Future Directions is a Wales-wide higher education enhancement programme funded by HEFCW that aims to improve learning and teaching. It has three work strands: Distinctive Graduates, Inspiring Teaching, and Learner Journeys. Run by volunteers, it is guided by Welsh Government HE policy and advises UnisWales. Future Directions also holds biennial conferences, funds projects, and collaborates with sector bodies to enhance the student experience and employability in Welsh universities.

1. Cyfeiriadau’r Dyfodol Future Directions
Dr Stephen Bostock, Future Directions Strategic Lead
Arweinydd Strategol Cyfeiriadau’r Dyfodol
NTF, FHEA, SFSEDA 17/4/15

2. • The Wales learning & teaching enhancement
programme
• It grew from the all-Wales institutional group (WIG)
and the first all-Wales, biennial conference, at
Glyndwr University, Wrexham in Spring 2012.
• It is driven by the priorities in Welsh Government
policy for HE, notably For Our Future in 2009 and the
Policy Statement on HE in 2013, the L&T Advisory
Group of UnisWales, and HEFCW.
• Funded by HEFCW. 2014-15: a part time Strategic
Lead; a consultant; HEA admin support; workstrand
volunteers.
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What is Future Directions?

3. 3

4.  The first FD enhancement theme was
Graduates for our Future, with three workstrands:
• Students as Partners
• Learning for Employment
• Learning in Employment
 From 2013-14 the enhancement theme of
Global Graduates: Enabling Flexible Learning:
• Distinctive Graduates
• Inspiring Teaching
• Learner Journeys.
 Continuity: internationalisation, employability,
curriculum design and the recognition and promotion
of teaching. 4
Workstrands since 2012

5. The first enhancement theme had a workstrand of students
as partners, and students were prominent at the 2014
conference.
To retain student partnership, this workstrand was initially
converted into a Students as Partners Network (SaPN).
With the growth of the (NUS) Wales Initiative for Student
Engagement (WISE), this is a better structure to support
Future Directions workstrands, so it replaced the SaPN
role in early 2015.
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Students as Partners

6. • Distinctive Graduates
Led by Lloyd Williams (USW)
What is distinctive about graduates in Wales;
university ‘employability’ awards
• Learner Journeys
Lead by Prof Jo Smedley (USW)
Collating videos and cases of the variety of learner
journeys, educational pathways
• Inspiring Teaching
Led by Graham Lewis, Aberystwyth
Lessons learnt by early-career teachers; reflections
on excellence by Wales National Teaching Fellows
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Current workstrand activity

7.  Partnership with sector bodies (HEFCW, UW, NUS
…)
 Each workstrand has members (staff & students)
from all 8 universities, plus the OUW and GLLM;
each institution has a FD team
 Publications from workstrands and conferences; web
site
 HEA-funded enhancement activities: in 2012-13 and
in 2014-15, project funding of £2500 per institution
 Biennial conferences: USW, Cardiff 20-21 April 2016
 Visits by myself and HEA Partnership Managers to all
institutions, attendance and input into institutional
events and national events: Strategic Enhancement 7
Future Directions activities