Fellows
What is a WIHEA Fellowship?
On the basis of a proven record of achievement in learning and teaching, academic staff, professional service staff and students can become Fellows of WIHEA and take on a role of influence and leadership within the wider institution.
From an initial cohort of 41 ‘Foundation’ Fellows, who were integral to supporting the inception of the Academy and enabled it to quickly become an established part of the infrastructure for learning and teaching, the Academy continues to recruit on average 25 Fellows each year. Fellows who are staff remain in role for three academic years and students one year. The Academy currently has 85 Fellows. In order that Foundation Fellows and all other Fellows could continue to contribute and remain part of the community, the Alumni Fellowship was introduced in August 2018. The Academy currently has 115 Alumni, whose knowledge and experience continues to support its activities.
What is the role of a Fellow?
Fellowships are of great benefit to the individual Fellows, their departments or professional service and the wider university community.
Fellows take on institutional or Faculty roles that embed good practice in learning and teaching across the University. This can take many forms. Staff and Student Fellows can take part in exchanges, projects, learning circles, proposing teaching and learning policy or develop new academic practice that enhance the student experience and student outcomes. They also represent the academic ‘teaching’ voice at Warwick by taking part in the formal governance of the University of Warwick, for instance by joining committees, sub committees and working groups.
Fellows will be able to develop expertise in areas of interest to them and seek to develop influence within the institution to enhance practice and policy. They will also have the opportunity to inform our strategic and practical thinking on learning and teaching at Warwick, as and when new challenges or ambitions arise.
Does being a Fellow aid my career?
It certainly has for quite a few Fellows now, but this depends entirely on how much you make of the Fellowship opportunities. Being a Fellow or a member will make your commitment to learning and teaching visible. It is by no means the only way of doing so, but it will help. The work of the Academy is partly to raise the standing and recognition of learning and teaching within the institution, and routes for doing so will be regularly discussed as part of the WIHEA programme of opportunities. Working with the Academic Development Centre (ADC), we will help you find your way into the national accreditation scheme for all who teach and support learning, and we will regularly discuss how colleagues have found ways to make their teaching and learning achievements and leadership visible and recognised, both through external recognition and promotion.
For Fellows particularly, there is the opportunity to develop and show leadership of learning and teaching, and this will include engagement with national and international peers, an aspect which is crucial to successful promotion and career development for students in a range of sectors and careers. Above all, the Academy offers a network of teaching and learning-minded colleagues (staff and students) who will keep you encouraged and inspired.
For academic colleagues especially, it is perhaps worthwhile to make clear that WIHEA Fellowship in itself does not contribute to academic promotion unless it is clear how the Fellowship has led to substantial contributions in learning and teaching at Warwick or nationally.
What is expected of me as a Fellow?
It is anticipated that Fellows of the Academy already have FHEA or SFHEA recognition, but where this is not the case, support will be available to achieve this recognition in the first year of the Fellowship.
Fellows are expected to be actively involved in governance, WIHEA projects, development activities, learning circles, networks and think tanks that set the tone and develop the direction of learning and teaching at Warwick and/or the Academy itself.
In addition to perhaps being a member of a Warwick committee, subcommittee and/or working group (as opportunities allow), we would expect Fellows to have either a leading role in a learning and teaching-funded project or assist in a consultancy capacity to support the strategic direction of learning and teaching at Warwick.
We would ask Fellows to contribute to our regular Fellow Networking Sessions (approximately every six weeks).
The next scheduled call for Fellowship is due in May/June 2023.