key workplace ability and vital for success in a great number of job roles. It is linked to key organisational competencies like decision making, judgement and problem solving. Organisations for years have used critical thinking tools to both screen new hires for critical thinking ability, as well as to develop the skill in current staff. More organisations are likely to place importance on critical thinking going forward, as it is seen as a key future skill. For these reasons, Critical Thinking features in many employability skill frameworks and is deemed as a vital workplace ability for students as they transition into the workplace, both now and in the future. This session will define critical thinking, look at why it is important for workplace success and review how it can be assessed and developed.

12:00 - 12:45

Know thyself: the importance of self-awareness for employability

For a young person about to make the transition from education to the world of work, developing insight into who they are is key. This session will explore the importance of accurate self-knowledge in making career decisions, highlighting how factors such as career interests, personality preferences and motivations all have a role to play in helping identify potential strengths and shape career decisions. The importance of strengths from an employer perspective will also be addressed, as more employers incorporate strengths-based approaches into their recruitment. Finally, resources for helping students to explore their strengths will be identified.

13:00 - 13:45

Pearson for Work: bridging the gap between education and employment

Pearson for Work is an ecosystem of products and services for career guidance and training, integrated in traditional curricula. In a world that is characterized by rapid innovation, acceleration and transformation, ‘employability’ has become a serious issue. Pearson Italy has developed a solution that provides students in the age group 17-24 years tools and opportunities for their professional future. During this session the Robotics License project will be demonstrated, which trained and certified 9000 Italian students in industrial robot skills in the past 3 years.

Brigette Hughes, Assessment Manager, Pearson
Brigette Hughes is the Assessment Manager at Pearson Italia and has worked with Pearson in the UK and Italy for the past 23 years. During this time Brigette has worked in UK Schools Publishing, English Language Teaching Consultancy and most recently as the Assessment Manager, providing support for centres both for English Language Qualifications and to the Pearson International Schools team for the International Schools Qualifications.

Day 2 - 10th March 2021 (Wednesday) - AFTERNOON

CAREER FOCUSED EDUCATION

14:00 - 14:45

Plenary: No going back - the future of transnational higher education

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, change was in the air. We were seeing a demand for Higher Education to effectively prepare students for global careers and to enable their contribution to the global economy. Add to this the pace of digital transformation – in industry, in data and in the workplace, and its impact on working practices and opportunities for new business. All of this leads to a necessity for associated skills required from all the workforce with a broad global view and a digital skillset; change was definitely coming our way.

The impact of the pandemic has been to significantly drive the pace of such change. Employers require graduates well-equipped to join their workforce – with digital, data and employability skills. It is fair to say that Higher Education has not always delivered this. Furthermore, students are seeking virtual mobility opportunities and anytime learning, demanding that their educators, their employers and indeed themselves, drive out inequality.

How can higher education providers respond to these needs? Collaboration in transnational higher education may be the key.

This session will explore some of the recent global shifts in higher education, and how these reflect the demands from both employers, governments and students. Let’s consider how higher education providers can collaborate to drive the success of transnational HE, together.

Jane Baker, Vice President – Higher Education Qualifications, Pearson
Jane is a professional in technical and higher education and has held a number of leadership positions in UK colleges over the last 20 years. Jane has a Master’s in Education Evaluation and studied post-grad Entrepreneurial Education at Babson College, Massachusetts, USA.
In 2015 Jane joined Pearson Education Limited to build a new division for Pearson - Higher Education Qualifications. The division leads the design, development, validation and implementation of Pearson's higher education qualifications and digital services across more than 60 countries.
Jane works closely with policy makers and is committed to providing industry relevant higher education learning, to drive economies and help students achieve their goals and ambitions.
Jane has held several Board positions and is a mentor with the 30% Club, committed to building diversity on FTSE 100 boards, and regularly contributes to published policy thought pieces.

