All Ireland Society for Higher Education
Dear Colleagues -
Welcome to the inaugural AISHE Conference - the first of what we hope will become a regular series in future years.
AISHE has now come a long way since the "Colloquium on University Teaching and Learning", held under the auspices of the Irish Universities' Training Network" (IUTN) at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, in December 1998. The idea for a professional, scholarly, society, dedicated to enhancing the learning experiences of students in Irish Higher Education, was first mooted at that meeting, and received very strong support. However, it required considerable further organisation before AISHE could be formally launched, at NUI Maynooth, in November 2000.
Since its establishment, AISHE has organised and facilitated a wide variety of activities and events in furtherence of its mission, across the whole island of Ireland. Many of these were of relatively small scale, and often organised in collaboration with individual institutions, whose support we gratefully acknowledge. We also particularly appreciate the ongoing help offered by the Higher Education Authority - particularly including their support for this inaugural conference - without which it would have been impossible to sustain the growth of the Society over the past four years.
A major highlight in the development of AISHE was its partnership with SEDA, the UK Staff and Educational Developer's Association, in hosting the AISHE/SEDA Spring Conference at Dublin Castle in April 2002. Such was the success of that event, especially in fostering effective communication and collaboration in "Anglo-Irish" Higher Education, that we are in active discussion with SEDA with a view to repeating this arrangement in the future.
And so, to our own inaugural Conference, here in the magnificently restored Art Deco surroundings of the School of Nursing and Midwidery Studies of Trinity College, Dublin. It is a very genuine pleasure to welcome you all - established friends who have been involved with AISHE since its foundation, but especially also the many new colleagues for whom this may be the first AISHE event you have attended. The programme of papers, workshops, and poster presentations is extremely diverse, and, I believe, very well illustrates our chosen theme of "Mapping The Landscape Of Higher Education In Ireland". We also look forward to the keynote addresses from our two distinguished speakers: Ron Barnett, Professor of Higher Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, and Maria Slowey, recently appointed as the first "Vice President for Learning Innovation" at DCU.
The outcomes of the recent OECD Review of Higher Education in (the Republic of) Ireland are currently keenly awaited, and of direct interest to AISHE. We anticipate a stimulating panel discussion on this topic, where we welcome the participation of Professor Brian Norton, President of the Dublin Institution of Technology, and Mr. Fergal Costello, Head of Policy and Planning at the Higher Education Authority.
An important, if perhaps slightly less intellectually stimulating feature of our Conference will be the AISHE Annual General Meeting. Here, we must elect a new Executive Committee (and, indeed, a new President!) to steer the further consolidation of AISHE for the next two year term. I know there are many members with excellent ideas and initiatives to contribute to this. I urge you to share them with us at the AGM, and, indeed, to consider coming forward to serve on the Executive Committee.
The organisation of a conference event of this sort involves a myriad of complex and interlocking details. I would like to particularly acknowledge and thank the members of the Conference organising committee - Ellen Breen, Anne Jordan and Sylvia Huntley-Moore - and our conference administrator here in TCD, Jeni Ryan, for their energy and commitment to the event over a very extended period of time. The quality of the final programme, and of all the ancilliary arrangements, are a tribute to their efforts.
Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to pay particular tribute to our friend, colleague, and outgoing Vice President, Professor John Panter. John worked tirelessly, and with unfailing good humour, to bring the original vision of AISHE to fruition. His contribution has been crucial to the success of the Society through its critical establishment phase. We wish him well on returning to his native Australia - but still look forward to what we hope will be his frequent visits back to Ireland!
These are difficult times for education, in an age of sound bites, spin and simplification. I hope these two days with provide you with many new ideas to re-invigorate you in facilitating your students' access to learning, and everything that follows from that. There is no more important challenge in our society today.
Barry McMullin, President, AISHE.