Teaching and Learning Showcase 2026

Sessions for 2026 will be focused around Partnerships
Teaching and Learning Showcase 2026

Teaching and Learning Showcase 2026

Sessions for 2026 will be focused around Partnerships

  • Babbage Building, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA

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Join us for the Teaching and Learning Showcase 2026, being held at the Babbage Building, University of Plymouth, on Tuesday, 30 June. Registration is open from 09:30 for a 10:15 start.
Following the success of the event in previous years, we are excited that sessions for 2026 will be focused around the theme of Partnerships including:
  • Employers as partners
  • Education providers as partners
  • Students as partners
  • Community/general public as partners
  • Education technology as partners
A combination of workshops, interactive stands, 10-minute soapbox talks and posters (full details available below) will enable staff from the University of Plymouth and its partners to network and learn about how different areas work with partners, as well as how they innovate in teaching and learning. 
There will also be an opportunity for attendees to tour some of the innovative teaching spaces within the Faculty of Health.
Please check out the website below for further information.
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R Register your place to attend

 

Event venue

The event take will take place in Babbage Building, which is located on the University of Plymouth campus and in close proximity to the city centre and Plymouth train station. 
Babbage Building, University of Plymouth
 
Programme
Tuesday 30 June 2026 – Babbage Building, University of Plymouth
09:30 – 10:15 | Arrival, registration, networking, stands/posters and refreshments
10:15 – 11:25 | Welcome from Professor Vicky Bamsey, Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, and panel session chaired by Laura Alexander, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development – The University and employers working in partnership
11:35 – 12:45 | Morning workshops (choose one from the below)
12:45 – 13:45 | Lunch, networking/stands, posters, soapbox talks
13:45 – 14:55 | Afternoon workshops (choose one from the below)
15:00 – 16:00 | Optional tours of Faculty of Health Facilities (further details below).

Our panellists

Debbie Joce

Organisation: Babcock International Group
Title: Babcock Skills Director

Debbie is a strategic workforce and people leader with extensive experience across the full HR landscape, underpinned by a strong commitment and passion for skills development. 
Debbie contributes broader industry insight on skills through her roles on the Nuclear Skills Delivery Board and the Defence Industrial Joint Council Skills & Training Working Group. 
In addition, Debbie serves as a trustee of a women’s charity in the Southwest, reflecting her dedication to improving lives.

Craig Butler

Organisation: Headway Plymouth
Title: Chief Executive Officer

Craig joined the staff team at Headway Plymouth nearly three years ago after switching from a 30-year career as a personal injury solicitor working with brain-injured clients. 
His role has been to develop and grow the charity's service offering, which now includes a centre-based social, education and activity hub, hospital liaison services at Derriford and Mount Gould Hospitals and a 1:1 community and enablement project.  
Headway Plymouth continues to collaborate with several university faculties offering short and long-term placement opportunities for students and supporting research programs around the effects of acquired brain injury.  
Craig also leads on projects and strategic partnerships with health and adult social care partners, grant-making foundations and fundraising generally.

Helen Sykes

Organisation: Livewell Southwest
Title: Undergraduate & Preceptorship Lead

I am a registered (general) nurse with 36 years of post-reg experience. 
For the past 15 years, I have been working for Livewell Southwest in the role of Undergraduate & Preceptorship lead, supporting pre-reg learners and those newly qualified within their first healthcare post. 
Livewell is a community interest company and provides community services for adult health & social care, adult & child mental health and public health within the city centre of Plymouth and immediately surrounding rural areas in South Hams & West Devon.

Baden Hall

Organisation: Met Office
Title: Head of Meteorology Profession
I joined the Met Office after studying meteorology at the University of Reading. 
Most of my career has been spent in the world of Operational Meteorology and forecasting, delivering services across sectors like aviation, defence, media and public weather. That’s involved postings around the UK and elsewhere in the world, as far flung as Cardiff, London (for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games), Ascension Island and the Falklands. 
The Met Office has around 500 meteorologists in operational roles spread across observing and forecasting the weather. 
Before I took up my current role leading that profession, I spent time as Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Private Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive, and three years on secondment to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. We’re now working on a transformation of how we deliver operational forecasting services. 
This includes transforming the role of the meteorologist, the skills and competencies we’ll need in future, and the learning and development that ensures we have a confident and competent team of experts.