14:55 - 15:40

International frameworks and progression pathways

Every country has its education structures and frameworks, some are shared like the EQF, but how do learners with a qualification from one country access employment or further learning in another? Understanding the pathways and knowing the status of their own qualifications in another country enables education providers of all levels to provide accurate advice to their learners, which can increase their recruitment numbers. In this session we will be discussing the above-mentioned issues in the light of career-focused education focusing on level 5 qualifications and their importance and challenges in today’s employment and education landscape.

Panel discussion with UK Enic, EURASHE, Academia and HELBUS Helsinki School of Business, moderated by Dr Christopher Hill
UK Enic, operated and managed by Ecctis Limited, is the UK’s National Agency responsible for providing information and opinion on academic, vocational and professional qualifications from across the world. As the National Agency, managed on behalf of the UK Government, UK Enic provide the only official UK source of information on international education and training systems and qualifications and skills attained outside the UK.

EURASHE’s mission is to strengthen the impact of innovative, high quality professional higher education and related user-oriented research in Europe by representing professional higher education institutions and facilitating their multi-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue. In addition to offering professionally-orientated programmes, EURASHE members are specifically engaged in applied and profession-related research, and its technological applications. EURASHE focuses primarily on policy development and on higher education projects and research with emphasis on its professionally-orientated segments. Furthermore, it organises annual conferences, thematic seminars and tailor-made events for its members.

Academia, College of Short-Cycle Higher Education, delivers BTEC Higher National Diploma qualification in combination with in-person and online delivery by industry experts with work-based learning in partner companies or organisation, also known as dual-mode of higher professional education.

HELBUS is the first and only private Finnish business school. It offers Pearson BTEC HND in Business program, University of Northampton top-up program and University of Northampton MBA program in Finland. HELBUS has grown every year since its launch in 2012. This year in Q1 HELBUS growth rate is 70%.

Dr Christopher Hill’s research interests include transnational education, the development of international education and the student experience in the global arena. He has published and presented in the field of international education; organised and delivered conferences, workshops, training and lectures around the world and led on funded projects to develop research capacity and internationalise HE systems in Iraq, Taiwan, the Philippines, Pakistan and Thailand.

15:50 - 16:20

Attracting students to international, career-focused higher education, part 1 - case study by HELBUS Helsinki School of Business

Internationalisation continues to be a central strategy for higher education institutions the world over. The steady increase in demand by students for English-medium, culturally-rich and career-focused programmes has led to an explosion of choice in learning content, and in types of institutions that offer international higher education. This widening of access and recognition of transnational education means that institutions now find themselves competing both locally and internationally to attract - and keep - their students. The case studies by Academia and HELBUS Helsinki School of Business will highlight their success in positioning themselves as cutting-edge hubs for career-focused education and as institutions that deliver attractive progression pathways to higher education and the employment market.

Dr Kari Jääskeläinen, President of HELBUS Helsinki School of Business
Kari is the founder and president of HELBUS Helsinki School of Business. In addition to leading HELBUS, he is mainly focused with marketing and recruiting new students.
HELBUS is the first and only private Finnish business school. It offers Pearson BTEC HND in Business program, University of Northampton top-up program and University of Northampton MBA program in Finland. HELBUS has grown every year since its launch in 2012. This year in Q1 HELBUS growth rate is 70 %.

16:30 - 17:00

Attracting students to international, career-focused higher education, part 2 - case study by ACADEMIA

Žan Dapčevič, Managing Director of Academia, Maribor, Slovenia
Mr Žan Dapčevič is the Managing Director of Academia, College of Short-Cycle Higher Education in Maribor, Slovenia. In addition to leading Academia, he also serves as the board member of the Association of Slovene Higher Vocational Colleges – Association HVC. Academia is family-owned and one of most renowned colleges in Slovenia with over 25 years of experience. Academia offers Slovenian Short-Cycle Higher Education programmes and Pearson BTEC HND programmes in Art & Design, Business, Computing and Engineering. Žan holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and International Business from The University of Auckland, New Zealand and is currently pursuing Executive MBA at Said Business School of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

17:10 - 17:40

Pathways through the pandemic that support employability in the classroom and beyond

The Global pandemic has had a significant impact on many aspects of the student experience in higher education. Public and private, large and small institutions embraced the challenges and responded to opportunities across the nations. This presentation will focus on how Coventry University transitioned to the “new normal”. In particular, we will look at how the University identified and implemented innovative teaching and learning initiatives and moved to a new interactive learning platform to maintain those essential employability skills and prepare the students for the future world of work. The presentation will also give the audience multi-site examples from various disciplines, highlighting progression pathway opportunities with real added educational value.

