QAA Membership Podcast

In this episode, QAA brings together four Subject Benchmark Advisory Group Chairs to explore how the latest Benchmark Statements address Generative AI, ethics, inequality and professional practice across Art & Design, Social Policy, Sociology and Social Work. Hear practical insights on critical and responsible AI use, safeguarding independent thinking, and embedding sustainability, accessibili...

In a special podcast released to mark the publication of this year's suite of revised Subject Benchmark Statements, QAA's Quality & Standards Manager Dr Andy Smith talked with two of our Advisory Group Chairs: the University of Westminster's Kate Cheyne, Chair of the Advisory Group for Architecture, and the University of Plymouth's Dr Péter Bokody, Chair of the Advisory Gro...

How can sustainability stay central in higher education amid financial pressures? In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Rehema White (University of St Andrews) and Charlotte Bonner (EAUC CEO) challenge the idea that sustainability is a luxury. Instead, they argue it is core to higher education’s mission—equipping graduates to navigate complexity and drive positive change. We explore how sustainab...

In this podcast, we share Professor Phillip Dawson's keynote address on Assessment Design for a time of AI, which he presented at our 2025 Quality Insights Conference last month.  Phillip is co-director of Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University, Australia. Having initially studied AI and cyber security before his PhD in Higher Education, he’s now...

In the latest edition of the QAA podcast, our Chief Executive Vicki Stott talks with Paul Greatrix – who last month retired from his position as Registrar at the University of Nottingham at the end of a 36-year career in higher education. Together, Vicki and Paul consider the changes that the sector has gone through over the last few decades and the challenges it faces today, as they anticipate th...

Our latest podcast focuses on the challenges and opportunities raised by approaches to student engagement. Hosted by QAA's Dr Matt Denton, this episode considers how strategies for learner engagement might develop to address the needs of a higher education environment which has, in recent years, been radically affected by the impacts of a series of traumatic developments: the Covid-19 crisis,...

Our latest QAA podcast marks the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity (IDOA). This global event takes place online on 16 October and will include a panel convened by QAA and chaired by our Chief Executive Vicki Stott.  Hosted by QAA's Dr Kerr Castle, this new episode features Loughborough University's Professor Sandie Dann and IDOA co-chair Professor Mary Davis: Sandie is a...

Chaired by our regular host Dr Kerr Castle, QAA's latest podcast explores the effective evaluation of higher education practices and initiatives, and how to make approaches to evaluation meaningful and manageable.   Kerr's guests this month are Liz Austen , Professor of Higher Education Evaluation at Sheffield Hallam University, and Stella Jones-Devitt , Professor of Critical Pedagogy at...

In QAA's latest podcast, our regular host Dr Kerr Castle chairs an expert panel for a lively discussion reflecting on what we've learnt from TEF 2023.  Kerr is joined by Professor Claire Pike (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education Enhancement at Anglia Ruskin University), Roscoe Hastings (Director of Teaching Enhancement and Excellence at the University of Exeter), and our very own Helena Vi...

This latest QAA podcast marks the publication of the new edition of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. Our guests are Dr Helen Driscoll, interim PVC for learning & Teaching at the University of Sunderland, Swansea University's Dr Kate Chapman, co-organiser of the QAA Programme Leaders Network, Rachel Sutton, Associate Director of Quality at the University of London, Charlotte Baker...

In this episode, our regular host Dr Kerr Castle introduces a discussion of awarding gaps and what we can do to close them. Kerr is joined by Kevin Brazant, Progression & Attainment Project Manager at the University of the Arts London, Dr Sally Andrews, Pedagogic Projects Development Manager at Staffordshire University, Professor Nicky King, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of E...

In this episode, Dr Kerr Castle introduces a discussion of how the core concepts of competence-based education compare with those of more traditional educational models and how the purposes of assessment might be reimagined through competence-based education.  He is joined by Mike Ewen, the Head of the Teaching Academy at the University of Hull, along with Dr Dom Henri, Senior Lecturer in Zoology,...