Michelle Rysdale

Organisation: Plymouth Argyle Football Club
Title: Concerts and Large Events Manager

Michelle Rysdale is the Concerts and Large Events Manager at Plymouth Argyle Football Club, where she leads the planning and delivery of major concerts, festivals, fan zones and community events at Home Park Stadium. 

With over 15 years' experience in the events industry, Michelle has managed a diverse portfolio of events ranging from large-scale live music concerts and festivals to community engagement programmes. 

Alongside her role at Plymouth Argyle, Michelle is the founder of Heyday Events, an independent events company specialising in music, cultural and community-focused experiences across the South West.

Passionate about creating opportunities for students and graduates, Michelle has worked closely with the University of Plymouth throughout her career, supporting placements, guest lectures and industry engagement initiatives. 

Michelle is a proud University of Plymouth graduate and is passionate about strengthening partnerships between higher education and industry to help students develop the skills, confidence and experience needed to thrive in the workplace.

Paul Hanrahan 

Organisation: Enterprise Mobility
Title: Talent Acquisition Marketing Specialist

Having graduated with a BA (Hons) in Human Resource Management, I joined Enterprise Mobility as a Graduate Management Trainee, where I worked my way up from the operational side of the business to Branch Manager. After six years in the branch environment, I joined the HR team based out of the regional head office.
Upon joining the HR team, I continued to grow and develop as an individual. At a regional level, I’ve spent time as an HR Generalist, a Training and Development Specialist, and as a Graduate Recruitment Manager, before moving into my current role of Talent Acquisition Marketing Specialist, based out of our European head office.
I refer to my role now as an ‘account manager for universities’, partnering with a wide range of institutions across the south west, south, and south east of the UK to formulate an attraction strategy that allows me to reach as many graduates and placement students as possible, attempting to attract the best talent that I can to the business. I can often be found on campus delivering skills sessions and leading on events or fairs, working closely with professional services, academics, and student bodies, to showcase our amazing opportunities
Behind the scenes, I am a big advocate for diversity and inclusion, with a particular affinity for social mobility and social value. As someone from a low-income, council-house background and a first-generation university goer, creating opportunities for others facing the same barriers I did remains close to my heart.

Kyra Hodges

Organisation: Marine AI
Title: Project Manager

Marine AI is a Plymouth-based software company in the development and delivery of its dual-use vessel control suite, GuardianAI™. 
Founded in 2017, Marine AI drew on its team’s extensive experience in manned and unmanned vessels, creating the Orion suite, which is at the forefront of autonomous maritime innovation, pushing the boundaries of platform control, long-duration operations, and safe, reliable autonomy.

Morning workshops

Session A: Transformation, Tool or Threat? AI Integration and the Future of Academic Professional Practice
Ben Sui, Becky Turner, Hannah Miles and Christie Pritchard
Generative AI (Gen AI) is rapidly reshaping teaching, learning and assessment across higher education, and students and staff at the University of Plymouth are taking an active role in this discussion. Students are exploring the potentially tricky balancing act of drawing on AI to support their learning, aiding them in managing their time, prepare revision materials, whilst also being mindful of the risk of overrelying on Gen AI. Equally many lecturers are actively innovating, integrating Gen AI in student learning and assessment activities. This workshop will feature examples of current integration of Gen AI within lecturer’s practice – showcasing how staff are creating opportunities to critically engage with Gen AI and reflect on the implications for student learning.  

Session B: From Pathways to Partnerships: Designing Inclusive Skills Escalators for the South West
Dr Elizabeth J Done, Professor Verity Campbell-Barr and Dr Victoria Bamsey
How can regional partnerships design progression pathways that learners can realistically step onto and along? This hands‑on workshop explores inclusive Skills Escalators that are co‑designed with partners, and include practical actions to remove barriers to progression into work and higher-level learning.