Barbara Howell
Barbara has a portfolio career that spans some twenty-five years in the Higher Education sector. She joined Coventry University in 2011 as the Associate Dean International in the Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, following her former post as the Executive Dean/Head of Faculty, Communication Media at Ravensbourne University. Barbara is well published and presented on many occasions, on pedagogy, intercultural and transnational education, and strategies for success. Barbara is certified as IENG MBCS CITP, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been a QAA reviewer for over twelve years. Barbara is also a registered reviewer for the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA) in Saudi Arabia, Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVA) in Lithuania and the Academic Information Centre (AIC)/Quality Agency for Higher Education (AIKA) – Latvia.

Barbara Tully
Associate Dean for Global Engagement in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Barbara Tully is Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has over 35 years of experience in Higher Education both as an academic, academic leader, and consultant to a number of multinational companies and European and African organisations in the field of worker communication. In addition to her International role at Coventry University, Barbara is an Inspector of Further and Higher Education for Accreditation UK.

Dr Hanna Yakavenka
Dr Yakavenka is an experienced HEI senior leader with specialist expertise in Transnational Education, Quality Assurance processes, International Business Management, and Knowledge Sharing within and across Professional Communities. Prior to joining Coventry University London team, Hanna led international curriculum developments at University of Greenwich Business School. Her research interests lie in the field of knowledge management and cross-cultural communications, where she particularly has been focusing on peer learning and professional development, internationalisation of the university curricula, and programme design.

Prof. Sukanlaya Sawang
Prior to joining Coventry as Associate Dean and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Faculty of Business and Law, Sukanlaya worked at the University of Leicester. She has extensive overseas experience, including having worked as an academic in Australia and Thailand. She has received degrees in organisational psychology and innovation management. She is also an active researcher at the Centre in Business and Society and a visiting Professor at QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Day 3 - 11th March 2021 (Thursday)

ONLINE TEACHING

12:00 - 13:00

Plenary: Online learning by design

In this session we will explore the importance of design in creating and delivering successful online learning experiences. The session will highlight the ways in which designing learning experiences for online delivery is both different and similar to other modes of learning. The process of Design Thinking and learner empathy will be examined as an approach to designing effective learning experiences, examples will be provided of how design thinking has supported curriculum and learning design in a range of higher education and professional development programmes. The session will bring together suggestions of effective practice in online learning to support colleagues in approaching their own online learning challenges.

Dr Esther Jubb, Head of Academic Services for Pearson UK Higher Education
Dr Esther Jubb - as Head of Academic Services for Pearson UK Higher Education, Esther leads the team responsible for learning design and academic delivery support. She has more than 20 years’ experience working within the higher education sector in academic and professional service roles (Universities of Durham, Liverpool John Moores, Sheffield, Derby & Cumbria) and undertaking consultancy internationally in the US, Australia, South Africa, and Central America. Her core expertise is in the areas of curriculum design and development, online programme design and delivery, academic development and technology enhanced learning. She has developed pedagogical frameworks and delivery approaches for fully online and blended programmes and designed, validated and developed postgraduate, undergraduate and degree apprenticeship programmes for fully online delivery in a range of disciplines. Esther holds a PhD from Durham University, and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

13:15 - 14:00

Presence at a distance – building a sense of community in online education

As the covid-19 crisis continues there is increasing focus on how to develop online teaching from simple content delivery to collaborative learning and co-creation. How can we foster a sense of community in our classes and facilitate greater socialization between students? In this session Alastair Creelman from Linnaeus University in Sweden will discuss some of the lessons learned from the last year of online education and give examples of tools and methods that can help to reduce the feeling of distance and isolation that many students feel today.

