Hannah Whaley . com

The 2011 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey ranked the University of Dundee as the 1st Scottish institution, and 5th in the UK – sandwiched nicely between Cambridge and Oxford. The activities of the Library and Learning Centre were rated highly, and recognised directly by our student spokesperson.

“We are delighted with our University’s performance in the Times Higher Education student experience survey,” said Chris Browne, Deputy President of Dundee University Students Association. “The past few years have seen improvements in areas such as the Library and Learning centre, halls of residence, employability and the amount of activities offered to students on campus.”

A new video aimed at encouraging more students to come to Dundee uses time-lapse photography to highlight this range of facilities, amenities and strengths that the University can boast. The new ‘pink’ InfoZone in the Library and Learning Centre appears early in the video, and students can be seen working late into the night towards the end of the video, as the impressive glass structure of the main library remains lit up on campus.

Have a watch, and let us know what you think. The timelapse video was created by local photography company Frame Focus Capture.

Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey
University of Dundee Press Release

The Library and Learning Centre at the University of Dundee are currently recruiting for a post that lies within my division (Research & Systems). This is a great role, and will make a fantastic opportunity for someone – please pass this on to anyone who you think may be interested:

The Library and Learning Centre was formed as a merged service in January 2009 under the directorship of Dr Richard Parsons, combining the existing library services with support for elearning activities and the academic staff development programme. The LLC offers a forward-thinking and innovative environment, committed to providing support for learning, teaching and research activities across the University Of Dundee.

This role lies within Research & Systems division, where the LLC is seeking to appoint a highly-skilled, motivated individual who can demonstrate aptitude in system delivery, electronic service enhancement and team leadership. These skills will be used to co-ordinate the development and maintenance of our wide range of learning and library systems, with particular responsibility for the library management system.

The role includes team leadership responsibility for the IT Support and Systems staff (5 FTE). This proactive team includes a recently appointed systems developer, and works to support and enhance numerous online services including an LMS, VLE, search services and a repository.

A number of new initiatives are currently underway which provide example projects the role-holder could expect to be involved in:
• Transition to comprehensive RFID technologies and self service in all library sites
• New web-scale discovery system to search online academic resources
• Open source digital repository for online archiving of publications
• Integration of existing library and learning systems and further development of website

The division has an established reputation for system delivery in both elearning and library fields and are committed to building on existing work to remain an exemplar institution in this field.

Candidates should have a good degree based in computing or information professions, and minimum 4 years relevant experience, with experience of an academic environment and of team leadership highly desirable.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Hannah Whaley, Assistant Director – Research and Systems Division. Email : h.whaley@dundee.ac.uk (tel 01382 384277)

Read the Further Particulars

Apply for this job online

It has been a busy few weeks, and I thought I would share a couple of recent challenges with you.

I recently spent two weeks in Germany, completing a 2000 mile driving holiday in our Lotus Elise. We spent some time at the Nurburgring – the longest, most challenging and unforgiving racetrack in the world. I chose to drive a lap – a genuinely nerve-wracking experience and not a decision I took lightly given the well documented dangers of the track. Also driving the 13 mile ring was a Lambo, Corvette ZR-1, Ferarri F430 Scuderia, Nissan GTR, and more GT3 RSs than you could shake a stick at – all doing some serious speeds on track. It was an amazing experience, a genuine feeling of accomplishment and I am incredibly glad I chose to tackle it.

This was not the only challenge of the last few weeks. Immediately before I left for Germany I had a job interview, and I have been delighted to accept the position of Assistant Director of the Library and Learning Centre at the University of Dundee, responsible for Research and Systems. I am looking forward to working more closely with the Library and Learning Centre staff to build on existing work and tackle the many challenges being presented within this area – not least the changes in the publishing sector, effective search, integrations, open access repositories and research management initiatives.

This week I am at BbWorld09 in Washington DC and have been presenting on both the challenges with Groupwork Assessment and with effective implementation of content systems for learning and teaching. Common themes from talking to colleagues here have centred on  moving elearning systems forward (the adoption of Bb9) and providing stable, integrated systems that meet our staff and student’s expectations for modern working. It never fails to impress me how much progress there is in the sector year on year, and yet how we feel constantly challenged by the needs and requirements of the university community. I understand how people can feel swamped by this, but it is important to realise just how quickly we can adapt, and how far we have already risen to meet the challenge of achieving 21st century education.

I hope that challenges of all kinds continue to present themselves to me in life, as the biggest challenges tend to bring the best opportunities with them.