Session C: Diverse placement models – preparing students for practice
Bradley Halliday, Christie Robinson, Danielle Munford and Shona Crick 
Discover how diverse placement models can enhance learning, increase capacity, and strengthen partnerships between education and practice. This workshop showcases three approaches spanning clinical, academic and sustainability contexts, highlighting their impact on student learning and service delivery. You will reflect on opportunities and challenges of each and consider how these models could be adapted within your own setting.

Session D: From Research to Curriculum: The SPARC Framework for Scenario-Based Learning
Dr Jonathan Rhodes
Academics often build valuable external partnerships through research collaborations, but translating those insights into meaningful learning experiences for students can be challenging. This session introduces the SPARC Framework (Scenario Learning, Partnership, Application, Reflection, Curriculum), demonstrating how research and partnerships in defence, sport, business and sustainability, can be translated into engaging, scenario-based teaching.

Session E: Are you being (ob)served? Reframing the Peer Review Scheme at the University of Plymouth
Dr Helen Bowstead, Dr Oliver Webb and Dr Nadine Schaefer
Help shape the peer review (peer observation) process at the University of Plymouth! In this session, participants will have the opportunity to evaluate a range of peer review/peer observation models with the aim of creating a working blueprint for a developmental framework that supports and celebrates best practice in teaching and learning.

Session F: Supporting employability through students as partners: Learning Support, Careers, Curriculum
Victoria Squire, Catherine Hine, Molly Walters, Carli-Ann Wilcott and Sarah Plunkett
This workshop will explore different initiatives to engage students as partners. With a focus on supporting employability, we will consider individual learning support, integration of careers in modules and curriculum design. Participants will be invited to consider current practice and how they may be able to utilise initiatives from across the university to improve student experience and outcomes.
 
 
 
 

Afternoon workshops

Session G: Transformation, Tool or Threat? AI Integration and the Future of Academic Professional Practice
Ben Sui, Becky Turner, Hannah Miles and Christie Pritchard
Generative AI (Gen AI) is rapidly reshaping teaching, learning and assessment across higher education, and students and staff at the University of Plymouth are taking an active role in this discussion. Students are exploring the potentially tricky balancing act of drawing on AI to support their learning, aiding them in managing their time, prepare revision materials, whilst also being mindful of the risk of overrelying on Gen AI. Equally many lecturers are actively innovating, integrating Gen AI in student learning and assessment activities. This workshop will feature examples of current integration of Gen AI within lecturer’s practice – showcasing how staff are creating opportunities to critically engage with Gen AI and reflect on the implications for student learning.  

Session H: How can games help? Working in partnership to promote community and student learning around the climate and nature emergency
Danielle Munford, Professor Hilary Neve, Annie Mitchell and Geraldine James
We know that students and the public are concerned about the climate and nature emergency, yet vary considerably in their understandings of this. In this interactive workshop participants will try out and discuss a variety of climate games designed to promote learning, engage learners and offer opportunities for action and hope. Could you use or adapt these in your setting? Come and share your experiences, thoughts and ideas!

Session I: Education providers as partners: Innovative models, seamless pathways and collaborative ecosystems
Dr Bryan Mills, Victoria Squire, Dr Tamal Barman and Marianne Readman
This workshop draws on four academics experience of working with multiple educational partners over many decades. Drawing on this as a basis, we will explore what makes an effective external partnership, methods of facilitating co-creation, and how stronger and more mutually beneficial relationships are built. 

Session J: Designing with, not for: practical tools for reciprocal international teaching partnerships
Michael Dillon, Julie Swain and Bogdan Ghita
This interactive workshop explores how international teaching and learning partnerships can be designed with partners rather than for them. Drawing on examples of co-designed interdisciplinary workshops in India, and a recent hackathon involving students from Plymouth, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, participants will examine assumptions about expertise, power and mutual benefit, before developing their own early-stage partnership idea using a practical design framework. The session is aimed at colleagues interested in creating more reciprocal, context-sensitive and educationally meaningful partnerships.

