Programme - Keynote Speakers
Speaker: Ruth Drysdale
Biography
Ruth Drysdale joined JISC in 2009 in their JISC eLearning team, which is part of the Innovation Group. The Group works closely with UK colleges and universities to carry out action research, and develop advice and guidance, products and services. Part of Ruth’s area of responsibility is eAdminstration which includes timetabling. JISC has run several projects around timetabling, such as STOP and commissioned a Report on timetabling and resource scheduling. Prior to JISC, Ruth worked in the IT department for University of West of England as a manager for their Strategic Student Experience Programme. This included 10 major projects most of which effected timetabling, so Ruth also has hands on experience of how changes effect timetabling activities.
Talk Title - Timetabling in the rapidly changing HE Landscape
Ruth’s presentation will review the administrative processes and challenges around timetabling and resource scheduling for HE learning opportunities, and the way in which these link with curriculum and session planning. This will include discussions around how to move scenarios from ‘as is’ to ‘to be’ in process models of the common processes in timetabling and resource scheduling. Group work will identify the main barriers, risks and issues around change, as well as the opportunities the ‘prefect storm’ of Sept 2012 might offer.
Speaker: Lee Hollins
Biography
Lee Hollins joined the University of Derby in 2006, originally within the Assessment and Awards Unit. Her background prior to working at the University was within warehousing and transport. In 2009 she moved to manage the Timetable Unit expecting this to be a fairly simple process, afterall, the University only releases one timetable a year, how hard can it be? Originally intending to hold the position for a couple of years Lee finds herself fully engrossed in the complexities of timetabling and is passionate about helping others to understand that this 'simple task' is far more complicated than most realise. Lee is also very keen in encouraging software providers to modernise their approach to timetabling and encouraging them to see that a timetable system needs to be much more than just a timetable system. In order to support this passion she volunteered in 2011 to become secretary to the Academic Registrars Council Timetable Pratitioners Group and is aiming to ensure that events are held frequently covering a range of topics affecting the UK education sector.
Talk Title - Can timetabling catch up....and keep up?
