Keynotes

Keynote 1: Student as Producer at the University of Lincoln: Past, Present and Future(s)

Dr Gary Saunders and Dr Kate Strudwick, University of Lincoln

Wednesday 7th September
TIME: 9:45 – 10:45
LOCATION: MB0603

Between 2010 and 2014, Student as Producer was the organising principle of the University of Lincoln’s Teaching and Learning Strategy. Student as Producer was an attempt to develop research-engaged teaching by embedding research and research-like activities across all levels of the University’s curriculum. Research-engaged teaching is not new but grounded in the intellectual history of the modern university, and gives meaning and purpose to the idea of the university at a time when it is being shaped by neoliberal ideology (Neary 2020). Student as Producer  has been embedded institutionally, however it is is not compulsory but invites and encourages academics to break out of the tired old teaching versus research debate, to  find more creative, inclusive and holistic  ways to be a scholar through critical discussion and disensus contra to the mainstream managerialism that has overwhelmed university life (Neary 2020). Student as Producer posits academics, professional staff and students as scholars with ‘equality of intellect’ (Ranciere 1987), who have a lot to learn from each other. Drawing upon the work of Boyer (1998), Student as Producer encourages and supports scholars to work together on the scholarship of discovery (research); the scholarship of integration (interdisciplinarity); the scholarship of engagement (knowledge applied to the wider community); and the scholarship of learning and teaching (research and evaluation of learning and teaching practice) (Neary 2020). 

Since 2010, Student as Producer has become the unique selling point of the University of Lincoln,  and is firmly embedded in the University’s quality assurance processes, institutional support for learning and teaching, and the design of learning and teaching spaces and technology (Neary 2020). Student as Producer has been used in a variety of innovative ways by academics, librarians, estate departments and students at the University of Lincoln, enabling them  to engage in research, develop learning and teaching and design learning and teaching spaces (Strudwick 2020). However, what is often overlooked is that Student as Producer was created as a radical political project in response to the ongoing attack on the idea of the university and attempts to commodify what is produced by universities (Saunders 2020). Given the continued assault on universities by successive current UK governments, it is an apt time to revisit the origins and applications of Student as Producer as a radical political project. 

The first part of this keynote will explore the theoretical and philosophical origins of the Student as Producer,  before moving on to address some of the ways in which it has been applied to develop learning, teaching and research at the University of Lincoln. The final part of the keynote will attempt to recover Student as Producer as a radical political project as envisioned by Professor Mike Neary (and others) and how this is contributing towards the development of a Co-operative University (Noble and Ross 2021). 

Dr Gary Saunders, University of Lincoln Gary is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Lincoln. Gary’s research interests are around higher education, pedagogical theory and prisons. Gary teaches sociology of education, criminological theory and research methods.  Gary is also Director of Teaching and Learning within the School of Social and Political Sciences.

Dr Kate Strudwick, University of Lincoln Kate is Dean of Lincoln Academy of Learning and Teaching (LALT), previously holding roles of Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Lincoln.  During her 25 years at Lincoln, she has built experience with facilitating, leading and evaluating innovations in teaching and learning, and establishes new pedagogies in teaching and learning practice to enhance student experience. Her research interests align student engagement and employability within curriculum design, embedding Student as Producer, policing partnership and collaborations.

Keynote 2: A politics of disruption: generating revolutionary subjectivities   

Dr Cath Lambert, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick 

Wednesday 7th September
Time: 14:00 – 15:00
Location: MB0603

This paper identifies vital components of Student as Producer as a pedagogic project, conceptual framework, and political education. Student as Producer was developed in a specific social and political moment but was always reaching beyond that moment through a generative methodology with revolutionary ambitions. Speaking and acting from our current and social and political context/s, how can we use Student as Producer to reach beyond where we are now and generate the revolutionary futures we want and need?    

Dr Cath Lambert, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick  Cath Lambert worked with Mike Neary 2005-2007 at the Reinvention Centre at the University of Warwick, where the concept of Student as Producer first emerged. Cath is currently Reader in Sociology at Warwick, researching and teaching in the areas of critical, inter- and anti-disciplinary pedagogies and methodologies, queer theory, and kinship. Her work includes exhibitions, performance, and collaborations with creative and social practitioners.

Keynote 3: Impact of Student as Producer – Student and Alumni Panel

Thursday 8th September
Time: 9:30 – 10:30
Location: MB0603

A panel of University of Lincoln students and alumni will discuss their experience of Student as Producer and the impact on their university experiences and careers since graduating.
   

Keynote 4: Students as Producers: Reframing Teaching at a Research University

Dr Derrick Bruff, Joe Bandy, and Ransford Pinto, Vanderbilt University, USA  (via online stream)

Thursday 8th September
Time: 16:00 – 16:30
Location: MB0603

The Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching has helped instructors at their institution engage students in deeper learning using a “Students as Producers” approach to course design. In this approach, educators learn to see students not only as consumers of information, but also as producers of knowledge. In this session, staff from the Center for Teaching will share ways they have helped faculty develop assignments that encourage students to tackle open-ended problems, to operate with a high degree of autonomy, and to share their work with wider audiences.

	Derek Bruff, Assistant Provost and Executive Director, Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University Derek Bruff is assistant provost and executive director of the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching and a principal senior lecturer in mathematics. As assistant provost, Bruff plans and oversees faculty development and educational initiatives for the Office of the Provost. Derek has been at the CFT since 2005, and he directs CFT programming for faculty and other instructors, helping them develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas in teaching.
	Joe Bandy, Assistant Director, Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University Joe Bandy has been an assistant director at the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching since 2010. He has supported curricular, instructional, and organizational development at Vanderbilt in consultations, workshops, and programs such as the Junior Faculty Teaching Fellows and the Course Design Institute. He regularly facilitates faculty learning communities on environmental education, community-engaged teaching, and inclusive pedagogies.
	Ransford Pinto, Assistant Director for Graduate Programs, Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University Ransford Pinto has served as the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching’s assistant director for graduate programs since 2020. He leads the CFT’s offerings for graduate students, including Teaching Assistant Orientation and the Certificate in College Teaching, and he mentors a team of Graduate Teaching Fellows who provide educational development services to graduate students at Vanderbilt.