In this latest episode we explore ways to enhance the impact of projects carried out by work-based learners – and specifically some of the challenges which part-time students face in combining their academic learning with creating impact from that learning outside of the classroom.   During the episode, our contributors introduce a new toolkit designed to equip educators with the knowledge and the...

Our latest podcast explores the challenges we face in embedding employability in our curricula, and the kinds of strategies and support that can benefit both educators and their students.  To address these issues, we take a look at a new toolkit focusing on pedagogy, assessment and curriculum content, designed to help students gain the knowledge, skills and experience they need to transition into...

In this latest episode, teaching staff and students from Loughborough University and Birmingham City University (BCU) come together to discuss the opportunities for enhancing the student learning experiences offered by a new collaborative observation project they’ve been engaged in.   The podcast is chaired by QAA's Dr Kerr Castle, who observes that this Collaborative Enhancement Project has...

In this latest episode of the QAA Membership Podcast, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement and Standards Specialist) explores multimodality in higher education with the team behind the QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project, Harnessing Multimodality in Higher Education . The episode features Professor Sam Elkington (Professor of Learning and Teaching at Teesside University); Professor Andrew...

In this instalment, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement & Standards Specialist, QAA) sits down with Liss Chard-Hall (Specialist Study Skills Tutor) and Dr Graeme Pedlingham (Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor – Student Experience, University of Sussex) to chat about neuro-inclusivity.  Specifically, they chat about what the hidden curriculum can look like for neurotypical and neurodivergent students,...

In this latest podcast episode , QAA’s Dr Kerr Castle talks with Dr Kate Cuthbert and Sue Lee, who both work in Staffordshire University’s Staffordshire Centre of Learning and Pedagogic Practice.  Together they explore what phenomenon-based learning is and how you could use it in partnership with your students to make a lasting impact.  

In this episode, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement and Standards Specialist at QAA) sits down with Dr George Hulene, Associate Dean of Faculty of Business and Law at Coventry University; Professor Eleanor Davies, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Huddersfield Business School; and Dr Peter Wolstencroft, Liverpool John Moores University. The discussion focuses on the outcomes of a QAA-fun...

In this latest instalment, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement and Standards Specialist at QAA) sits down with Sean Cullen, lecturer at Brunel University and Student Voice Commissioner for the Disabled Students Commission (DSC), to talk about the experience of disabled students.  Through the course of the episode, Sean shares his own insights and experiences as a disabled student in higher educati...

In this latest episode, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement and Standards Specialist with QAA) sits down with Dr John Lean and Dr Catherine Elkin from Manchester Metropolitan University to discuss adventure and exploration in playful co-curricular learning.   The podcast focusses on how metaphors and design principles borrowed from open world video games are supporting students to forge their own...

In this episode, Dr Kerr Castle (QAA’s Quality Enhancement & Standards Specialist) sits down with Dr Non Vaughan Williams and Emily Way from Swansea University, as well as Rachel Evans, to discuss the value of the higher education sector engaging with industry.  The podcast takes a particular focus on the positive impact that industry panels are having for students at the School of Culture and...

In this month’s instalment, Dr Kerr Castle (QAA’s Quality Enhancement & Standards Specialist) chats with Mercy Mwansa (University of Leeds) and Rachel Van Krimpen (University of Nottingham) about different barriers to success for postgraduate researchers.  The discussion covers issues including mental health and wellbeing, imposter syndrome, the influence of research culture and perceptions of...

In this episode, Amrita Narang (Quality Enhancement & Standards Specialist) chats with Dr Paul Campbell (University of Leicester), Bethany Sumner (University of Wolverhampton) and Dr Gary Hazeldine (Birmingham City University) about improving the experience of undergraduate students from different ethnic backgrounds and their award outcomes in assessment. During the episode, the guests discuss...

In this podcast, we explore the institutional context for pass/fail assessment in undergraduate and postgraduate courses with colleagues from Leeds Arts University, and ways in which the experience of pass/fail assessment can support authentic learning. We hear from students about the role of tutor and peer feedback, and finally, consider its impact on skills development for future employability....