Alastair Creelman, E-learning specialist at Linnaeus University in Kalmar/Växjö, Sweden
Specialist in the field of online and distance education based in the section for higher education development. Alastair monitors developments in the field and is active in several national and international projects in areas such as distance/online learning, quality questions, open educational resources (OER), MOOCs, social media in education and virtual mobility (global classroom). He was recently a member of the Lnu Global Classroom project, promoting virtual mobility and internationalisation. In June 2017 Alastair was awarded the title of EDEN Fellow (European Distance and E-learning Network) and elected to EDEN's NAP (Network of Academics and Professionals) Steering Committee. Very active in social media, primarliy through two blogs on educational technology - a reflective blog in English, Corridor of Uncertainty, and a news blog in Swedish, Flexspan. Active on Twitter as @alacre.

14:15 - 15:00

Growth mindset vs fixed mindset

Enabling language learners to reach their full potential is of vital importance if they are to become competent professionals. Adopting the right approach helps them grow, build resilience and learn to solve problems more effectively. The growth mindset has become popular in recent years and several important lessons have been learnt. Join us as we discuss the introduction of growth mindset to language classes and cover its benefits, as well as pitfalls and common misunderstandings around it.

Bartłomiej Janiak, Teacher Training and Assessment Senior Advisor, Pearson
Bartek has worked in the field of education for more than 10 years, following successfully graduating from the University of Lodz in the faculty of English language teaching. Following graduation, Bartek started his career as ELT Representative, subsequently moving on to his present position as Senior Assessment Advisor with Pearson Central Europe. Due to his interest in the professional and personal development of human beings, Bartek completed additional studies at Kozminski University for Professional Coaching: methods and practice. He has since gone on to present and run workshops at numerous educational and business events such as: IATEFL, Edunation, European PASE Conference, SPASE for personal development, SPASE for managers, CAMPUS Ukraine.

15:15 - 16:00

The use of coaching in online education as an effective tool supporting students.

Nowadays people all over the world are facing very difficult times. All the issues connected with Covid-19 are making our lives more and more difficult. Education is among the fields which are suffering to a very large extent. We are trying to find ourselves in this new reality. Because of the pandemic, online education has been introduced and a lot of effort is being put to find solutions which could help students to maintain effective learning. The aim of this lecture is to determine if and how coaching can be a tool of supporting students during the process of online learning. The presented coaching tools are based on 7 years of teaching online. Their efficiency has been analyzed and part of the research has already been published in an academic book “Coaching jako konstruktywny dialog” (Eng. "Coaching as a constructive dialogue"). A simple coaching tool named: 'The wheel of education’ was created and it has shown motivation changes and progress of students over the years. The research has shown that the use of open questions, setting smart individual goals, emphasizing small steps and being a good listener have improved students’ motivation greatly, proving that we can minimize the impact the pandemic has had on education.

Marcin Miziołek, Language Coach
Marcin Miziołek currently is a PhD student at the Institute of Psychology of Polish Academy of Sciences. He has more than 15 years’ experience of English teaching having had a chance to work within the public education sector and also privately at his language school. He has connected his educational work with coaching. He is a Certified Coach of the Polish Chamber of Coaching (Life coaching - Cambridge University; Professional coaching - Kozminski University, Warsaw) he has MA in English Philology (University of Humanities and Economics in Łódź). He has had a chance to give lectures at universities in Poland, Latvia, Sweden and Portugal, discussing the importance of motivation in learning processes. Apart from that, he is also a Psycho-oncologist, founder of Spiral Coaching®, Master Coach in Neurolinguistic Programming and Time Line Theraphy® Master.

16:15 - 17:15

Is online teaching really teaching?

(SESSION NOW FULL, REGISTRATION CLOSED)

During the last session of the “Online Teaching” day, we will talk about online teaching from two different perspectives. We will utilize breakout rooms to facilitate this process. We will attempt to find the answer to the question: is online teaching really teaching? Why is it? Or why is it not?

Pearson team: Bartłomiej Janiak, Jan Witek, Anna Wyzińska, Jadwiga Jóźków

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