Session K: Split session: Integrating Lived Experience into the University Curriculum
Jess Otter and Rebecca Reynolds
This interactive workshop explores the value of embedding lived experience within the University curriculum. Through the perspective of a young person sharing insights into life alongside a sibling with complex needs, participants will gain a powerful, first-hand understanding of how personal narratives can enrich learning. Showcasing teaching already delivered within SNAM, the session will demonstrate the impact of lived experience in practice. Attendees will be invited to reflect on its benefits, consider its relevance across different disciplines, and explore how similar approaches might be applied within their own areas of teaching.

Session K: Split session: Weathering the Future Together: Co-Creating Educational pathways with the Met Office
Christie Pritchard and Matthew Watkinson
This session explores the emerging partnership between the University of Plymouth and the Met Office to design an innovative skills escalator for foundational operational meteorologist roles. The session highlights how universities and employers can work together to create meaningful, future focused pathways that support learners, strengthen workforce capability and address national skills challenges.

Session L: Beyond the classroom: students as partners in making distant placements worthwhile
Dr Marie Jasim, Ben-Nasser Kadar, Charlie Thompson, Lucy May, Zain Saghir, Ayo Awosanmi, Jeena Limbu and Saduni Perera
Distant placements can offer rich learning experiences, but also bring challenges around belonging, opportunity, wellbeing and connection to university life. Using examples from student-staff partnership projects in a district general hospital setting, this interactive workshop will explore how students can help shape more meaningful and sustainable placement experiences across disciplines.

Posters

  • The Role of the Professional Nurse Advocate in higher education institutes: supporting nursing students’ wellbeing and addressing attrition, Kiri Freeth, School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • Equity in Education: Enhancing Diversity Through Digital Platforms, Anna Garrett, School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • Students as Partners in Patient and Public Involvement: Learning Through Real-World Observation, Dr William Gowers, BCNO Group
  • Allied Health Profession – related accreditation requirements for the delivery of anatomy teaching in the UK: A web-based desktop audit, John Passmore, Theo Orchard-Clark and Bradley Halliday, School of Health Professions
  • Brains Before Bots: Responsible Integration of AI in Dental Radiography Teaching, Dr Sumanth Kumbargere Nagraj, Peninsula Dental School
Stands
  • Building Scalable Partnerships for Widening Participation: Projects, Outputs and the Sustained Impact of ‘Engineering-4-Inclusion’
  • Centre for Teaching Enhancement and Innovation
  • Jumping Janners: Bridging Digital Play and Physical Movement through an Interactive Parkour Game
  • Shaping LLS: How Students Transformed Our Ways of Working

Soapbox Talks

  • It's not just bananas!, Isabella Francis and Sue Langford, UCSP Ltd and Sustainability
    ‘It's not just bananas!’ is a lightening talk about how academics can embed Fairtrade into their curriculum and how we can support you in doing that.
  • Teaching to Teach: Developing Medical Students’ Teaching Skills through a Primary School Teaching Week, Si Yin Kok, Amber Leach, Kathryn Birch, Poppy Gotto and Katherine Neil, Peninsula Medical School.
    This presentation explores a curriculum-integrated primary school teaching programme in which medical students designed and delivered interactive health education sessions for Year 5 students. Drawing on student feedback and pre-/post-placement confidence scores, the talk will highlight how community-based teaching placements can strengthen medical students’ confidence in teaching and communicating with children, while supporting public health education and widening participation.
  • Freedom of Speech, Melissa Rose, Legal and Governance.
    The OFS and legislative position on Free Speech has been updated in the last 12 months, and this talk seeks to provide a high-level introduction to the University processes and the legal requirements around free speech and signpost to additional resources. 
  • Reprogramming the Teaching Approach: Increasing Engagement and Enjoyment in Learning, Dr Rory Hopcraft.
    This talk presents a Computer Science case study exploring how moving away from traditional lectures, labs and code-based assessment created space for more active, student-owned learning. Through workshop-style teaching and portfolio-based assessment, the session reflects on how active learning coupled with authentic assessment design can increase engagement, confidence and enjoyment while remaining aligned with professional practice.

Event photography and video

Please be aware that some of the University of Plymouth's public events (both online and offline) may be attended by University staff, photographers and videographers, for capturing content to be used in University online and offline marketing and promotional materials, for example webpages, brochures or leaflets. If you, or a member of your group, do not wish to be photographed or recorded, please let a member of staff know.