ASKe, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Brookes, in conjunction with the Reinvention Centre, held their Third Symposium on Social Learning Space at Brookes on Monday 17 March 2008 (see the programme). ASKe was particularly pleased to host the Symposium at the Simon Williams Undergraduate Centre on the Wheatley campus as it gave delegates an opportunity to see this ASKe-funded innovative social learning space 'in action'.

The theme of the Symposium was 'Building student engagement with learning through space'. The day was a great success and featured two very interesting keynote presentations on different aspects of social learning space from Professor Deborah Bickford (Dayton University, Ohio) and Dr Ray Harris (Principal of Edinburgh's Telford College).

Two parallel sessions also ran during the day featuring eight workshops hosted by speakers from institutions across the UK. Topics covered by the workshops included innovative design; building community (both virtual and physical); colonisation studies: the expected and the unexpected; and different user populations. The event concluded with a lively panel session, with panel members comprising the keynote speakers, two workshop presenters, and ASKe Deputy Director Berry O'Donovan.