Higher Education Academy Subject Centre Network & MEDEV

What is the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre Network?
The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre Network comprises 24 subject centres based in higher education institutions (HEIs) throughout the UK. It promotes high-quality learning and teaching through the development and transfer of good practice in all subject disciplines, and provides a ‘onestop shop’ of learning and teaching resources for the HE community. It offers subject-specific expertise through these 24 centres, as well as generic expertise on learning and teaching issues that cross subject boundaries (with support from the Higher Education Academy (www.heacademy.ac.uk). The Subject Centre Network is managed and co-ordinated by an Executive based at the Higher Education Academy in York and is funded by the four UK funding bodies. For those with a longer memory, the Subject Centre Network grew out of the national Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN).

The subject centres
The 24 subject centres are a mix of single-site and consortium-based centres, and each is located within a relevant subject department and hosted by an HEI with relevant expertise in the sector. The subject focus recognises that for many staff in HE it is at the subject level where most networking and exchange of learning, teaching and assessment practice takes place. The core activities of each subject centre include:          collation of information in all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment provision of training opportunities advisory service to practitioners support through maintenance of networks and effective contacts including institutional learning and teaching support officers liaison with relevant professional bodies and subject associations advice on implementation of IT in learning and teaching ensuring that all practitioners are aware of current and future developments in learning and teaching collaboration with related subject centres to support interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary activity collaboration with the Higher Education Academy and other organisations and agencies to ensure that subject centre staff are aware of broader issues.

Who benefits from the Subject Centre Network?
 Individuals: the Subject Centre Network offers the above to all staff involved in learning and teaching in HE, including academic and clinical staff, senior managers, learning technologists, educational development staff, and staff developers. It also provides staff with an opportunity to share their best ideas and practices and develop them with like-minded colleagues in their own subject area across the sector. Departments: HEIs will benefit from the subject expertise and state-of-the-art information available from the relevant subject centres. Faculties and Institutions: the ‘user communities’ - staff in HE institutions and, ultimately, students - will benefit as they are made aware of and use good practices and new developments in learning and teaching. Institutions will also be able to draw on the support and information services offered by the Higher Education Academy.

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Further information about the Higher Education Academy, subject centres and contact details is available at: www.heacademy.ac.uk

The Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine (MEDEV)
MEDEV, the Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine (www.medev.ac.uk), is based in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Newcastle. MEDEV is an independent agency, with a national remit, responsible directly to its three subject constituencies through the

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre Network & MEDEV

Higher Education Academy and the UK Higher Education Funding Councils. The objective is to facilitate the development of caring, knowledgeable, competent and skilful graduates who broadly understand health and disease and who are able to benefit from subsequent education and adapt to future developments in practice. Core staff of MEDEV include the Director (Dr Megan Quentin-Baxter), the Centre Manager (Mr Victor Ottaway), the Senior Advisor - Education, (Mr Nigel Purcell), Senior Advisor - Information (Ms Suzanne Hardy), Advisor – Education (Ms Gillian Brown), Advisor – Information (Mr James Outterside), the Project Officer (Mr Lindsay Wood), the Centre Secretary (Mrs Sharon Percy), and the Administrative Assistant (Miss Vicky Thomas), all based in the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. We provide an enquiry service, access to information via a web interface to our databases of resources, providing advice, support, information and facilitating the activities of people-networks, disseminate examples of good practice and innovation in learning and teaching as well as produce a regular newsletters, and run workshops and conferences on specific themes related to each of the three sectors we cover and also more generic teaching and learning topics. Contributions from our consistency are always welcomed. MEDEV, like the other 23 subject centres, actively work different subject centres on a range of collaborative activities to foster knowledge sharing across the sector and MEDEV has a more formal relationship with the subject centre for Health Science and Practice (http://www.health.heacademy.ac.uk), through the HEALTH Network Group. This partnership provides support across the inter-related constituencies of each subject centre. Further information will be publicised on our web site www.medev.ac.uk and through newsletters and discussion groups. Enquiries are welcome and you can contact the office Monday – Friday, 9.00am – 5.00pm. By post: The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine, School of Medical Sciences Education Development, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, NE2 4HH; email: enquiries@medev.ac.uk or telephone 0191 222 5888.